Jerry Sachsel will always be remembered as a prominent teacher, coach and wrestler, as well as quite engaging, passed away last November. He was 87.

Born in Elizabeth, Jerry graduated from Jonathan Dayton High School in Springfield, where he would be elected sophomore and junior class president and as a senior elected Student Council President.

As an athlete he went on to captain the wrestling team and would finish with a career record of 52-1. He won the 106-pound state championship as a junior and senior and in 1956 was awarded the New Jersey Outstanding Wrestler Award after winning the Amateur Athletic Union Tournament.

His academic and wrestling accomplishments led him to the University of Notre Dame, where he lettered three years and became the program’s first representative in the NCAA championships.

He completed his high school and collegiate career never having lost a dual meet, finishing with a record of 60-0-2.

Returning to his alma mater he taught history, as well as coaching soccer, golf and wrestling five years. From there he took a job in the Millburn High School system.

For 38 years as a junior high and high school history teacher, Jerry also coached football, cross-country and of course wrestling. During that time he was an interim principal at Millburn Middle School, Glenwood Elementary and Millburn High. In 1969 he was awarded a Master’s in Constitutional History from Seton Hall.

It would be coaching that he became synonymous with wrestling success.

Starting the Millburn wrestling program in 1965-66 and stretching to the 1980 season, his teams went 155-22-3, winning numerous holiday tournaments, District titles and Suburban Conference championships. Three of his wrestlers won state championships.

Having founded the Chatham wrestling program in 1987, his high school victories in multiple sports totaled more than 1000.

Such success brought him membership in both the Dayton and Millburn Halls of Fame. In 1978 he was voted New Jersey’s Wrestling Coach of the Year, and in 1988 he received the Harry E. Lake award for contributions to the sport. The following year was inducted into the NJSIAA Hall of Fame.

In 2003 Jerry was inducted into the National Wrestling Hall of Fame.

Away from the mat, Jerry was a Garwood Board of Education member five years, a Garwood and Springfield member of the Juvenile Conference Committee for 20 years, and a member of the New Providence Recreation Commission for 18 years. For nearly 20 years also did play-by-play for Suburban Cable TV-3.

In his free time, Jerry also enjoyed playing golf, as well as frequently enjoying casinos in New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Connecticut.

His wife Susan preceded his death. They are survived by three children: Jonathan, Gregory and Richard, as well as five grandchildren.