For more information, contact:
The St. Louis Sports Commission
314-992-0684
ncohan@stlouissports.org

                ST. LOUIS – March 13, 2008 – The National Wrestling Hall of Fame & Museum will honor the contributions made by African Americans to the sport of wrestling in a special recognition ceremony on Thursday, March 20 at the 2008 NCAA Wrestling Championships Fan Fest at Union Station. 

Free to the public, the event will begin at 5 p.m. with the official recognition of the greats in attendance.  A Q&A forum with former NCAA All-Americans­ Bobby Douglas (Oklahoma State), Lloyd Keaser (Navy), Lee Kemp (Wisconsin), Kenny Monday (Oklahoma State), and Simon Roberts (Iowa) will follow.  Roberts became the first African American NCAA wrestling champion 50 years ago.  The event will conclude with an autograph session.

A special traveling exhibit, entitled “50 Years of African American Wrestling Excellence,” will be on site at the Fan Fest throughout the Championships (March 20-22).  The exhibit features a timeline of African American wrestling firsts and a list of African American NCAA champions, Olympians, and Hall of Famers.

The National Wrestling Hall of Fame & Museum will hold a champions reunion and social prior to the recognition ceremony at 3:30 p.m.  Tickets for the reunion and social, which is open to the public, are $35 and can be purchased by calling Krista at 405/377-5243.

The St. Louis Sports Commission is the privately funded nonprofit organization that benefits St. Louis through sports.
Its mission is to make the St. Louis region a better place to live, visit, work and play through sports.