Hall of Fame
Sometimes when good things happen to someone, there is a factor involved that ends taking away from the happiness.
This is the case for Kenneth Hackman, a former California wrestler. He is being inducted into the hall of fame as a member of the second class, while at the same time the Vulcan wrestling program is being phased out of existence.
“It is upsetting that I am getting inducted into the hall of fame while wrestling is being cancelled,” Hackman said. “It takes away from it a little bit.”
However, canceling the program came as no surprise to Hackman, though. He said that they were going to do that while he was a member of the team. Hackman also said that a big group of people went to the president to protest the decision, and the school kept the program going.
Hackman made wrestling part of his life since high school, and it still continues to be an integral factor today.
While at Derry Area High School, Hackman wrestled his way into a WPIAL first-place showing and PIAA third place honors. He also played football there for two years.
After graduating from high school in 1984, Hackman went on to wrestle for the University of Pittsburgh before deciding to transfer to Cal.
“I was only down at California for two seasons. I went to Pitt and wrestled for them my first year,” Hackman said. “I transferred to California because I wanted to get into teach ed (technology education) and industrial arts.”
“The teams were similar. Pitt was Division I, and they always had a lot of great kids but never did well,” Hackman continued.
Hackman ended up having to sit out of wrestling for a semester before he could begin at Cal due to eligibility requirements. But because he quit going to Pitt in the first semester of his sophomore year, he only lost that part of eligibility and was still able to wrestle for two-and-a-half years.
Hackman produced some incredible statistics during his career at Cal. He never lost a dual meet and recorded 101 wins and 10 losses overall.
PSAC first-place finishes in 1988 and 1989, a NCAA Division II second place in 1987, NCAA Division II first places in 1988 and 1989 and a NCAA Division I eighth place in 1987 are some of the honors that Hackman has received.
Hackman was also a NCAA I All-American in 1987 and the team MVP from 1987 to 1989. He was the first wrestler to advance to the Division I nationals since Bill DePaoli, the Cal wrestling coach and also a member of the hall of fame, did it in 1980.
Wrestling gave Hackman the chance to meet his wife, Melissa. He said that she was the athletic trainer for the wrestling team while he was in school.
Even with all of these honors and awards, Hackman decided to give up wrestling after graduating from Cal in 1989.
“I had some offers to go to a couple New York athletic clubs and wrestle for them. I just really didn’t intend on doing it,” Hackman explained. “I was pretty happy with the way things were. I was getting married right after school, and I just wanted to work, teach and be married.”
Hackman worked as a counselor at a juvenile facility and coached wrestling for four-and-a-half years before moving on to his job now, teaching computer aided drafter and being the head coach for the wrestling team at Derry.
“I knew I was going to get the job as head coach at Derry eventually because I knew the coach was retiring,” Hackman said. “It was good practice dealing with those kids (the court appointed kids at the juvenile facility), and I learned a lot.”
Derry wrestles at the Triple-A level in Western Pennsylvania, which is the highest for wrestling, and they are ranked among the top in the WPIAL.
Hackman believes that being around the team members daily is good. “It helps when you can see the kids everyday in school. You have somebody there full-time. That is what California needed,” Hackman said.
Hackman said that he really enjoyed wrestling and spending time working out hard with the guys. He said that he is upset that it is over, but that he thought eventually he would get into Cal Hall of Fame.
“I really didn’t know about the hall of fame. I knew that they had it the first year, and I really didn’t put much thought in getting inducted,” Hackman explained. “I figured that I would be in it eventually because I did pretty well. And I was hoping, but I just figured that it would happen eventually.”
Ken Hackman was a 190-pound Vulcan wrestler from 1987 through 1989 and compiled a brilliant 101-10 career record. Hackman concluded his stellar career by winning NCAA Division II national championship in both 1988 and 1989. In 1987 Hackman was the 190-pound NCAA II national runner-up and was also a Division I All-American, finishing eighth nationally. A model of wrestling consistency, Hackman won NCAA Division II regional championships three straight seasons from 1987 through 1989 and was a two-time PSAC champion (1988, 1989). Hackman also won the Thiel Invitational three-straight times and was the 1988 RIT champion and outstanding wrestler. He was also the 1989 RIT 190-pound titlist and outstanding wrestler. Incredibly, Hackman never lost a dual meet in his three-year career at Cal, and was voted the Vulcans' Most Valuable Wrestler three-consecutive years.
Originally from Braden, Pa, and a graduate of Derry High School, Ken is a Technology Education Teacher at Derry Area High School where he is also the school's head wrestling coach. He resides in Latrobe with his wife, Melissa.
