Since the early 1970s, Scott Stocker has been a sportswriter and columnist, giving wrestling equal coverage to more mainstream sports and increasing its exposure to readers across Colorado.

He wrote for the Rocky Mountain News from 1985 until the newspaper ceased publication in 2009.

He founded Colorado Sidelines, covering all things in high school sports, and from 1971 to 1985 wrote for the publication while working part-time as an emergency room and ICU nurse in Boulder.

Stocker founded the Fred Steinmark Award to recognize athletes who not only stand out athletically, but also academically in in their community.

Stocker, who earned a Bronze Star as a combat-zone Army nurse in Vietnam, is a member of the Colorado High School Activities Association Hall of Fame and the Colorado Coaches of Girls Sports Hall of Fame.

Generations of Colorado high school athletes earned recognition thanks to the tireless work of Scott Stocker. Stocker, the founder/publisher of Colorado Sidelines and later a columnist and writer for the Rocky Mountain News, spent his career chronicling the exploits of Colorado’s prep athletes. From Cortez to Lamar to Wray to Steamboat Springs and all points in between, Stocker covered prep sports like no one else.

Stocker’s Colorado Sidelines was a pioneering effort in the world of journalism. He covered the entire state and young athletes from every corner earned their moment in the spotlight thanks to the weekly paper that was delivered directly to every high school in Colorado.

While he covered all sports, Stocker provided a huge boost to wrestling. A prep wrestler at Boulder High and a member of the 1964 Northeastern Junior College (Sterling) national championship team, he always held a special passion for the sport. His coverage was required reading.

“When Colorado Sidelines came out on the Thursday of the state tournament, it was like Christmas — you couldn’t wait to open it up,” said former prep coach and Hall of Famer Mark Schmidt. “It was something everyone looked forward to. So in-depth, so much knowledge. What he did for the sport of wrestling was just incredible.”

Indeed, long before the internet age, Stocker provided voluminous coverage that blanketed the state. “He’s such a wonderful man,” said long-time pairer Sharon Farnsworth, another member of the 2023 Hall of Fame class. “He did so much for so many young people over the years and he did it to help them. He made sure wrestling got the coverage it deserved.”

Stocker served as a medic in the U.S. Army for four years and was awarded a Bronze Star for his combat service in Vietnam, an experience that had a profound impact. He also worked as an emergency room/intensive care nurse at Boulder Community Hospital before beginning a journalism career that covered four decades.

He quickly earned a reputation as an excellent reporter and writer, and he garnered the respect of coaches and athletes from every town and city in the state. He had chances to move on to cover college and professional sports, but he turned those opportunities down. His passion and dedication to giving high school athletes their due never wavered.

Stocker earned a long list of honors in his career. He was awarded the Colorado High School Coaches’ Association media award on multiple occasions, has been inducted into several other halls of fame (including the Colorado High School Activities Association) and has always been active in a variety of community activities.

But wrestling always held a special place in his heart. His coverage helped many young standouts get the attention of college programs and earn scholarships and coaches across the state held him in high regard.

“It was just amazing what he did,” Schmidt said. “His passion for young people was terrific. He is just such a good man — a great guy in every respect.”​

Presenter- Brian Velarde