As a member of the South Jersey Wrestling Hall of Fame, it is no surprise that Michael Cunningham eventually made it into the New Jersey Chapter of the National Wrestling Hall of Fame.

A retired English teacher at Triton Regional High School in Runnemede, he was head wrestling coach there for seven years. He was also an assistant at Eastern Regional High in Voorhees, John F. Kennedy High in Willingboro, and Bristol High School in Pennsylvania. He also coached youth wrestling for several years.

As a wrestler, Cunningham was a District champion at Washington High School (Warren Hills) before attending Wyoming Seminary, where he reached the National Prep School finals as a junior before winning Nationals as a senior.

He went on to wrestle at Bloomsburg University (Bloomsburg State College at the time), where he was 13-0 as a freshman. He was a U.S. Military Academy Plebe Tournament champion, as well as a champion at the Region 1 AAU tournament. A knee injury sophomore year ended his wrestling career.

He graduated from Bloomsburg in 1969.

Cunningham remains involved in the sport. He is an active member of the New Jersey Chapter as a member of the Board of Directors and the selection committee. He continues as a member of the Executive Committee of the South Jersey Wrestling Hall of Fame, serving as the organization’s corresponding secretary as well as being on the selection committee. He had been Chairman of the organization five years.

From 2013-2018 he served as an evaluator of officials to advance the quest to enhance officiating in the state.

In addition to his wrestling involvement, Cunningham shared his coaching skills from years of experience by also coaching swimming, track and field, and golf.

Cunningham and his wife Joan live in Atco in Camden County. They have four sons: Andrew, Sean, Ryan and Thomas. All wrestled in high school, three in college. One is now an official, another is a middle school head coach.