Say the name Ortiz: 'That's Sunnyside wrestling'

"He was a very influential man to a lot of us growing up on the south side," said Sam Portillo, head wrestling coach at Amphitheater High School. "This man is the one who introduced me to this sport.

"Mr. Ortiz did a lot for kids not only in Sunnyside (High) but all over. All the south side knew who he was. You say the name Ortiz and that's Sunnyside wrestling."

Sam Duarte, a former Sunnyside football champ and friend of the family, said there were no less than 33 former high school all-Americans representing baseball, wrestling and football at the funeral for Ortiz, who was called "Mr. O" or "Dad" by many of the youths he coached. Ortiz died Oct. 25 as a result of Parkinson's disease. He was 76.

"Mr. Ortiz had a big influence on a lot of athletes that ended up being national champions and head coaches and college football players and everything," Portillo said.

Ortiz's four sons all were high school wrestling champs and Eddie, Richard and Thom went on to coach their own teams. The other son, Bobby, was 19 when he died following an epileptic seizure in 1981.

Their father "was always there for all of us. He had a combative nature and he was a boxer. He was a competitor. He was very proud and strong-willed. I think we all picked up those characteristics," said Eddie Ortiz

Don Klostreich coached all four Ortiz boys at Sunnyside and remembers their parents as fixtures at the meets.

"He was always there for the kids," Klostreich said of the former Marine and boxing champ. "He would take all these kids to freestyle tournaments and mostly pay for the entry fees. He was a good father and a good wrestling father. He took care of all the kids, not just his own kids."

Ortiz coached his sons through the years in whatever sports piqued their varied interests, but wrestling became a family affair. Ortiz coached the wrestlers during the summer months and took them to weekend tournaments throughout the year, paying for gas - and if need be, entry fees - out of his own pocket. His wife, Aida, coached the Mat Maids who cheered for the wrestlers.

"He would load up a truck full of kids and take us to every tournament there was," Portillo said. "Leaving the south side to go to Phoenix was like going to Hawaii for us every Saturday."

Ortiz, a Tucson native who worked as a civil-service supervisor at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base for 30 years, attended every wrestling meet, sitting in the stands until the last match was finished.

Chris Bonn wrestled in a heavier weight class and sometimes wouldn't hit the mat for his match until midnight or 1 a.m.

"Mr. Ortiz would stay and support me until the very last match at Sunnyside. I don't think he missed any of my matches in four years," Bonn said.

"He'd go out and buy us oranges and Gatorade and make sure we were nourished and hydrated. He was like our unofficial coach. A lot of us on the south side didn't have fathers and he was like a dad to us."

Said his son, Richard Ortiz, who coaches wrestling at Tucson High: "He was a parent who supported his sons. He'd give us words of encouragement. He pushed us."

And he helped a lot of other kids, too, Richard said.

"If they couldn't afford to wrestle he'd pay their entry fee. That's what it's all about, teaching these kids what needs to be done and taking care of the next generation," he said. "That's what I learned from my dad."

To suggest someone for Life Stories, contact reporter Kimberly Matas at kmatas@azstarnet.com or at 573-4191. Read more from this reporter at: go.azstarnet.com/lastwrites