Walt was born in Granite City in 1933 and began his wrestling career at Granite City High School under the direction of Hall of Famer Bill Schmitt. While in high school, Walt was a two-time state qualifier. He started his collegiate wrestling career at Arkansas State University under legendary coach Harold Nichols. He stayed at Arkansas State for two years before serving in the Air Force for four years. By then, the college had dropped their program, so Walt chose to continue his career at Southern Illinois University-Carbondale, where he wrestled for the late Hall of Famer, Jim Wilkinson. After graduating from Southern Illinois University - Carbondale, Walt began his coaching career as head coach at Cahokia High School, where he had two state qualifiers and one placewinner. He then became the assistant coach at Granite City High School, a position he kept for 10 years. When Granite City North opened in 1973, Walt became their head coach for the next 10 years, until the high schools merged back together. During his time at North, his teams went 217-34-4, had 44 state qualifiers, six placewinners, and one state champion, Khris Whelan. As a team, they won three regionals and one sectional. Walt then continued his coaching career for two years at the collegiate level at Belleville Area College, which is now Southwestern Illinois College. During his time at BAC, he coached three All-Americans. Throughout his coaching career, Walt has also worked with numerous teams and committees within the sport. In 1978, he helped coach the Freestyle National Team. He was also the NCAA Executive Committee Vice President for High Schools for four years. During his time at Granite City, Walt was also involved in his community, working with the Granite City Park District and various other youth programs. For his achievements, Walt has received numerous awards on both the national and local levels. He has been awarded the 25-Year Membership Award by the NWCOA and has been named an Honorary Life Member of the National Wrestling Coaches Association. In 1990, he was inducted into the Granite City Hall of Fame and in 1992, was inducted into the Illinois Wrestling Coaches and Officials Hall of Fame. For his time at Granite City, he also has an annual JV tournament named in his honor. Walt retired as principal in the Granite City School District in 1993. Then he served as a board member on the Granite City School Board for the next 20 years. He continues to reside in Granite City, where he has lived his entire life. He resides with his wife, Judy. They have two children, Mark and Kristy, a son-in-law, Paul Bassler; and two grandchildren, Hunter and Samantha Bassler.