Welker honored with key, distinguished alumnus

SHAMOKIN, Pa. - A former wrestling rules interpreter for the West Virginia Secondary Schools Athletic Commission has received the key to the city from his hometown.

Dr. Bill Welker of Wheeling received the honor in August from Mayor Mike McLaughlin of Shamokin, Pa., where Aug. 17 was proclaimed Billy Welker Day. The proclamation cites Welker's contributions to education and wrestling.

Welker was a co-founder of the National Wrestling Hall of Fame West Virginia Chapter. He officiated for more than 25 years and was the Virginia clinician, rules interpreter and tournament supervisor for officials from 1989 to 2017 for the athletic commission, based in Parkersburg.

Wrestling USA named him the National Wrestling Sportswriter of the Year by Wrestling USA in 1987 and 2013 and seven times received the West Virginia Snyder-Miller Wrestling Media Award.

On a trip to with Bill Taggart, who wrestled at Wheeling High School and is a retired Marine Corps major, Welker received the Shamokin proclamation then went to his alma mater, Shamokin High School where he received a citation designating him as a Distinguished Alumnus for his lifetime achievements.

"It was quite a day," Welker said. "And it's really something to be remembered and recognized by the place where you grew up."

Welker became reclusive after the death of his wife, Peggy. He went to live with his daughter, Tiffany, where he watched his granddaughters Lilly and Molly succeed in academics and sports. It lifted him from his remorse.

After about 18 months, Welker returned home on Wheeling Island to live with his oldest son, Billy, a former all-state wrestler for Wheeling Park High School.

He has written numerous opinion columns on education and most recently came up with the idea of a competition for kids from fourth to eighth grades involving "corny jokes," of which he is in the midst of patenting.