Pete Venier attended Wantagh High School and was a Long Island wrestling champion in 1956. He and his twin brother were both outstanding wrestlers at Colgate University.

He volunteered as an assistant wrestling coach at Connetquot High School and several of the young men he tutored became county champions.

Pete’s volunteer career in wrestling has lasted over 50 years.

He began photographing the local wrestlers and his photography expertise soon became nationally known. After initially becoming a well-known figure at high school tournaments and meets in New York, Pete expanded his domain to college dual meets and NCAA tournaments.

Pete's expertise with the lens is beyond that of other cameramen. He is not just a journalist taking photos, but a wrestler who captures his love for the sport on film.

He anticipates the action and mentally places himself in the bout, rarely missing a scoring action shot with the camera.

Twenty-three of his photos have been selected for Amateur Wrestling News and Wrestling USA while hundreds of others have appeared in other publications, including WIN Magazine, New York State Wrestling News, Wrestling Masters, The Mat Slap, and the Suffolk County News.

In addition, numerous college wrestling guides have featured his photos including the Boston University, Clarion University, Fresno State University, University of Iowa, Lehigh University, the University of Nebraska, Ohio State University, Oklahoma State University, and Penn State University.

His personal portfolio includes letters of appreciation from Dan Gable, John Smith, Carl Adams, Ken DeStefanis, Nick Gallo, Neil Duncan, Rich Lorenzo, Tom Hutchinson, Kerry McCoy, and many others.

The Downstate New York Chapter of the National Wrestling Hall of Fame is proud to present Pete Venier with the Lifetime Service to Wrestling award.