Dr. Vince Zuaro during his FILA International Hall of Fame induction in Moscow, Russia in September 2010. Photo by Larry Slater

Dr. Vince Zuaro, a Hall of Fame international wrestling referee and a longtime leader within USA Wrestling, passed away on Friday, March 3.

His family has announced that there will be a wake for Vince Zuaro on Monday, March 7 at the Franklin Funeral Home, located at 1201 Franklin Ave., Garden City, NY 11530. The times for the wake are 2:00 p.m. – 4:00 p.m. and 7:00 p.m. – 9:00 p.m.

There will be an internment mass on Tuesday, March 8 at the St. Joseph Roman Catholic Church in Garden City, N.Y., starting at 11:00 a.m. The number for the church is 516-746-6618.

“Vince Zuaro epitomized what a referee should be. He served as a mentor to numerous referees, not just in the United States but also around the world. He raised the level of the sport in our country. He will be sorely missed,” said USA Wrestling Executive Director Rich Bender.

Zuaro officiated in five Olympic Games, 34 World Championships, six Pan American Championships and 30 years of national tournaments in addition to a long career as a collegiate referee. Three times he was presented the FILA Cross/Star, the highest award of international wrestling, as well as the Gold Whistle, for his Olympic and World officiating. 

In 1970, he founded the U.S. Wrestling Officials Association, responsible for educating American referees, and authored the USA Wrestling rule book for 20 years. He was inducted as a Distinguished Member of the U.S. National Wrestling Hall of Fame in 1984.

In September 2010, Zuaro was inducted into the FILA Wrestling Hall of Fame. Zuaro was the first official from the United States to be recognized by the FILA Hall of Fame for his career as a referee.

In addition to officiating, Zuaro was also a wrestling coach, serving over a decade at Freeport High School on Long Island, N.Y., and also at Columbia University. He was a 1948 graduate of Holy Cross, and played on its 1946 Orange Bowl football team.

An official obituary and other information will be posted when available.

National Wrestling Hall of Fame biography
Vince Zuaro
Distinguished Member - Class Of 1984

Because of Vince Zuaro, America knows the rules. Through half a century of Olympic endeavor, USA wrestlers were handicapped by unfamiliarity with the international styles-the techniques, the rules and their interpretations. That so many excelled is a tribute to their talent and dedication. But for every achievement, there also was a shadow of what might have been. Today, America's officials, coaches, and athletes, know the international rules better than some of the people who wrote them, largely because of the U. S. Wrestling Officials Association founded by Zuaro in 1970 and the USA Wrestling rule book which he authored for 20 years. Zuaro himself was a collegiate and international referee of exceptional ability, a model of integrity and fair play. He officiated in four Olympic Games, 34 World Championships, six Pan American Championships and 30 years of national tournaments. Three times he was presented the FILA Cross/Star, highest award of international wrestling, as well as the Gold Whistle, for his Olympic and World officiating. A 1948 graduate of Holy Cross and a member of its 1946 Orange Bowl football team, Zuaro was a successful wrestling coach for 11 years at Freeport High School on Long Island, and for two years at Columbia University, with an over-all record of 132 victories against 63 defeats. But it was as an official, and as an educator of officials, that he gained national and international acclaim. As the nation's foremost clinician on freestyle and Greco-Roman rules and officiating techniques, he trained more than 5,000 referee-judges all across the nation and throughout the U. S. armed forces in Europe. Never again will American athletes enter international competition without knowing what to expect from their opponents, from the referees and from the rules. In recognition of this legacy to wrestling, and of his long years of service to the sport, Dr. Vincent Zuaro is honored as a Distinguished Member of the National Wrestling Hall of Fame.