To say Bob Anniballi has been immersed in wrestling for the last 35 years would be a gross understatement. Whether it was wrestling in high school, coaching high school teams to unprecedented titles, or leading Massachusetts select teams to regional and national tournaments, Bob has done so much in the sport of wrestling.

A 1985 graduate of Natick High School, Bob captained the wrestling team both his junior and senior years. Anniballi went on to Framingham State University and during his freshmen year a visit to his former mentor, John Carroll, put Bob on this terrific journey. While a student at NHS, Bob developed a close relationship with legendary NHS Athletic Director, John Carroll. Carroll was looking for an assistant wrestling coach for the season and asked Bob if he could take the junior varsity position for "one season;" Bob has not stopped coaching since!

Bob's career dual meet record currently stands at 483-53-3 in his 27 seasons as head coach at Natick High and including time at Keefe Technical High. He has coached over 125 State Place winners and 53 All-State Place Winners (established in 1994).

Bob credits his mother Ann for his career in education. During a time when Bob was immersed in coaching and Massachusetts USA wrestling, he was also taking classes, working various jobs, and feeling uncertain about what path to take. Ann said, "you obviously have a passion for working with kids; go back to school and get your teaching degree." Bob was a special education teacher and coach at Keefe Tech before returning to Natick. Bob is currently the Director of Wellness for the Natick Public Schools. The Physical Education program in Natick has been nationally recognized under Bob's leadership. He has been married to Kori, whom he met at Keefe Tech, for the last 14 years and they have two sons: Michael who will be12 in June, and Eddie who will be 10 in May.

In the spring of 1987, Anniballi was approached by then Framingham South wrestling coach, Gordy Wrin. Along with Framingham North coach, Dan Balboni, the three "Italian Hot Heads" founded the MetroWest Wrestling Club. Their mission was simple: provide a no-cost opportunity for MetroWest area wrestlers to learn Freestyle and Greco-Roman wrestling. The club practiced two nights a week and traveled to local, regional, and national level tournaments. It was during this time that Wrin encouraged Bob to get into officiating. As a referee for the Massachusetts USA Wrestling, Anniballi grew as a coach and mentor. Anniballi was invited to join the Massachusetts coaching state staff and eventually became the head Freestyle coach as well as an executive board member. An all-volunteer organization, Massachusetts USA Wrestling ran over 20 tournaments each spring and took Massachusetts All-Star teams to regional and national events. Anniballi credits much of his success in coaching to his experience with USA Wrestling at the local and national level.

It is Bob's role as the Natick High School wrestling coach that has solidified his legacy in the wrestling community. First, as assistant coach from 1986-1989, Anniballi took over as head coach for one year in 1990. After a brief stint at Keefe Tech where he coached both soccer and wrestling, Bob was lured back to Natick in 1992. Having persuaded former Boston Latin coach Ed Smith to join him in Natick, Anniballi and Smith's first season began 0-5. The Redmen then went on a 14-0 run and placed 2nd at the Division I Central sectionals, well ahead of several teams that had handed them early season losses. The following season Natick won sectionals and placed 2nd at the Division II state tournament and have never looked back. Natick continues to be a state powerhouse today, winning the Bay State Conference 23 out of the last 24 seasons. From 2003-2009, Natick had an unprecedented 68 match win streak, the longest in the history of the conference. Coach Anniballi has also led Natick to 13 sectional titles and two state titles in 2010 and 2017. During his 25 year run as head coach, Natick has placed in the top five at the state tournament a remarkable 21 times. This current season saw the Redhawks go 11-0 in conference matches and 26-2 overall. The Redhawks are D2M Sectional Champions and captured their first D2 Dual Meet State Championship title. Anniballi has been named the Boston Globe coach of the year 3 times: 2000, 2010, and this past season, 2017. In 2010 he was inducted into the MIWCA Hall of Fame.

Coach Anniballi is thankful for all of his assistant coaches over the past 30 seasons: Mike Kane, Garth Yohn, John Adams, Greg Sinclair, Marty Geoghegan, Phil Brown, Brian Linton, Rob Dombroskas, Mike Buono, Nick DiAntonio, Joe Giudice, Mike Breau, Dave Nelson and a very special thanks to longtime assistants, Ed Smith, Kevin "Tuna" Thomas and Chad Sinclair. Bob values the many lasting friendships wrestling has given him. From his fellow high school tri-captains Bob Kelly and Eric Ramstrom, who have remained very close friends today, to rival coaches and especially the student-athletes from Natick and his experiences with the state teams, he considers it a privilege to have had the opportunity to shape legions of young wrestlers into successful individuals both on and off the mat. Bob treasures his memories and experiences with all of his current and former wrestlers and is pleased to share his hall of fame recognition with them.