Bob Billberg, All-American wrestler, LHS coach
• The following is part of an ongoing series of articles in celebration of Libertyville High School's 100th anniversary.
Bob Billberg was a 1962 Waukegan High School graduate, an All-American wrestler, and a 15-year head wrestling coach at Libertyville High School.
Billberg was a three-sport athlete at Waukegan, competing in football, wrestling and track. He earned state success in wrestling, as he won the 1962 State Championship at 285 pounds.
Billberg earned a wrestling scholarship to compete at Moorhead State University in Minnesota. As a sophomore, he won the NAIA National title. Earning a spot in the NCAA Division 1 National Tournament, Billberg reached the quarterfinals, where he was to meet Jim Nance of Syracuse.
Nance would become an NFL All-Pro running back for the Boston Patriots of the AFL. Nance had not lost a wrestling match throughout high school and college, being the defending NCAA Champion.
A late penalty point gave Billberg a 2-1 win. He would reach the finals and take second. He matched his NAIA title/NCAA runner-up performance his senior year in 1966. Nance would again win the NCAA title in 1965, making Billberg the only wrestler to defeat Nance in high school and college.
Billberg finished his teaching degree at Southern Illinois University-Carbondale. He would continue his post graduate wrestling career at SIU-C, placing several times in the National Freestyle Tournament and the Midlands.
After a year of teaching at Deerfield, he began teaching and coaching at Libertyville.
In his first year, his team won the 1973 Conference title, LHS's first varsity wrestling title in the program's 17 years. His 1974 team repeated as Conference Champions and placed ninth in the state. His 1976 team placed fourth in the state behind state champion Greg Gulsvig and his third-place brother, Phil.
He finished his 15-year coaching career following the 1987 season. His final coaching record was 182-82, with four conference titles, five regional titles. His 1986 team won the dual team sectional to qualify for the state tournament.
At LHS, Billberg was a physical education teacher. In addition to coaching wrestling, he also coached football and the weights in track. While teaching at LHS, Billberg got a physical education master's degree from Ball State University, with an emphasis in athletic training.
For several years, before LHS hired a full-time trainer, Billberg was the one everyone went to with athletic training and taping concerns.
Billberg retired from teaching after the 1994 school year. He was very active in fishing, particularly with his friend Ross Shellenberger on Ross's charter fishing boat on Lake Michigan.
Billberg was inducted into several Halls of Fame: the Illinois Wrestling Hall of Fame inducted Billberg in 1987, the Moorhead State Hall of Fame in 1999, and the Waukegan Hall of Fame in 2000.
His 1964 Moorhead State Wrestling Team got inducted into their university's Hall of Fame in 2004, a ceremony Billberg attended. Tragically, he died in a car accident on his way back home from this ceremony. He was 60.