Bob Hartman (2016) - Hall of Fame - Columbia University Athletics

Bob Hartman

Induction:
2016
Class:
1952

Robert 'Bob' Hartman was Columbia University's first All- American wrestler and would go on to become one of the most respected collegiate coaches of all time.

As a teenager, Bob attended Wyoming Seminary Preparatory School in Kingston, PA. In 1948, Bob's senior year, he was captain of the wrestling team and won the National Prep School Wrestling Championship at 128 pounds.

Under the tutelage of Coach Dick Waite, Bob Hartman garnered an impressive record of 28-0-1 in his three years of wrestling at Columbia, including a run of 23 consecutive victories. In 1951, he finished as the runner-up in the Eastern Intercollegiate Championships at 137 and went on to take fourth at the NCAA Championships that same year.

Coach Dick Waite once stated, “Men like Hartman can't really be replaced, because you find them only once in a great while.”

Bob Hartman received a Bachelor's and Master's Degree at Columbia University and returned as a freshman wrestling coach to his alma mater. Soon after, he departed to serve in the United States Army from 1955-1957 in Korea, where he coached the Far East Army wrestling team.

From 1957-78, Bob was a professor of physical education and the wrestling coach at SUNY Farmingdale. He played a crucial role in the inception of NJCAA National Wrestling championships, which began in 1966, before coaching the national championship team of 1972. Bob was twice voted the NJCAA Wrestling Coach of the Year by his peers in 1969 and 1972. His service and work was honored in 1979, when he was inducted into the NJCAA Wrestling Hall of Fame.

In 1973, Hartman was the pick to coach the U.S. Greco-Roman wrestling team at the World University Games in Moscow. He was also the wrestling team leader in the junior Pan-American Games in Caracas, Venezuela in 1978.

Hartman passed away on March 15, 2016 but his contributions to wrestling and memories live on forever.