News & Events

Vince Tamura Inducted 1994 Vince Tamura was born in Fife, Washington, one of eleven children. It was there in a Japanese-American community, that he first became interested in Judo. At the age of five, Vince stepped on Judo mat for the first time....

James Bregman Inducted 1993 James Steven (“Jim”) Bregman (born November 17, 1941, in Arlington, Virginia) was a member of the first American team to compete in judo in the Summer Olympics. Jim Bregman started his judo career when only 12 but he...

Joey Wanag Inducted 2010 As a 1992 Olympian, he won a Silver Medal at the 1991 World Champion and Gold Medals at the 1990 World University Games and the 1991 Pan-Am Games. Joseph Paul Wanag (born August 2, 1966) is an American judoka. He trained...

Henry Stone Inducted 1993 The governance of U.S. Judo started in 1952, through the efforts of Dr. Henry A. Stone, Major Donn Draeger (USMC), and others. At that time there was no national authority to give guidance to local judo communities and...

Marge Castro Inducted 1993 Margaret “Margie” Castro (born August 22, 1959), also known as Margaret Castro-Gomez, is a former Olympic-level female judo athlete for the United States from Manhattan, New York. Castro is rather tall at 6 feet 2 inches...

Donn Draeger Class of 1994 Donn Draeger Draeger reportedly began his involvement in the martial arts while living in the Chicago area, at around the age of 7 or 8. His first training was in jujutsu, but he soon changed to judo and by age 10, he...