Ken Kraft, a Distinguished Member inducted into the National Wrestling Hall of Fame in 1997 and a longtime leader with USA Wrestling, passed away on Tuesday.

Kraft received the Hall of Fame’s Order of Merit award in 1995 and received the Lifetime Service to Wrestling award from the Illinois Chapter of the National Wrestling Hall of Fame in 2011.

“We are saddened to hear of the loss of one of wrestling’s great ambassadors, Ken Kraft, who was honored twice by the National Wrestling Hall of Fame for his transcendent work on behalf of wrestling,” said Lee Roy Smith, Executive Director, National Wrestling Hall of Fame. “On behalf of the National Wrestling Hall of Fame Board of Governors and staff, we extend our most sincere sympathies to his widow, Marjo, his family and friends.

“Ken shared his gifts with wrestlers of all ages and advanced our sport as a coach, administrator, broadcaster, and event promoter,” he added. “His advocacy helped grow public awareness of the values and benefits of wrestling, not only in the greater Chicago area, but throughout our nation and across the globe.”

Kraft built Northwestern University wrestling into a viable national program and kept the Wildcats among the elite throughout his 22 years at the helm. He became head coach at Northwestern in 1957, at the age of 22, after a Wildcat wrestling career that included a Big Ten title and his school's Medal of Honor. He remained active as an administrator at Northwestern for many years.

In 1960, he coached his brother Art to the NCAA championship, a feat unmatched for 34 years. Art Kraft went on to become one of the nation's outstanding junior college coaches. Ken produced another national champion in Mark Massery and coached 11 conference champs and 14 All-Americans.

One of his greatest contributions to wrestling was the founding of the Midlands Championships in 1963. Exasperated with the long drive to Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, to compete in the only Christmas wrestling tournament, Kraft and a few close associates established the Midlands. The king of the open tournaments, the Midlands brings the very best amateur wrestlers to Illinois each year between Christmas and New Year’s. Over more than five decades, it has attracted almost every noteworthy American wrestler and is now the Ken Kraft Midlands Championships.

Kraft served on the organizing committee of United States Wrestling Federation, which became USA Wrestling. He served on its board of directors from 1965 to 1980, including two terms as president. In 1976, he presided over the dedication of the National Wrestling Hall of Fame and was USA Wrestling Man of the Year. Kraft also helped found the Mayor Daley Youth Foundation wrestling program, now the Wildcat Wrestling Club.

In 1970, he directed the NCAA Championships at Northwestern. He was USA team leader to the 1971 World Championships.

Kraft was the color commentator for wrestling at the 1972 and 1976 Olympics and spent many years as a wrestling commentator for ABC’s Wide World of Sports, ESPN, Sports Channel and Fox Sports.

He was instrumental in forming the Illinois Chapter of the National Wrestling Hall of Fame and served as a member of its board for several years.