Richard Post, a retired Pioneer teacher and coach for football, softball, baseball, and wrestling, has died at age 84.
Mr. Post was a 2006 inductee into the Pioneer Athletics Wall of Fame. He was part of the Panthers' athletic program from 1969-1998.
He was a varsity and JV football coach, varsity and JV softball coach, varsity baseball coach and wrestling coach.
It was in wrestling that Mr. Post had his greatest success. He coached teams to 14 consecutive ECIC divisional titles, compiled a record of 184 wins and 10 losses. He had 68 consecutive dual meet victories, a record not eclipsed in Pioneer history until earlier this season.
ABOVE: Coach Post, right, with his 1976 wrestling team.
Mr. Post coached two individual New York State champions, Keith Stearns (1975) and Kyle Grunwald (1976-77). He led his team to state championships in 1974 and 1975. He was voted Western New York Coach of the Year in 1983.
Coach Post was inducted into the Western New York and New York State halls of fame, ECIC Hall of Fame, and the National Wrestling Hall of Fame (1999).
More recently, Mr. Post was on hand for the Panther wrestling program's Generations Night on Jan. 10, 2023, when over 70 alumni wrestlers packed the Pioneer gym.
"We lost an absolute legend," said Christopher Edwards, Panthers wrestling coach from 2008-2023. "Coach Post was not only one of the greatest wrestling coaches in the state of New York, he was an unbelievable role model and mentor to so many people."
Mr. Edwards continued, "He set the bar for what a coach should aspire to be. When people in New York State think of Pioneer wrestling, Coach Post is the first thing that comes to mind.
The Pioneer community is a better place today thanks to all the people that Coach Dick Post impacted."