David Ironman

David Ironman died on 27 October 2026, aged 67. His death was reported by SILive.com. No cause of death was made public. Visitation was arranged at Colonial Funeral Home, 2819 Hylan Boulevard, Staten Island, from 4 pm to 8 pm on Thursday 29 October and from 11 am to 1 pm on Friday 30 October 2026.

David G. Ironman was born on 25 July 1959. As a boy he knew wrestling mainly through television stars such as Bruno Sammartino, but after his family moved to Long Island, living in Brentwood and then North Babylon, it became the family sport. His older brothers Paul and Terry would come home from practice and use him to try out their new moves, and he became a keen student of the sport to hold his own.

He wrestled from elementary school through North Babylon High School, where he was coached by Rick Lassen, a long-serving figure in New York wrestling. He continued in Florida at Broward College, qualifying twice for the junior college nationals, and then at Florida International University, where a car accident ended his competitive career.

Ironman's first coaching job was as an assistant at Broward College, which ended when Florida colleges dropped wrestling. After settling on Staten Island he met John Gallucci, then a Monsignor Farrell wrestler and later its head coach, who invited him to help with the team in 1983. He remained with the Farrell programme for decades as coach, tournament director and director of wrestling. He also coached for several years at Cardinal Gibbons High School in Fort Lauderdale, commuting between New York and Florida.

He trained as an attorney and was entrusted with incorporating New York State USA Wrestling and drafting the rules and regulations it needed. He founded its New York City section, Section 12, and with Sonny Greenhalgh, Paul Kieblesz, Umberto Fasolino, Larry Cantor and others built up middle school and high school wrestling in the city through tournaments, Empire State teams and coaching at the Big Apple Games. He also ran scholastic and collegiate events and campaigned for greater recognition of New York City high school wrestling.

He founded the Monsignor Farrell Invitational, which brought wrestlers from New York City, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Florida and across New York State. It was renamed the Dave Ironman Invitational in 2005, and 2015 marked its 30th anniversary.

Ironman lived on Staten Island and was known in the wrestling community for his humility and his behind-the-scenes work, from encouraging novices to stay with the sport to organising events. Monsignor Emmet Nevin, a former coach and moderator of the Farrell programme, said that although Ironman did not graduate from Farrell, he lived up to the school's motto, Vir Fidelis, the faithful man, more than most. His brothers Paul and Terry were also wrestlers.

Ironman was inducted into the National Wrestling Hall of Fame by its Downstate New York chapter on 24 April 2015 at the Melville Marriott on Long Island, with a plaque at the Hall's headquarters in Oklahoma. His lasting monuments are the Dave Ironman Invitational, one of the longest running tournaments in New York City wrestling, the city section of USA Wrestling he founded, and the generations of Staten Island wrestlers who came through the Farrell programme.