Illinois Hall of Fame honors Mike in April

Tuesday, February 10th, 2015 | Awards, Wrestling

The Illinois Wrestling Coaches and Officials Association has announced that Mike Chapman will be among those inducted into its Hall of Fame on April 18. The hall of fame is in its 45th year of recognizing outstanding individuals who have impacted wrestling in the state of Illinois.

Though born and raised in Iowa, Mike worked on three different newspapers in Illinois, for a total of nearly 15 years. His last job in Illinois was as executive editor of Sauk Valley Newspapers in Dixon, from 1988 to 1998. While there, he created WIN magazine, the nation’s top wrestling publication; the WIN Memorabilia Show, held each year during the NCAA Division I tournament with crowds of 10,000 or more, and the Dan Hodge Trophy given each year to the nation’s top collegiate wrestler.

“This was a wonderful surprise,” said Mike, when notified of his selection. “I have great admiration for the wresting heritage of Illinois and I am delighted to be a part of it, however small.”

This is Mike’s eighth hall of fame. The others are:

1. AAU National Wrestling Hall of Fame (Orlando, Florida);
2. National Wrestling Hall of Fame (Stillwater, Oklahoma);
3. Iowa Wrestling Hall of Fame (Cresco, Iowa);
4. Glen Brand Wrestling Hall of Fame of Iowa (Waterloo, Iowa);
5. Sombo National Hall of Fame;
6. Excel Wrestling Hall of Heroes;
7. East Waterloo High School Hall of Fame.

In addition, he is the recipient of the 2001 Lifetime Achievement Award from the Cauliflower Alley Club (CAC), which is a national organization of former wrestlers, boxers and show business people, and in 2007 was given the Iowa Wrestling Coaches President’s Award. In 1999, he was given the WIN magazine Impact of the Year Award and it has since been named in his honor. He was presented the Lifetime Achievement Award by Missouri Wrestling Review in 2010.

Mike has been named National Wrestling Writer of the Year five times, by four different organizations.

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