Bob Armstrong

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During his ten-year wrestling career, Bob lost only one dual meet, by a score of 4-3 as a junior at Kingston High School. As a senior, he won the state championship at 133 lbs. and began what was to become a string of 7 consecutive undefeated & untied seasons. In 1943, he was voted Outstanding Wrestler at the YMCA Open Wrestling Tournament, which is now known as the Wilkes Open. Bob started wrestling at King’s College in 1946 as student-coach and captain. Although weighing only 140 lbs., Bob wrestled in the 145, 165, 175 and unlimited weight classes. Three times he wrestled in 2 different weight classes in the same meet. At Cornell University in 1949, Bob beat their undefeated captain at 145 lbs., then wrestled again, beating their undefeated 215 lb. contender in the unlimited weight class. A later ruling change prohibited wrestling more than once. He finished his career with a string of 56 consecutive wins. In 1950, he was named co-captain of the All-American Honorable-Mention Wrestling Team. This honor made him the fourth-ranked wrestler in the nation in his weight class. Bob and his Kingston teammate, John McNelis, started wrestling in the Maryland public schools. Bob also helped start wrestling in Bucks County, PA as a coach at Pennsbury High. His team won the Buck’s County championship in 1955. In the County Tournament, 7 members of his team won championships, out of a possible eleven. At King’s, he played 3 years as a starter on the football team, serving as co-captain his junior year. A knee injury forced him to forego football his senior year to allow his knee to heal for his final wrestling season. Bob was an 8-letter man at Kingston in football, wrestling and track. At King’s, he earned 7 letters. A fitness enthusiast, Bob – on his 50th birthday – established a sit-up record at Jack LaLanne’s Gym in Wayne, NJ, doing 3,500 consecutive sit-ups from, a modestly elevated sit-up board. The following day, he ran 510 consecutive laps on the gyms indoor track, a distance of 17 miles. Bob and his wife Betty reside in Hackettstown, NJ.