As a high school wrestling coach for 22 years, a wrestling official for 21 years and 15 years as a member of the Region 5 ranking committee, Joe Forte has for years been a welcomed member of the sport.

Now he is a welcomed member of the New Jersey Chapter of the National Wrestling Hall of Fame, honored for Lifetime Service.

A member of the New Jersey Scholastic Coaches Association Hall of Fame, Forte won more than 200 matches at the high school level, where he coached at Manchester High School, Middlesex and Pingry, totaling more than 200 victories

Wrestling for both Bridgewater-Raritan High School and Trenton State College (now Trenton College of New Jersey), his interest in the sport was a family affair. His brother Bob also wrestled for Trenton State and went into coaching, as did their brother Rocky, who wrestled for Bloomsburg State and is also a member of the New Jersey Chapter of the National Wrestling Hall of Fame.

Along the way Joe also coached a state champion at Middlesex High School (heavyweight Jack Wilson), and at Manchester coached Bruce Baumgartner who went on to be an Olympic champion. Another success story was coaching Mark McLaughlin at Pingry, who would be a high school All-American and a two-time college All-America.

He is now Dr. McLaughlin.

While at Pingry, Forte produced four county champions, three district champions, two regional champions and a state champion.

He is also in the school’s Athletic Hall of Fame.

Forte was involved in more than wrestling, coaching golf teams at Pingry as they accomplished more than par with 400 victories. Pingry would win the first New Jersey Girls Golf Championship.

Joe and his wife Sharon live in Dallastown, Pa. He has a stepson J.R. Wolsey, 43, and his wife Katie, and a stepson

Nicolas Wolsey, who passed away. They also have two grand kids, Milo and Coraline.