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Wager honored by Hall of Fame for officiating and much more

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by Gary Abbott

  • Hall of Fame Weekend Photos

    Chat with Jerry Wager of Las Vegas, Nev. about wrestling and you will hear all kinds of stories and opinions. Although Wager is being honored by the National Wrestling Hall of Fame this weekend with its Lifetime Achievement for Officials award, he has been involved in the sport at many other levels for many years.

    This is for certain. Wager paid his dues as an official, with more than 35 years under his belt as an international referee. He was respected around the world for his officiating abilities and experience, and for this he is being honored by his peers.

    "This is appreciated, a real honor," said Wager on Saturday morning, just hours before he is to receive his recognition at the Wrestling Hall of Fame banquet. "It is nice to receive national and international recognition."

    Yet, Wager's resume within wrestling goes much farther than the hundreds of high-level competitions where he blew the whistle and worked with other officials. He had extensive success as a coach, and also took many administrative and leadership positions with events and organizations.

    He becomes the second Wager to be inducted as an Outstanding Official, joining his wife Sheila Wager, who was inducted in 1995. Sheila was the first woman from any nation to officiate at the Olympic Games in wrestling when she worked the 1988 Olympic Games in Seoul, South Korea.

    "She is 13 years better than me," jokes Wager about joining his wife in the Hall of Fame.

    When Sheila was selected for this honor, she was unable to attend the induction ceremony due to an unavoidable previous commitment. Sheila received her recognition at the national championships from Myron Roderick, then the President of the Wrestling Hall of Fame. This time, Jerry is there in person, and is joined by Sheila, son Lance, along with other friends, to be honored for his achievements.

    "I can't tell you how proud I am," said his son Lance Wager, who is very active as an official within USA Wrestling. "I have been waiting for his moment for a long time. I grew up watching him officiate and coach. He is a great coach. He is widely recognized as one of the great officials of his time. This brings a tear to your eye."

    When it comes to officiating, Wager has been involved at all levels. He officiated in over 50 major international meets, including the World Championships, Junior World Championships, Pan American Championships, and European Championships. Wager was honored by the international federation FILA with its Gold Medal, and was recognized as a FILA Lifetime Exceptionelle Referee.

    His friend Eric Kopsch, an outstanding official from Michigan who has become a close friend, remembers how powerful and important Wager was when he was active within the international community.

    "He was maybe the best in the world at one time," said Kopsch. "He was so powerful. People used to say not to go down to Las Vegas, because if Jerry didn't like you, he'd throw you out of town. To me, he is a dear, dear friend. He was a very powerful person in Las Vegas. The things he did when he ran the World Championships in Las Vegas were phenomenal. I found the real person. He is a great man. I found the sincere person inside of him."

    Wager takes great pride that was the first U.S. official selected as a mat chairman in Greco-Roman at a World event when he worked the 1985 World Greco-Roman Championships in Norway.

    "I was the first American in history to be a mat chairman at the World Championships in Greco-Roman. They don't ever wrestle freestyle in Norway. Greco-Roman was so important there. To be an American, and to be selected to do that, was a sign of respect and authority," said Wager.

    But when you ask about his most memorable moments in officiating, he consistently talks about the achievements of his wife Sheila, who he mentored and supported as an international official. He is very proud of her selection to the 1988 Olympic Games and watching her work on the mats in Seoul.

    "During the Olympics in Seoul, we were at the airport towards the end of the Games, and we noticed all these people coming at us. They were Japanese. They came up and started pointing and chattering. One of them who spoke English said, 'You are Sheila. You are the most important person in Japan.' She got the feel of what it was like to be somebody," said Wager.

    Both Jerry and Sheila talk about the life lessons that they learned from officiating, and the things that helped them to grow as individuals.

    "It teaches you teamwork. You respect other people's opinion when it differs. You have to build an adequate, credible rebuttal to their opinion," said Jerry. "It teaches you how to deal effectively internationally, with the different languages and customs. The world isn't just Colorado Springs or here in the USA. Too many people don't have the opportunity to experience it. When you are out of the country, you are exposed to different perspectives."

    However, when you talk wrestling with Jerry, it most often goes back to coaching and his commitment to helping athletes to grow. He was a coach with the Las Vegas YMCA from 1970-1980 and also coached seven age-group World Championships teams for the USA.

    Professionally, Wager was a police officer for 33 years working in Juvenile Justice. During the day, he worked with young people who needed some guidance. In his spare time, he coached young athletes to become champions on the mat and in life.

    "I have coached Senior teams. I worked with Larry Kristoff coaching the World Cup team. I enjoy the Seniors. But I enjoy much more working with the young people, those who are 15-22 years old. You can watch them progress and see the result of your work," said Wager.

    Wager was a coach for the 1987 Cadet World Greco-Roman Team which went to Collingswood, Canada and won the World Team title. After the 2007 U.S. Greco-Roman World Team won their team title in Baku, Azerbaijan, Wager was excited and impressed. However, he made sure to point out that the first U.S. World champions in Greco-Roman was that young group of athletes who brought back the champion trophy from Canada. He was proud of that 1987 team and reminded everybody of their victory because it was his "obligation to those kids and their accomplishment."

    Wager believes not enough recognition and attention go to the excellent coaches who work with young people on the club, regional and national levels. He believes that those who work with the kids should get as much respect and publicity as those coaching the college athletes or those on the Senior level.

    "We have wonderful youth coaches that never got the respect they deserved," said Wager. "There are coaches that work with the kids and treat them like adults. They don't get their due respect. Those kids try as hard and accomplish every feat that the Senior guys do."

    Wager believes that being an official and being a coach at the same time is very helpful, and makes you better at both. He did not only do both himself, but he encouraged the wrestlers he mentored to get experience as a referee.

    "Every single kid I coached on an age-group World team took the Senior-level officials test," said Wager. "Not one of them got a grade less than 95%. After that, they knew what the referee was thinking. During training camp, I made them officiate each others matches. We would give a reward to the top wrestler in the camp, so these matches were important. They were officiating their peers' matches, where even one point might determine who won that award."

    Wager was mentored by the late Joe Scalzo, an international leader from Toledo, Ohio, which is where Wager grew up and went to college.

    When Wager was a child, his father took him to the YMCA to help him deal with being overweight. Wager started as a swimmer, but soon found himself in the wrestling room, working out with older athletes. Scalzo, along with the athletes from the Univ. of Toledo, helped Wager as a high school wrestler, training him on the mat and serving as role models off the mat.

    It was this guidance that helped Wager, first as an athlete, but later as a coach and an official. He gives Scalzo credit for supporting his career within wrestling, which later also influenced him as a referee.

    "Scalzo said, 'you can't play the game if you don't know the rules,'" said Wager.

    Saturday night, Wager will be honored by the National Hall of Fame because, for so many decades, it was Jerry Wager who knew the rules.

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