William J. “Bill” Nelson, who was inducted as a Distinguished Member in 1980, passed away on Saturday, at the age of 90 years old.

A memorial service will be held on Friday, Sept. 29 at 11 a.m. at the Christ Church United Methodist on Craycroft in Tucson, Arizona. The funeral will be on Monday, Oct. 2 at 11 a.m. at the United Methodist Church, 421 West Broadway Street in his hometown of Eagle Grove, Iowa. Cards can be sent to the family at 10334 W Willowbrook, Sun City, AZ 85373.

“On behalf of our Board of Governors and the National Wrestling Hall of Fame, we extend our sincere sympathies to Bill’s wife, Violet, and his family, friends, former wrestlers and students,” said Executive Director Lee Roy Smith. “Bill was a trailblazing hero to those who watched him compete at Iowa Teachers College and in freestyle. He was equally admired for trying to grow the sport throughout the United States as a high school and college coach.

“It was Bill who brought the NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships to Tucson, Arizona, in 1976, and he helped the Hall of Fame start its State Chapter program in Iowa in 1995,” said Smith. “He was an advocate for wrestling throughout his life and never stopped trying to provide opportunities for future generations.”

In the golden era of wrestling at Iowa State Teacher's College, now the University of Northern Iowa, Bill Nelson played a major role as the Panthers scaled the heights of national prominence.

Three times he won the NCAA Division I championship, and in 1947 became one of the very few ever to win it as a freshman. An untimely injury during the 1948 tournament thwarted his bid to become the NCAA's first four-time champion. At the close of that sophomore season, he earned a place on the 1948 U.S. Olympic team, but an injury in his final qualifying bout in London knocked him out of the Games.

Nelson returned to the NCAA's king row in 1949 and 1950, leading the Iowa Teachers to the team championship as a senior. He won national AAU freestyle titles the same two years, and his Panthers captured team honors at both tournaments. In 1950, he was selected by a national magazine as the country's outstanding amateur wrestler.

He was a state high school champion at Eagle Grove, Iowa, and when he launched his coaching career, he returned to the high school ranks, coaching in Brighton, Colorado, Osage, Iowa and Kalamazoo, Michigan between 1957 and 1963. In 1963, he became coach at the University of Arizona, where he emerged as one of the most widely respected figures in collegiate wrestling until his retirement in 1981.

Nelson coached six All-Americans at Arizona, and led the Wildcats to seven Top 20 finishes at the NCAA Division I Championships. He brought the NCAA Division I Championships to Tucson, Arizona, in 1976, the only time the national tournament was held in the Southwest. He created the Arizona Invitational Wrestling tournament, which became the largest preseason tournament in the country.

He was president of the National Wrestling Coaches Association in 1975-76 and served on its executive committee for 12 years. He founded the Iowa Chapter of the National Wrestling Hall of Fame in 1995, and he was inducted into the Glen Brand Wrestling Hall of Fame of Iowa in 2003. He is also a member of the state halls of fame in Iowa, Michigan and Arizona as well as the Helms Foundation Amateur Hall of Fame and the Des Moines Register Sports Hall of Fame.