Mike Pyle grew up in Westford with his parents, Richard and Eleanor, sisters Pam and Nancy, and his brother John. He has been actively involved in our sport since he started wrestling in high school at Westford Academy in 1966 for Coaches Chet Steele and John Morris. Mike then went on to Lowell Tech (UMass-Lowell) to wrestle for two seasons under the tutelage of Dr. Ray Sparks.

Mike's most notable contributions to Massachusetts wrestling came as a referee. His officiating career began in 1972 when George Bossi, Commissioner of Officials, recruited the college sophomore to join the newly formed Massachusetts Interscholastic Wrestling Officials Association (MIWOA). Over the next 19 years Mike officiated numerous Massachusetts Sectional and State Championships, 15 Lowell Holiday Tournaments and six New England Championships. Mike's participation in the MIWOA extended beyond the mat, as he served on the Executive Board at every elected position for at least one term.

From 1978 until 1984, Mike coached a highly respected Bishop Guertin High wrestling team of Nashua, New Hampshire, leading the Cardinals to the 1982 State title. Mike attributes much of Bishop Guertin's success during those years to a schedule stacked with Massachusetts opponents, following the adage "To be the best you have to beat the best."

In 1982 the New England Intercollegiate Wrestling Officials Association (NEIWOA) Commissioner Phil Grebinar encouraged Mike to join the NEIWOA. From 1986 to 1991, Mike worked six New England NCAA D1 qualifying tournaments. He also served on the Executive Board at the elected positions of At-Large Representative, Vice President and President. In 1988 he officiated his first of nine NCAA D1 National championships. He was selected Finals Bout Head Official seven times. Mike then continued working as a D1 Referees' Evaluator for six national tournaments.

The National Federation of High Schools, the governing body for high school athletics competition rules, appointed Mike to the National Wrestling Rules Committee for a four-year term beginning in 1990. The following year, Mike accepted a National sales position with DeLong Sportswear which meant moving his family - his daughter, Meghan, her half-sister, Kara, and their mom - to Grinnell, Iowa.

Mike continued officiating high school meets and travelled nationally, working NCAA assignments including five NCAA D1 National Duals Championships, three Big 10 Championships and three PAC 10 Championships. Mike's most memorable assignment was refereeing the 1992 dual between the #1 ranked Iowa Hawkeyes, coached by Dan Gable and the #2 ranked Iowa State Cyclones at Carver-Hawkeye Arena, on live TV, before an NCAA record dual meet crowd of over 15,300 avid wrestling fans.

In 1991 Mike was elected Vice President of the National Wrestling Officials Association (NWOA), an office he held for 13 years. In 1996 the NWOA honored Mike with the Golden Whistle Award for Life-Time Achievement in the Art of Wrestling Officiating.

Mike returned to Massachusetts in 1998 and he worked another five seasons for the MIWOA.

In 2002 Mike and Barb Ginsberg met and a whirlwind romance ensued. This brought some very special people into his world: Barb's Daughter Robyn, her boyfriend Sam, her son Joshua and his fiancée Margarita, her son Eric, and Barb's indomitable ninety-five year mother Reah.

Mike retired from officiating in 2005 when he and Barb moved to Pennsylvania where he assumed the position of National Sales Manager for Resilite Sports Products, the country's leading wrestling mat manufacturer. Resilite has also been the official mat supplier to the NCAA Championships since 1963.

Earlier this year Mike left Resilite to start up ISC, Innovative Sales Consulting, providing counsel to sales managers and individual sales representatives, thus utilizing his thirty five-plus years of successful sales and sales management experience.

Mike reflects on his nearly 50 years in the sport, stating, "Wrestling has always been at the core of my being ever since I first experienced the exhilaration and pride of pinning an opponent, and the surge of determination to get-it-back after having been pinned. I would not have been able to progress to the highest levels of our country's wrestling scene without the exemplary foundation and model of integrity provided by the Massachusetts wrestling community."

Congratulations to Mike Pyle. The 2015 National Wrestling Hall of Fame, Massachusetts Chapter's "Outstanding American."