Jack Magnin was born April 8, 1939 in Oconto Falls, Wisconsin to Elmer and Ruth Magnin. Jack has a sister Carol and three brothers Jim, Mike, and the late Tom Magnin. The family owned a 200 acre dairy farm which Jack purchased in 1970. Jack, his wife Marilyn, and their three sons Troy, Mitchell, and Paul operated the farm as a beef farm until 1999 with the last 11 years as a cash crop farm.

Jack attended Busy Nook School, a "rural" country one room school, in grades 1-6. He went to Oconto Falls Washington Junior High and graduated from Oconto Falls High School in 1957. In high school he participated in football, played on a conference championship basketball team, and did both track and baseball in the spring. Oconto Falls didn't start a wrestling program until 1959.

Jack attended University of Wisconsin Oshkosh and played on the basketball team his first year. He graduated from UW Oshkosh in 1963 with a history major and math and physical education minor in secondary education.

In 1963 Jack began his teaching and coaching career at Wautoma, Wisconsin. He taught Junior High math, history, and 1-8 grade physical education. He was an Assistant Basketball Coach 7 years, Head Football Coach 7 years, Head Baseball Coach 1 year, and Head Track Coach 6 years. His track teams won three conference championships. It was at Wautoma where Jack started a 7-8 grade wrestling unit in the physical education curriculum. While at Wautoma, he finished his physical education major at the University of Wisconsin Madison in 1968.

In 1970 Jack returned to his alma mater, Oconto Falls as a K-8 Physical Education Teacher. He introduced the wrestling unit into the Junior High Physical Education curriculum. Jack coached football, basketball and track. He coached freshmen basketball two years and varsity basketball three years. He coached football as an assistant until 1992. In track he is coaching in his 46th year, either as an assistant or head coach. In 1992-1998, he was Head Cross-Country Coach and had a Boys Cross-Country State Team in 1997.

Leaving the basketball arena in 1975, Jack started the Junior High Wrestling Program. He stayed with the program until 1980 when he became head varsity coach and has been there as head or co-head till present. He has coached 6 state champions, 11 state runner ups, and 48 individual state qualifiers. Jack has coached in the CWC Conference, Packerland Conference, Valley 8 Conference, and Bay Conference, which included 6 conference championships, 13 "team" regional championships, and 2 sectional "team" championships.

His team competed in the State Wrestling Team Tournament in 2009. Oconto Falls won the Division Two Team State Tournament in 2010. In 2011, the Oconto Falls Team placed second at the Individual WIAA State Tournament. Jack's dual record at Oconto Falls is 349 wins and 136 losses.

Jack was selected Valley 8 Conference Coach of the Year in 2007 and Green Bay Press Gazette Coach of the Year in 2009. He was inducted into the National Wrestling Hall of Fame August 14, 2011 in Green Bay. The National Wrestling Hall of Fame is located in Stillwater, Oklahoma.

Jack has completed 48 years of physical education and coaching. He was Middle School Athletic Director for 15 years. Jack has worked the WIAA State Track Meet at LaCrosse for the past 17 years. He is a WIAA football, track, and cross country official.

Jack would like to thank the Abrams and Oconto Falls Youth Wrestling Clubs, and Middle School Program. These groups are the backbone of our wrestling program. He wants to thank the coaches he has had the pleasure to work with in the past, Bill Beschta and the late Randy Skarda who both taught him a lot of skill and technique when he first started. He also wants to thank Dave Braiser and Marc Kinziger, the other co-heads whom have had a huge impact on the success of the program. Both are great friends and love the sport of wrestling. Jack has coached with Dave for 21 years and Marc for 14 years.

Jack has had a lot of fun in his 48 years of teaching and coaching. He would not change anything. The students, parents, fans, athletes, and fraternity that go with every sport have been tremendous! Many times he has said, "His greatest class starts at 3:30 P.M.". His supporters are his wife, Marilyn for 41 years and sons Troy, Mitchell, and Paul. He coached all three of them in cross-country, track, and wrestling, and they and their teams had great success. Jack would like to thank the Wautoma and Oconto Falls School Districts for having him as part of their educational staff.

"Dream as if you will live forever,
Live as if you will die tomorrow."
James Dean

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