Bobby Walton to receive Lifetime Achievement for Officials award from Wrestling Hall of Fame
1/12/2005
Gary Abbott/USA Wrestling
Bobby Walton of Oklahoma, one of the nation’s most respected wrestling referees, has been named winner of the Lifetime Achievement for Officials award from the National Wrestling Hall of Fame.
This award recognizes outstanding service as a wrestling or pairing official or judge. Inductees are honored in the Vince Zuaro Officials Room at the National Wrestling Hall of Fame.
He will receive this prestigious honor, along with other award winners, at the Honors Weekend at the National Wrestling Hall of Fame and Museum in Stillwater, Okla., June 3-4.
Walton received his national reputation and achievements both as a scholastic/collegiate referee, as well as a referee within international wrestling.
In the collegiate style, Walton worked many of the most important events of the season, including the Big 8 Wrestling Championships, the Oklahoma Open, the Great Plains Open, the St. Louis Open and the Sunshine Open. Among his awards for his “folkstyle” officiating was the OIWOA Mat Official of the Year and the 1997 Outstanding Official of the Year.
Walton was active as an international wrestling official for many years, serving as a FILA referee from 1981-1997. He worked numerous major freestyle and Greco-Roman competitions, including the Sunkist Kids International, the Canada Cup and the Trofeo Milone Tournament in Italy.
Among his other major U.S. international-style events that he officiated were five U.S. Olympic Team Trials, plus the ASICS Junior/Cadet Nationals, the U.S. Senior Nationals and the Armed Forces Championships. He was also the head official for Oklahoma’s international-style programs from 1980-1994.
Walton was active with both USA Wrestling and the Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) during his career, serving on the Board of Directors of both organizations. Walton coached the 1978 AAU Junior Olympic Team. He was named Oklahoma AAU Association Volunteer of the Year in 1988.
Among his other awards was the Certificate of Appreciation for the Department of Health and Human Services in recognition of 15 years of dedicated volunteer service to the youth of Region VI in Dallas, Texas.
Wrestling was a family activity for the Waltons, as his wife and his children were involved in the sport for many years.
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