Ernst to enter WNY wrestling hall, will accept award for former coach
by PATRICK J. NAGY Reporter

Bert Ernst

Bert Ernst will soon be joining a select group of wrestlers and coaches in the Western New York Wrestling Coaches Association Hall of Fame.

The former Williamsville resident and current assistant wrestling coach at Williamsville East will be honored for his great career on the mat at Williamsville Central and the University at Buffalo as part of the WNYWCA Luncheon of Champions at noon on Sunday, March 16 at Illio DiPaolo's Restaurant, 3785 South Park Avenue, Blasdell.

Ernst said Niagara County Community College coach Eric Knuutila, informed him that he was going to be inducted.

"He tapped me on my shoulder at the Akron Holiday Tournament on Dec. 27 and he said 'congratulations' and I said, 'for what?' and he said I was voted into the Hall of Fame," said Ernst.

Ernst had an unbelievable high school and collegiate career. He went 78-3 in four years at Williamsville Central Schools. He was a time-two Section VI champion, going 18-0 at 177 pounds in 1959 and 19-0 at 181 in 1960. He allowed only two points in his entire junior year and was not scored upon in his senior year. He also recorded 18 pins in his senior season.

Other accolades his senior year were New York State YMCA champion at 190 pounds and champion at the Tyrone, Pa. Invitational and Gettysburg, Pa. Invitational.

After transferring to UB from the University of Illinois, Ernst went 44-4 from his sophomore through senior year. In his junior year in 1964, he took fourth at the heavyweight division at the Intercollegiate Interstate Individual Invitational and as a senior in 1965, capped off a 15-0 season with a first place in the 4-I's at 191 pounds. Ernst is one of four UB wrestlers to have won the invitational. Two of the four grapplers Billy Minor and Bob Jackson, Ernst wrestled with at UB.

The ceremony will also mean a little extra for Ernst as he will be accepting the induction award for his former high school coach, James C. Endres. Endres started the wrestling program at Williamsville in the 1952-53 season with 17 wrestlers and coached the team through the 1962 season, where over 100 boys tried out for the team.

In Enders' tenure, Williamsville won seven league titles and five Section VI championships. His teams also participated in AAU tournaments, winning two titles. His wrestlers posted a record of 117-28 with many of the losses occurring in the early years of the program. Enders currently lives in Florida.

"I loved the guy," said Ernst. "He's been the best male role model I've had in my life."

Ernst told the story of how Endres taught him "the greatest lesson he's ever learned in his life."

"I was undefeated as a sophomore and ranked very high," said Ernst. "We were wrestling West Seneca and I weighed in at 157. Coach Endres told me I was wrestling at 167 against Ed Anna, who was a senior, a two-time section champ, undefeated and a stud. I lost and I was the only person who lost. So I sat at the back of the bus all the way from West Seneca and I did not want to get off the bus. When I got off the bus, Enders was standing at the bottom of the steps with his pipe. I can still smell the tobacco, and he looked at me and said, 'Nobody leaves me without knowing how to lose.'"

It was the same type of thinking that enabled Ernst to handle the death of one of his sons, Brant, in 1983 from leukemia.

"When my son died I could have folded the tent but the lessons I learned from him kept me going," said Ernst.

Enders was also the reason why Ernst got into teaching (34-year teaching career, retired in 1999) and coaching wrestling (224-94-1 record between Buffalo State College, Williamsville North, Cheektowaga and Kenmore East). He also coached JV high school football.

"The kids respect him," said East wrestling coach Henry Fumerelle. "He brings a wealth of knowledge to the sport. His techniques are terrific. Going into the Hall of Fame is well deserved."

Ernst also attributes his success in wrestling to having good workout partners, most notably Williamsville graduate Gary Butt, who went 148-0-1 in high school. Butt was inducted into the WNYWCA in 2005.