Dick Becker, a longtime supporter of Kansas Wrestling and father of 1994 Buhler state champion Jon Becker, died on Monday, January 2.
Dick was actively involved in the state wrestling association, where he served for several years on the USA Wrestling-Kansas corporate board and on the Kids' Executive Council, and also served as tournament director for the Southern Plains Junior Regional Championships as it was held for several years at the Hutchinson Sports Arena.
At the local level, along with Mike Allender, Dick was primarily responsible for convincing the Buhler school board to add wrestling at Buhler High School in 1989. At the time, Buhler was the only 5A school in the state without a wrestling program. He also started and ran the Team Lightning Freestyle Wrestling Team, and was a great support to me when I started the Team Lightning Folkstyle Club in 1994.
On a personal level, Dick was the person who kept pushing me to get involved in wrestling. He encouraged me to assume management of the Hutchinson Wrestling Club in 1989, then blindsided me when he nominated me to succeed Steve Herman as District II Director. If Dick wouldn't have been there pushing me in the beginning, I would likely have not become nearly as involved as I have.
Dick was a genuinely good guy and a great fan of wrestling. He will be deeply missed.