John Toggas can trace his successful wrestling career to the basketball court, when York High coach Don Cockley cut him from the boys' basketball team. The rest, as they say, is history as Toggas truly found his calling in the wrestling room. Toggas was a district finalist at 133 pounds in both his junior and senior seasons at York High. After graduating from William Penn High School in 1951 where he was a three-sport athlete, he earned his Bachelor's degree from Gettysburg College in 1958 and eventually got his Master's degree in Education from Western Maryland University in 1971. He began his coaching career at Biglerville High School in 1958 and remained there until 1964, when he moved to West York High. Toggas started the elementary program at Biglerville and his high school teams were 38-32-2. Toggas also founded the elementary program at West York and amassed a record of 269-72-2 at the high school during two stints as head coach, from 1964-1983 and from 1 986-1992. His overall coaching record is 307-110-4 in 31 years, and he was the first York area high school coach to eclipse the 300-win mark. Some of his accomplishments include five York County Interscholastic Athletic Association (YCIAA) League team titles, YCIAA Coach of the Year honors in 1972 and 1978, and 3 PIAA champions. Toggas also produced 6 Sectional team titles, 83 Sectional champions, 12 District Three champions, 12 Regional champions and 18 PIAA Tournament qualifiers, including 2 third place finishers and 2 silver medalists in addition to his 3 champs. John was inducted into the District Three Wrestling Coaches Wrestling Hall of Fame in 1980, was given a 25-year Service Award by the National Wrestling Coaches Association in 1984, received the Leadership Award presented by the West York Area School District for 29 years of Outstanding Service and Dedication to West York District in 1993 and was inducted into the York Area Sports Hall of Fame for outstanding Sports Achievement in 1995. Toggas also served as a high school official and was a member of the NCAA Rules Committee as a High School Representative. Among his most treasured accomplishments was being inducted into the Pennsylvania State Wrestling Coaches Association Hall of Fame at the state finals in Hershey in 1992. "I think my biggest thrill I ever got coaching high school was when I got elected into the state Hall of Fame and having my two kids present me with the award," he said at the time. His son John is the coach at Parkland High School. For these achievements and more, John T. Togas is honored by the National Wrestling Hall of Fame as a "Lifetime Service to Wrestling" award winner, class of 1999.