Induction Graduation Sport

2014 1965 Wrestling

Born October 7, 1947 in Cuba, New York. Lived in Friendship, New York until 1957 when his father accepted a job that required a move to North Canton, Ohio. Prior to entering high school, he participated in Little League Baseball and Midget Football. His first organized school sporting activity was 8th grade football. One of his 8th grade teachers was Paul McDonald who told Butch that he wanted him for his high school wrestling team.

From freshman tear, Butch participated in football, wrestling, and baseball as the sports of his choice. He entered into College Prep classes and worked hard in sports and academic efforts. Sports Activity: Football- 4 years, 2 Varsity letters, All County 1965; Wrestling- 4 years, 3 Varsity letters, State Heavyweight Champion 1965, Charter Enshrinee in the Stark County High School Wrestling Hall of Fame 1965; Baseball- 4 years, 3 Varsity letters, 19-0 pitching record.

Following the 1965 wrestling season, he was approached by Lehigh University and asked to visit the campus and discuss their academic and wrestling programs. During his visit to the campus he learned that their wrestling team had finished 3rd in the country and that their Engineering school was very highly ranked. Those facts and the campus itself sold him on Lehigh and he chose to attend. They did not offer athletic scholarships at that time and he accepted a Grant to attend.

He chose Mechanical Engineering academically and wrestling as his major pursuits at Lehigh. He also played baseball his freshman year. He wrestled all 4 years at Lehigh achieving 3 varsity letters. Best finishes were 3rd in the East and top 16 in the country. He received a degree in Mechanical Engineering from Lehigh in 1969 and accepted a position with the Timken Company as a Sales Engineer. His first assignment was to the Philadelphia, Pa. office as a Sales Engineer. He was promoted to District Manager in Philadelphia prior to being promoted to National Sales Manager in 1993, which brought him back to Canton. He held subsequent positions of Global Manager - Sales and Marketing, Global Manager - Continuous Improvement and Global Manager - Continuous Improvement and Quality, the position he held at the time of his retirement in late 2003 after nearly 35 years of service. He retired from the Timken Company in late 2003.