Mike DeFazio, a former high school hockey player, was first introduced to wrestling at the college level.

Mike began teaching physical education in 1934 at Needham High School. The same year he also started coaching wrestling although at that time not many other schools had wrestling programs in Massachusetts. Mike was instrumental in helping to form the Old Colony League which at that time consisted of only two other schools. Over the years Mike urged other public schools to adopt wrestling and was successful in his efforts.

With the advent of World War Il, schools dropped wrestling and upon Mike's return from the war he began the process of rebuilding the sport. Over the next 20 years, Mike's Needham teams competed in a variety of tournaments and the competition included many private schools. In 1965, the Massachusetts Interscholastic Athletic Association was formed and wrestling was transformed. In 1965, Coach DeFazio's team won the first ever Massachusetts State Wrestling Championship. The team went undefeated the next year and captured the championship again. Mike retired in 1966 after 32 years of successful coaching.

Mike retired winning more championships than any other Massachusetts high school coach in history. He was honored by the Scholastic Wrestling News and today the largest sports venue in Needham, DeFazio Field, is named after Mike.