Presented by Stan Zeamer, President, PA Chapter - NHOF.
  Master of Ceremonies - Rod Frisco - Harrisburg Patriot News.
 Invocation - Neil Turner.
 Presenting the Awards...
Myron Roderick, President - National Wrestling Hall of Fame.

West York Coach - John T. Toggas

4/24/99

Former West York Head Wrestling Coach                                                     John T. Toggas                      John T. Toggas... National Wrestling Hall of Fame - 1999.         Bio... John 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     John T. Toggas truly found his calling in the wrestling room.         Toggas was a varsity wrestler at 133 pounds in both his junior and senior seasons at York High.     After graduating from York 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 School.  Toggas started the elementary 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 269-78-2 at West York Area High School during two stints as head coach,     from 1964-1983 and from 1986-1992.  His overall Big/WY 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 5 York County Interscholastic Athletic Association league     team titles, YCIAA Coach of the Year honors in 1972 and 1978, and 3 PIAA State Champions.     Toggas also produced 6 Sectional team titles, 83 Sectional Champions, 12 District III Champions,     12 Regional Champions and 18 PIAA tournament qualifiers, including 2 - 3rd place finishers     and 2 silver medalists, in addition to his three PIAA Champions.  One of his main goals with his     wrestlers... was to see them go on to college and secure a degree!  Another milestone was     coaching the 1st PIAA State Wrestling Champion in the history of York, PA - Dana Luckenbaugh,     in 1965 @ 112lbs.  Dana's younger brother, Bill, went on to claim the 1969 PIAA 127lb. title!         John was inducted into the District III 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 in 1993 and     was inducted into the York Area Sports Hall of Fame for Outstanding Sports Achievement in 1995.         John T. 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 (PWCA) 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 PWCA State Hall of Fame and having my two kids... Stephanie & John S. "Moc"     present me with the 1992 PWCA Hall of Fame Award."  More proud?!? - Coach JT's wife Mary Jane!!     His late son, John S. "Moc" Toggas, was the head wrestling coach at Parkland High School.                         note: son - John S. "Moc" Toggas was inducted into the 2010 PWCA Hall of Fame.

1951 - York High Wrestling's - John T. Toggas (133lbs).
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1965 - John T. Toggas with Clarion State Coach Bob Bubb.
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1965 West York Wrestling Dual Meet
▪ Head Coach John T. Toggas with Don Narber, Fred Lehman, Tom DeLong,
Darryl Dennis, Gary Carbaugh, William Wiehe, Jeff Linebaugh and others!
1964-65 West York Wrestling
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∙ 1982 - John T. Toggas (right) with 2-time NCAA Champion &...
outstanding wrestler, Gene "The Machine" Mills (Syracuse University)
at the 82' West York Summer Wrestling College Open.
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1983 West York Wrestling Alumni Reunion
∙ a larger alumni reunion photo page from '83 - CLICK HERE!
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(John T. Toggas Photo from 1973)
For these achievements and more, John T. Toggas...
was honored by the National Wrestling Hall of Fame as a
"Lifetime Service to Wrestling" award winner, Class of 1999.
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WEST YORK VARSITY WRESTLING

1989 - West York Wrestling Coaches John T. Toggas (kneeling)...
w/former Blair/Lehigh University star & nephew, Tom Toggas (center).
▪ WY's Carolyn Tritt is working the video camera on right!
• Tom's Lehigh Wrestling Stats Website - CLICK HERE!
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1950 - York High Football's - John T. Toggas.



1964-65
West York Varsity
Wrestling Team 

'65 YCIAA League Wrestling Champions
Front (L-R) Jeff Linebaugh, Gary Carbaugh, Dana Luckenbaugh,
Smokey Dennis, Burton Snyder, Steve Kunkle, Tom DeLong.
Back (L-R) Coach John T. Toggas, Jack Hershberger, Don Narber,
Fred Lehman, Charles Bostic, Gary Narber, Bill Wiehe.




John S. "Moc" Toggas
PWCA Hall of Fame 2010
Moc's Memory Page



York Sports Hall of Fame

• 1995 - West York Wrestling's John T. Toggas
was inducted into the York Sports Hall of Fame!
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1988 - West York Head Wrestling Coach... John T. Toggas Bio.
▪ John T. Toggas/Mary Jane Toggas Interview