Joe Campo has always been Jose Campo's measuring stick. If Jose, the former head wrestling coach at Mt. Carmel High, could even come close to matching the accomplishments of his father, he'd be a happy man.
Tomorrow night, he should be all smiles.
Campo, along with seven other coaches and officials with long-standing ties to San Diego wrestling, will be inducted into the California chapter of the National Wrestling Hall of Fame.
Campo's father is a member of the Hall of Fame's New York chapter and is considered one of the greatest high school coaches in that state.
“I think we are one of the first father-son combinations,” said Campo, who still assists at Mt. Carmel. “It's hard because I always compare myself to my dad. I hold him in such high regard that it's hard to accept the fact and think that you are worthy. It's humbling to think you measure up.”
The inductees also receive a Lifetime Service to Wrestling Award that each state gives annually to coaches for their commitment to helping the sport grow in their communities.
In addition to Campo, the 2006 honorees are:
John Shindle (deceased), former coach at the San Diego Naval Training Center.
John Thompson, coach at Patrick Henry High.
John Talbott, coach at Mira Mesa High.
Tim Tyler, coach at Hilltop High.
Buddy J. Wilkerson, established San Diego Junior Wrestling Association.
Joseph Speed Mount (deceased), longtime official and youth coach.
Alfred S. Walker, coached at Lincoln High and Mesa College.
“This is an outstanding group of inductees,” said Dan Dierdorff, chairman of the California chapter and an inductee himself. “Each one has done different things that have made them more than deserving.”
The name of each inductee will go on a plaque at the national Hall of Fame in Stillwater, Okla.
Tomorrow's ceremony at the MCRD Officers Club will mark the first time the event has been held in San Diego since 1999.
“You ask yourself, is it real?” said Tyler. “This is quite a deal to be in there for the national level. Nobody ever thinks of these things when you get into it 30 years ago. I don't know what to say. I never thought something like this would happen to me.”
Tyler will enter the Hall with Walker, his former coach at Mesa College in the early '70s.
“To be able to be there and sit next to him and go in at the same time, it is so humbling,” Tyler said. “He's a great coach and it means a lot to be part of that same class.”
Kevin Gemmell: (619) 718-5304; kevin.gemmell@uniontrib.com
