By ROBIN FAMBROUGH
[email protected]
Advocate sportswriter
When Bill Bofinger attended Lee High in the 1960s, wrestling wasn’t a varsity sport.
Bofinger went on to play football at LSU, earning two varsity letters and playing in both a Sugar Bowl and a Cotton Bowl.
Wrestling was part of LSU’s offseason football conditioning that Bofinger really liked. When Bofinger graduated and returned to Lee High to teach, wrestling became an important part of his life.
Now, 36 years after he started the Lee High wrestling program, Bofinger will receive a prestigious national honor.
Bofinger and former Grace King-New Orleans coach Sam Sara III will be inducted into the Louisiana Chapter of the National Wrestling Hall of Fame for their lifetime service to the sport.
The induction banquet will be held at 7 p.m. Wednesday at Metairie’s Best Western Landmark Hotel.
“Wrestling was something we did in the offseason at LSU and I always enjoyed it, “Bofinger said. “I had a teammate at LSU who told me if I started a team at Lee High he would help me coach it.
“But he (LSU teammate) wound up being a graduate assistant at LSU and he couldn’t help. So I started the team and learned as the year went along.
“Did I think I’d coach this long? No, but it was and still is something I really like. So, I’ve stayed with it.”
Bofinger and Sara become only the second and third Louisiana coaches honored by the Louisiana chapter, joining former Jesuit-New Orleans coach Surachai “Sam “Harnsongkram.
“This is a big honor, “Bofinger said. “You don’t ever plan for something like this. The recognition is nice.”
Colleagues applaud the honor, noting that Bofinger’s career is one of both wrestling method and substance.
“I think anybody who wrestles or has wrestled and those of us who coach owe a debt of gratitude to coach Bofinger, “former Redemptorist coach Guy Mistretta said. “Especially, those of us here in Baton Rouge. He’s the person who put wrestling on the map for us.
“To me, he’s the Godfather of the sport. Wrestling would not be where it is today without the contributions coach Bofinger has made.”
Louisiana High School Athletic Association Commissioner Tommy Henry adds, “This is an honor that is well deserved.
“Wrestling in Louisiana is as good as there is in the southeast. Coach Bofinger is one of the reasons wrestling is the quality sport that it is in Louisiana.”
Bofinger’s tenure at Lee includes 16 top 10 finishes at LHSAA state meets, including a second-place finish in 1976 and a third-place finish in 2000. Bofinger’s Rebels have won 10 City Meet titles.
Bofinger has produced 19 individual state champions and 22 runner-up finishers.
From 1969 to 1998 the Rebels compiled a dual meet record of 192-96-2. In 1973, Bofinger started the Lee High Invitational, which is one of the most prestigious tournaments in Louisiana.
Bofinger’s contributions extend beyond wins, losses and championships.
Bofinger formed the Baton Rouge Area Wrestling Coaches Association and the Louisiana Wrestling Coaches Association. He was instrumental in starting the All-Star/All-Metro team selections.
Along the way, Bofinger has been a valuable historian, compiling “Ready “¦ Wrestle, “a history of state tournaments in Louisiana from 1945 to the present.
Another colleague, Catholic High coach Tommy Prochaska, said he often uses advice Bofinger has given him.
“Coach Bofinger told me that when you host a tournament you should always start that first match on time “¦ no matter what, “Prochaska said. “You can make adjustments. I’ve always remembered that.
“I’m glad my kids have had a chance to wrestle against his team and I’m glad I’ve had the chance to coach against him.”
Although the National Hall of Fame award amounts to a lifetime achievement award, Bofinger says he is not yet done with wrestling.
“I feel like I have some years left, “Bofinger said. “As long as I enjoy it and can contribute, I’ll be around.”
Wrestling Gear
OK – with “Robin” I can’t guess gender, so please forgive me for that! I do a Website called the Louisiana High School Wrestling Archives, and I also do the Lee High Website. Hence, my respect for Coach Bofinger is immense. But I also do a site for the Brother Melchior Society, which is dedicated to the memory of the man who started wrestling in Louisiana, and which wants to honor those who exemplify Brother Melchior’s characteristics, of which Coach Bofinger certainly does.
I just wanted to ask for your permission to post your article on the Brother Melchior site. If you accede, you will certainly get credit for it, and perhaps will start getting other prominent wresting names bios on there.
Thanks much!
Martin Muller