Mr. Birnbaum's dedicated wrestling career includes prep and collegiate competition, high school coaching and officiating. As a Fort Dodge prep, he wrestled varsity his final two seasons and qualified for the State Meet, placing third in 1979 and fourth in 1980. He went on to wrestle and earn his collegiate degree at South Dakota State where he posted a 36-15 dual meet record while earning two varsity letters. He coached 21 years at his alma mater, one year as a volunteer, four as an assistant and 16 as the head coach. He developed 96 state qualifiers and 44 place winners at the Traditional State Meet. Eleven times he had a wrestler in the finals and six won championships for the Dodgers. Nine times his team finished in the Top Ten at the Tournament with a runner-up in 1996 and a third place finish in 1994. He also coached six teams to top four finishes in the State Dual Team Tournament, including runner-up in 1992 and 1993 and third lace performances in 1993 and 1996. The last three seasons he coached, the Dodgers were 26-1 in regular season dual meets and bolstered his career record to 165-79. He also coached the Iowa Cadet Freestyle Team for eight years. During that time he helped to start a freestyle club in Fort Dodge that hosted the youth Freestyle State Tournament. He started officiating in 1982 and since 1992 to the present he has worked at the varsity level. He has supported the following wrestling organizations - Fort Dodge Wrestling Booster Club; the NWF, USA Wrestling and IHSWCA as a member. When needed he lends his expertise to radio color commentary of meet competitions.