One of the greatest ironies of the Art Weiss wrestling legend: He came to Clearfield as a basketball coach. Weiss, a native of Nazareth, PA, came to Clearfield after graduating from Albright College in 1932 and coached basketball for two years. Then, the idea of starting an intramural wrestling program at the school in the Fall of 1934 began Weiss' 25-year tenure as wrestling coach for the Bison. "The thing that sold wrestling first was the fact that it gave boys of any size a chance to participate against each other." Weiss said. "The light athletes couldn't get along well in football or basketball and most were too small to do track. And they got to liking it too." Without a doubt, Weiss' contribution to the sport of wrestling - not to mention the founding of Clearfield High's program in 1935 - is unparalleled. In addition to coaching the Bison, he coached the Clearfield YMCA and he served as a Board of Control member for the Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association. He was a PIAA rules interpreter, scorekeeper and matchmaker as well as a referee at the high school and collegiate level. He helped organize the first state tournament in 1936, which was taken over by the PIAA in 1938. His teams took to winning as well. After a couple of seasons with losing records, the Bison finished 6-2 in 1937. The next time a Clearfield team would lose two dual meets in one season would be 1951. After losing their first two dual meets in 1937, they won 51 consecutive dual meets ending in 1945. Fourteen of Weiss' squads were unbeaten and from 1938 to 1949, his teams compiled a 99-1 record. Weiss' Bison were always one step ahead of their opposition. By attending clinics and learning from collegiate wrestlers and coaches, Weiss taught his wrestlers whatever he learned as he learned it. "When we saw something work, we practiced it no matter who was using it, whether it was the opponent or us. I always tried to teach my wrestlers a lot so that they could use the moves that suited them best." "You know that when you're helping someone else you're hurting yourself as far as winning is concerned, but you get satisfaction with the spread of wrestling. Good competition breeds good wrestlers." Weiss' coaching record speaks for itself: 184-7-3 record when he retired after the 1959 season with 31 state champions (a PIAA record). His teams recorded winning records in 22 seasons and won nine unofficial team championships at the state tournament. This latest honor is his ninth induction into a Hall of Fame. The most notable are the Pennsylvania Sports Hall of Fame, National High School Sports Hall of Fame, Pennsylvania Wrestling Coaches Association, Eastern Wrestling League and the United Savings-Helms Athletic Foundation Amateur Wrestling Hall of Fame. For his contribution to the sport of wrestling and for being a positive role model to young athletes, Art Weiss is honored by the National Wrestling Hall of Fame for a lifetime service to wrestling.