Florida School for the Deaf and the Blind

Richard Belcher ‘84 - Athletics

Wrestling (1981-84)

One of the best wrestlers ever in the FSDB history.

• 49 Career Pins (1981-84)
• 1981-1982: 24 wins, 5 losses. 19 pins (new record) 
• 1982-1983: 23 wins, 4 losses. Qualified for the State Tournament
• 1983-1984: 23 wins, 3 losses. 21 pins. Qualified for the State Tournament
• He was named a Deaf All-American Wrestler for three consecutive years from 1981 to 1984.
• His team clinched the inaugural Mason-Dixon Wrestling Tournament championship during the 1982-83 season, with him securing first place as an individual competitor. He repeated this success by winning first place again in the second Mason-Dixon Wrestling Tournament in the 1983-84 season.
• He was named Best Wrestler and received the Leadership Award for two consecutive years from 1981 to 1983.
• For the 1983-84 season, he was named Wrestling Co-MVP alongside Richard Belcher and Tomas De Escobar.
• In 1987, he competed in the AAAD Wrestling Championships held in Moscow, Russia, where he achieved an impressive second place in both Freestyle and Greco-Roman wrestling.

Football

• Named Best Defensive Player (1984)
• Football Honorable Mention (1982-84)

Deaflympics

• He qualified to compete as a wrestler in the Deaflympics twice, in 1985 and 1989.
• During the 1985 Deaflympics tryouts, he won a gold medal; however, the wrestling competitions were canceled due to Russia's boycott of the event in Los Angeles.
• In the 1989 Deaflympics tryouts, he again secured a gold medal in wrestling. Unfortunately, he did not participate in the Deaflympics that year because he was unable to raise the necessary funds to attend.