William Welker

William A. (Bill) Welker, EdD, boasts over 55 years of experience as a successful wrestler, coach, and official. He is a former Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association (PIAA) state champion and PIAA state runner-up. Welker also competed at the collegiate level for the University of Pittsburgh.

As head sophomore coach at Wheeling Park High School (West Virginia), he was instrumental in producing three AAA state championship teams. For his efforts as a high school coach, Welker was selected as one of the top wrestling coaches in the country by Scholastic Wrestling News. He has coached wrestling at the youth, middle school, and high school levels for three decades.

In 2005, Welker retired after 25 years as a wrestling referee. During his officiating tenure, he has been named the West Virginia Official of the Year (1990), the National Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS) Mideast Section Distinguished Official of the Year (2001), and the National Official of the Year by Wrestling USA magazine (2002).

Since 1989, Welker has been the West Virginia state clinician, rules interpreter, and state tournament supervisor of officials. He is currently serving on the NFHS national wrestling rules committee.

Welker has written over 600 articles on the art and science of wrestling since 1974. He was named the National Sportswriter of the Year by Wrestling USA magazine in 1987, and he has received the West Virginia Snyder-Miller Media Award an unprecedented seven times by the state coaches’ association. He is the author of the bestselling Wrestling Drill Book-2nd Edition (Human Kinetics, 2013) and his autobiography, The Sparrow's Spirit: A Champion Wrestler’s Lifetime Reflections on Prayer and Perseverance (RoseDog Books, 2016). He also wrote the script and produced the DVD titled The Pancake Takedown Series (Fanella Media, 2008).

Welker has been inducted into four wrestling halls of fame, including the West Virginia chapter of the National Wrestling Hall of Fame and the Pennsylvania Wrestling Hall of Fame. He also received the prestigious Master of Wrestling Award from Wrestling USA magazine (2008).

Welker earned both his bachelor’s and master’s degrees from the University of Pittsburgh. He later acquired a doctorate in the field of education from West Virginia University. Upon his retirement from his 40-year teaching career in 2009, Welker was named Teacher of the Year by the Wheeling Area Chamber of Commerce. He was also inducted into West Virginia University’s prestigious Jasper N. Deahl Honors Society for his contributions to education.

Welker and his wife, Peggy, have four children and 13 grandchildren. They reside on Wheeling Island in Wheeling, West Virginia.