Hall of Fame

GEORGE WORLEY

When you dig up the roots of the Atchison High and ACCHS wrestling programs, you’ll find Coach George Worley.

Coach Worley started the wrestling program at Effingham (ACCHS) in 1965 and was head coach until 1969 when he turned the program over to current hall of fame member, the late Larry Tilton. In 1978, Coach Worley returned to Atchison and started the Redmen wrestling program.

“In Effingham we started wrestling on Army surplus mattresses,” Coach Worley said. “At Atchison we had a good mat but our first uniforms were long underwear and shorts.”

He was at the helm of Atchison’s program until 1995 when he retired as a teacher … but he’s still coaching. Since his retirement, Coach Worley has had some health problems that have taken away from his ability to show new generations of wrestlers how to wrestle, but he can still tell them.

Coach Worley is proud to see the success that both the ACCHS and AHS programs have achieved over the years.

“Both Effingham and Atchison have come a long way,” Coach Worley said. “I’m really proud of the county; we’ve got two great programs.”

While at Effingham, Coach Worley coached two regional championship teams, 40 state qualifiers and five state champions. Before starting the Atchison program, Coach Worley coached from 1969 to 1978 at Northwest Missouri State University. While at NWMSU, Coach Worley guided the program to 110 dual wins while coaching four NCAA Division II All-Americans. While at AHS, Coach Worley coached 19 state qualifiers and seven state runners-up.

“I’m quite proud of the accomplishments of the county,” Coach Worley said. “I didn’t ever (see myself as a hall of fame coach). All I was interested in was getting the programs off the ground.”

As a tribute to his contributions to Atchison High School and the wrestling community of Atchison County, the school’s wrestling invitational tournament is named in honor of Coach Worley.