Occasionally, a coach will create an opportunity to advance our sport in creative ways. Due to the effort and perseverance of men like Tom Bartosek, Massachusetts wrestling has grown and prospered.

Growing up on a small farm near Toledo, Ohio left a lasting impression on Tom. Farming taught him that preparation, patience, and hard work were vital to the success of the harvest. Tom will readily admit that he was unathletic, but he enjoyed being a member of the outstanding Northwood, Ohio High School wrestling team under legendary Coach Jim Derr.

Tom left Ohio to study at Boston College in 1968. After graduating from BC, Tom worked for a number of years in the Department of Biochemistry at Boston City Hospital and at the Sidney Farber Cancer Research Center. Tom left research to teach biology and chemistry for 32 years in Weymouth, Silver Lake, and Canton.

When Weymouth South High School could not find a coach, Tom took over a struggling program and successfully turned it around. He eventually left to teach and start wrestling programs at Silver Lake and Canton High School. It's in Canton that Tom achieved his greatest success. Tournament championships were prominent benchmarks in the success of the Canton wrestling program. The pride derived in producing four state champions and numerous placewinners were meaningful achievements for the entire team. In addition, on four occasions, the Massachusetts Wrestling Officials Association honored the Canton High School team with the MIAA Sportsmanship Award. While some teams found it hard to fill their lineup, Canton consistently produced large and talented squads. To cap it off, Tom was selected as the Boston Globe "Coach-of-the-Year" in 2002 and inducted in the Coaches Association "Hall of Fame."

In addition to his work on the mat, Tom discovered other avenues to help the wrestling community. Tom Darrin, Past President of the MIWCA explained that for twenty years Tom worked incredibly hard behind the scenes to get stories and recognition for wrestling in newspapers and magazines. Because of Tom's attentiveness, numerous wrestlers were selected for All-American honors in Wrestling USA Magazine. Worthy candidates were chosen for Wrestling USA Magazine's "Massachusetts Man-of-the-Year" award, "National Writer-of-the-Year" award and the Dave Schultz Excellence in Wrestling Award. Dan Ventura, the Scholastic Sports Editor for the Boston Herald reflected on Tom's work when he said that Tom "was a tireless supporter of the sport and we have all benefited from his knowledge and dedication to wrestling." Ventura went on to say, "I consider myself blessed to know Tom - a class act in every sense of the word."

In other ventures, Tom worked with coaches to lobby the NCAA to bring the Division-I Wrestling Tournament to Boston and to start wrestling programs at universities in the Massachusetts State College Athletic Conference. The only televised MIAA wrestling event was broadcast on Comcast Sports in 2007, as a direct result of Tom's effort. A longtime proponent of girl's wrestling, Tom led a campaign to establish an MIAA Girls State Wrestling Tournament.

In a capstone of his creativity, Tom is writing a history of Massachusetts wrestling including Olympic competitors, AAU placewinners, college All-Americans, high school team champions and biographies of luminaries such as Jim Peckham, John Lee, Doug Parker, Homer Barr, Rodney Smith and many others.

When Jim Peckham spearheaded the formation of the Massachusetts Chapter of the National Hall of Fame in 1998, he gathered together a trusted group of friends to help him establish the chapter. To underscore the significance of this evening, Jim personally asked for Tom's help in this endeavor. Another original member of the Chapter, Steven Biondolillo explained that "Tom has been the primary force in making sure that the National Wrestling Hall of Fame - Massachusetts Chapter survives, flourishes and stands out in the National Wrestling Hall of Fame Chapter program."

Tom credits his Mother Ann, Father Emil and Sister Patty for their love and encouragement. Carolyn, Tom's wife for 42 years, is the foundation of his family. His daughter Emily and son Brian bring him happiness and fulfillment. Without the help of his assistant coaches, Tom could never have accomplished his goals. He is forever grateful to the support and encouragement of his fellow coaches, teachers, staff, administrators, parents and wrestlers over the years.

In recognition of his accomplishments, the Massachusetts Chapter of the National Wrestling Hall of Fame is proud to honor Tom Bartosek with the "Lifetime Service" award.