The New Jersey Chapter of the National Wrestling Hall of Fame, Stillwater, Oklahoma, is preparing to induct 6 new members into its prestigious Hall on Sunday, September 21, at the beautiful Jumping Brook Country Club in Neptune, New Jersey. Lifetime Service to Wrestling Awards will be presented that day in a banquet setting to: Dennis D’Andrea, John Harmon, Joel Melitski, Russ Minuto, and Fred Stueber. Clay McEldowney will be presented with the Outstanding American Award.

Clay McEldowney, a former Princeton University wrestler and graduate, and now retired living in Williamsburg, Virginia, has remained actively involved in the sport through a number of activities that have included: serving as chairman for the “Friends of Princeton Wrestling” which helped re-establish the sport at the university after it had been dropped for a period of time, serving on the NWCA/USA Task Force to protect wrestling interests, as well as the American Sports Council, a Washington based coalition designed in seeking Title IX reform.

Dennis D’Andrea, a former New Jersey high school wrestler, later a head and assistant coach, plied his skills also in the administrative component of the sport through active involvement as a District and Regional Chair, and member of the committee commissioned to develop the existing Power Point system designed to rank high school teams for the Sectional Championships.

Joel Melitski, a former Bloomsburg University wrestler, and Wilkes Tournament Champion, has long been realized as the successful Head Coach and mentor for the Bernards High School wrestling program, now retired. A member of the Somerville High School Hall of Fame where he once wrestled, he later served as President of Region 5, and the NJ State Coaches Association.

Fred Stueber, the longtime Coach at Rahway High School since 1981, had the pleasure of coaching 6 New Jersey State champions, and a host of other regional and district champions. A former President of the Union County Wrestling Coaches Association, he was also very active in promoting, coaching and advancing both International Styles of Wrestling in the area.

Russ Minuto served as an assistant and head wrestling coach at Lenape High School for 21 years amassing a number of league, district, and Burlington County Championship titles. Russ has been inducted into the Rancocas Valley High School, South Jersey Athletic , South Jersey Wrestling Coaches, and the NJSIAA Halls of Fame.
John Harmon, a former Lehigh University graduate, and avid supporter of its wrestling program, may be better known as the founder, and author of the EIWA Newsletter from 1990-2013, having just retired from that position. Recently honored for contributions to wrestling by the Amateur Wrestling News, John was also presented with the 2012 Dellinger Award as “Wrestling Writer of the Year”.

These six inductees will join a celebrated gallery of 13 previously inducted classes of contributors to the sport of wrestling in New Jersey, and beyond. Information about the banquet on September will be forthcoming on this web page, but for the time being, you certainly can reserve Sunday, September 21, at 1 PM, at the Jumping Brook Country Club for the place to be as we honor yet another group of individuals proud to be inducted into the New Jersey Chapter of the National Wrestling Hall of Fame, 2014.