James Chico Hernandez - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

James "Chico" Hernandez (born April 14, 1954 in Chicago, Illinois) is an accomplished athlete in the sport of Sambo

Sambo (martial art)

Sambo is a Russian martial art and combat sport. The word "SAMBO" is an acronym for SAMooborona Bez Oruzhiya, which literally translates as "self-defense without weapons". Sambo is relatively modern since its development began in the early 1920s by the Soviet Red Army to improve their hand to hand...

and a seven-time member of the Team USA National Team.

Early years

Hernandez was born in the Heart of Chicago, at 1812 South Desplaines Street in a neighborhood located near the junctions of Armour Square, South Loop neighborhood and the Lower West Side, Chicago

Lower West Side, Chicago

Lower West Side located on the west side of Chicago, Illinois, is one of 77 well-defined Chicago community areas.-Government and infrastructure:The United States Postal Service operates the Pilsen Post Office at 1859 South Ashland Avenue....

community called Pilsen

Lower West Side, Chicago

. He was born to a Cuban

Cubans

Cubans or Cuban people are the inhabitants or citizens of Cuba. Cuba is a multi-ethnic nation, home to people of different ethnic and national backgrounds...

father, from Sancti Spíritus, Cuba and a Puerto Rican

Puerto Rican people

A Puerto Rican is a person who was born in Puerto Rico.Puerto Ricans born and raised in the continental United States are also sometimes referred to as Puerto Ricans, although they were not born in Puerto Rico...

mother from New York City

New York City

New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...

; of Greek

Greeks

The Greeks, also known as the Hellenes , are a nation and ethnic group native to Greece, Cyprus and neighboring regions. They also form a significant diaspora, with Greek communities established around the world....

heritage. He attended Providence of God Catholic School from 1959 to 1965; where he played softball

Softball

Softball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of 10 to 14 players. It is a direct descendant of baseball although there are some key differences: softballs are larger than baseballs, and the pitches are thrown underhand rather than overhand...

on the schools team. He also honed not only his athletic skills, but his street wise survival skills living in Chicago’s gang ridden and high crime port of entry area.
He began playing unorganized ice hockey

Ice hockey

Ice hockey, often referred to as hockey, is a team sport played on ice, in which skaters use wooden or composite sticks to shoot a hard rubber puck into their opponent's net. The game is played between two teams of six players each. Five members of each team skate up and down the ice trying to take...

at 8 years old in the local parks. In 1963, his father would bring him to Rainbo Arena ice skating rink located in the Uptown

Uptown, Chicago

Uptown is one of Chicago’s 77 community areas. Uptown has well defined boundaries. They are: Foster on the north; Lake Michigan on the east; Montrose , and Irving Park on the south; Ravenswood , and Clark on the west. Uptown borders three community areas and Lake Michigan...

section of a Chicago North Side neighborhood.

When Hernandez turned 12, his family moved to an unincorporated portion of South Stickney Township, which is now the city of Burbank, Illinois

Burbank, Illinois

Burbank is a city in Cook County, Illinois, United States. The population was 27,902 at the 2000 census. It is located at the southwest edge of the city of Chicago; the Chicago city limit – specifically that of the Ashburn neighborhood – is in common with Burbank's eastern city limit...

. He attended Rosa G. Maddock Elementary Grade School where he played on the schools volleyball

Volleyball

Volleyball is a team sport in which two teams of six players are separated by a net. Each team tries to score points by grounding a ball on the other team's court under organized rules.The complete rules are extensive...

, football

American football

American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...

, basketball

Basketball

Basketball is a team sport in which two teams of five players try to score points by throwing or "shooting" a ball through the top of a basketball hoop while following a set of rules...

, and softball Jr. High teams. His main love was still ice hockey which he played in the parks and pick up games till his senior year in high school where he played his school’s premier ice hockey club team.

Hernandez competed and wrestled for Reavis High School

Reavis High School

Reavis High School is a public high school located in Burbank, Illinois. It is named for Dr. William Claude Reavis , a professor at the University of Chicago who played a major role in guaranteeing its completion....

. It was during his high school years he was introduced to the sport by legendary wrestling coach John W. Fitzgerald and Michigan State University

Michigan State University

Michigan State University is a public research university in East Lansing, Michigan, USA. Founded in 1855, it was the pioneer land-grant institution and served as a model for future land-grant colleges in the United States under the 1862 Morrill Act.MSU pioneered the studies of packaging,...

Big Ten Runner up Robert Moser. They motivated him to join the school's wrestling team. Hernandez mentions many times to others that if it were not for high school wrestling he would have been a high school drop out.” Wrestling offered me more than sweaty headlocks and bone-crunching back arch throws.” “I became interested in the sport as a means of finding myself in HS.” “Wrestling paved a path to get an education.” “Indeed, the discipline and focus, which I developed through the years, enabled me to earn an undergraduate degree and a wrestling scholarship.”

He attended Reavis with 1981 IFBB

International Federation of BodyBuilders

The International Federation of BodyBuilders is a competitive bodybuilding organization founded in 1946 by brothers Ben and Joe Weider and is the highest level of competitive bodybuilding in the world. Currently, the IFBB consists of seven different sub-divisions for different competitors ,...

Mr. Universe

World Amateur Bodybuilding Championships

The World Amateur Bodybuilding Championships is a male bodybuilding contest organised by the International Federation of BodyBuilding & Fitness and first held in 1959. The name was changed in 1976 to avoid confusion with the NABBA Mr...

and 1986 NABBA Professional Mr. Universe

Universe Championships

The Universe Championships are an annual bodybuilding event organised by the National Amateur Bodybuilders Association . It has a number of competitions: NABBA Amateur Mr. Universe, Miss Figure, and Miss Toned Figure....

Champion Lance Dreher, journalist

Journalist

A journalist collects and distributes news and other information. A journalist's work is referred to as journalism.A reporter is a type of journalist who researchs, writes, and reports on information to be presented in mass media, including print media , electronic media , and digital media A...

/ comedian

Comedian

A comedian or comic is a person who seeks to entertain an audience, primarily by making them laugh. This might be through jokes or amusing situations, or acting a fool, as in slapstick, or employing prop comedy...

Ray Hanania

Ray Hanania is an Arab-American Palestinian Christian journalist also known for his stand-up comedy. Hanania writes a syndicated column with a particular focus on the Middle East, and after the September 11 attacks, created Comedians of Middle East conflict, a comedy act with the hope of defusing...

, NCAA Wrestling Champion for Iowa State University

Iowa State University

Iowa State University of Science and Technology, more commonly known as Iowa State University , is a public land-grant and space-grant research university located in Ames, Iowa, United States. Iowa State has produced astronauts, scientists, and Nobel and Pulitzer Prize winners, along with a host of...

Al Nacin and CBS News

CBS News

CBS News is the news division of American television and radio network CBS. The current chairman is Jeff Fager who is also the executive producer of 60 Minutes, while the current president of CBS News is David Rhodes. CBS News' flagship program is the CBS Evening News, hosted by the network's main...

Analyst and a special consultant for 48 Hours Mystery Paul J. Ciolino.

Hernandez won his first Gold medal at the United States Wrestling Federation (USA Wrestling

USA Wrestling

USA Wrestling is the organization that currently governs freestyle wrestling and Greco-Roman wrestling in the United States...

) Illinois District #4 Jr. Freestyle Wrestling

Freestyle wrestling

Freestyle wrestling is a style of amateur wrestling that is practised throughout the world. Along with Greco-Roman, it is one of the two styles of wrestling contested in the Olympic games. It is, along with track and field, one of the oldest organized sports in history...

Championships by pinning 2 time Illinois High School Association

Illinois High School Association

The Illinois High School Association is one of 521 state high school associations in the United States, designed to regulate competition in most interscholastic sports and some interscholastic activities at the high school level. It is a charter member of the National Federation of State High...

Regional Champion Bruce Lund of Hillcrest High School in the finals in April 1972, at Thornton Fractional North High School

Thornton Fractional North High School

Thornton Fractional North High School in Calumet City, Illinois first opened its doors in March 1926 as Thornton Fractional Township High School....

(T.F. North) in Calumet City, Illinois

Calumet City, Illinois

Calumet City is a city in Cook County, Illinois, United States. The population was 39,072 at the 2000 census. The ZIP code is 60409.Calumet City was founded in 1892 when the villages of Schrumville and Sobieski Park merged under the name of West Hammond, since it lies on the west side of the...

. He also won a Bronze medal defeating Regional Champion Jose Zavala of Proviso East High School

Proviso East High School

Proviso East High School is a public secondary school in Maywood, Illinois which serves the educational needs of Maywood and three other villages within Proviso Township, Cook County, Illinois: Broadview, Forest Park and Melrose Park. It is the original campus of Proviso Township High Schools...

8-3 at the 1972 Amateur Athletic Union

Amateur Athletic Union

The Amateur Athletic Union is one of the largest non-profit volunteer sports organizations in the United States. A multi-sport organization, the AAU is dedicated exclusively to the promotion and development of amateur sports and physical fitness programs.-History:The AAU was founded in 1888 to...

Illinois State Jr. Freestyle Wrestling Championships held at Loyola Academy

Loyola Academy

Loyola Academy is a private, co-educational college preparatory high school, located in Wilmette, Illinois, a northern suburb of Chicago. Located in the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Chicago, it is one of 47 Jesuit high schools in the United States and is a member of the Jesuit Secondary Education...

in Wilmette, Illinois

Wilmette, Illinois

Wilmette is a village in New Trier Township, Cook County, Illinois, United States. It is located north of Chicago's downtown district and has a population of 27,651. Wilmette is considered a bedroom community in the North Shore district...

. He took a fourth place medal pinning Regional Champion Denny Moore of Eisenhower High School (Blue Island, Illinois)

Eisenhower High School (Blue Island, Illinois)

Dwight D. Eisenhower High School is a public four-year high school located in Blue Island, Illinois, a southern suburb of Chicago, Illinois, in the United States. It is part of Community High School District 218 along with sister schools Alan B. Shepard High School and Harold L...

and was defeated by State Champion Brooks Kubik of Rich East High School

Rich East High School

Rich East High School or REHS, is a public four-year high school located in Park Forest, Illinois, a southern suburb of Chicago, Illinois, in the United States. The Rich East Campus serves the cities of Park Forest, Matteson,Olympia Fields,Chicago Heights, & Richton Park...

by a score of 7-6 at the USA Wrestling

USA Wrestling

USA Wrestling is the organization that currently governs freestyle wrestling and Greco-Roman wrestling in the United States...

Illinois State Jr. Greco-Roman Championships held at Navy Pier

Navy Pier

Navy Pier is a long pier on the Chicago shoreline of Lake Michigan. It is located in the Streeterville neighborhood of the Near North Side community area. The pier was built in 1916 at a cost of $4.5 million, equivalent to $ today. It was a part of the Plan of Chicago developed by architect and...

, Chicago, Illinois.

Hernandez represented Marquette Park and won 5 Gold Medals at the City of Chicago Park District

Chicago Park District

The Chicago Park District is the oldest and largest park district in the U.S.A, with a $385 million annual budget. It has the distinction of spending the most per capita on its parks, even more than Boston in terms of park expenses per capita...

Wrestling Championships. He defeated Bill Bogilio of McKinley Park

McKinley Park, Chicago

McKinley Park, one of the 77 official community areas of Chicago, Illinois, is located on the city's southwest side.- History :McKinley Park has been a working-class area throughout its long history. This tradition began around 1836 when Irish workers on the Illinois & Michigan Canal took...

in the finals of the 1972 Area #4 Championships and he defeated Andy Garrett of Brooks Park in the finals of the Area #10 Championships. He won the 1973 City of Chicago Park District South Sectional Jr. Wrestling Championships and he defeated John Strails of Bell Park at the 1973 City of Chicago Park District City-Wide Jr. Wrestling Championships.

At the 1973 City of Chicago Park District City-Wide Open Wrestling Championships, Hernandez pinned Illinois State High School Runner-up Richard Holliday of Rich Central High School

Rich Central High School

Rich Central High School or RCHS, is a public four-year high school located in Olympia Fields, Illinois, a southern suburb of Chicago, Illinois, in the United States. The Rich Central Campus serves the cities of Olympia Fields, Matteson, Richton Park,...

in the finals. In February 1974, he won a Silver Medal at the City of Chicago Park District City-Wide Open Wrestling Championships by defeating Chicago Catholic League

Chicago Catholic League

The Chicago Catholic League is a high school athletic conference based in Chicago, Illinois, USA. All of the schools are currently part of the Illinois High School Association, the governing body for Illinois scholastic sports...

Wrestling Champion Steve Strumpf of St. Laurence High School by a score of 3-3 1-1 overtime referees decision. In February 1975, he won the Bronze Medal at the City of Chicago Park District City-Wide Open Championships losing to Tim Moylan in overtime referees decision 3-3 1-1 in the semi-finals.

Hernandez also led Oak Hockey of Oak Lawn, Illinois

Oak Lawn, Illinois

Oak Lawn is a village in Cook County, Illinois, United States. The population was 55,245 at the 2000 census.Oak Lawn is a suburb of the city of Chicago, located southwest of the city...

to a USA Hockey

USA Hockey

USA Hockey is recognized by the International Olympic Committee and the United States Olympic Committee as the governing body for amateur ice hockey in the United States and is a member of the International Ice Hockey Federation. The organization is based in Colorado Springs, Colorado, and has...

Illinois State Junior C Ice Hockey Championship in 1974. In 1975 he played for the Oak Park

Oak Park, Illinois

Oak Park, Illinois is a suburb bordering the west side of the city of Chicago in Cook County, Illinois, United States. It is the twenty-fifth largest municipality in Illinois. Oak Park has easy access to downtown Chicago due to public transportation such as the Chicago 'L' Blue and Green lines,...

Jr. B Hockey Team of the Northern Illinois Hockey League and played his first international hockey game against a Junior Hockey Team from Sweden

Sweden

Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....

held at the Willow Ice Chalet in Willow Springs, Illinois

Willow Springs, Illinois

Willow Springs is a village in Cook and DuPage Counties, Illinois, United States. The population was 5,027 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Willow Springs is located at ....

. He scored his first Semi-Pro goal with Team Chicago in 1974 against the Zion Wings held at the Zion Ice Arena in Zion, Illinois

Zion, Illinois

Zion is a city in Lake County, Illinois, United States. The population was 22,866 at the 2000 census, and estimated at 24,303 as of 2005. The city was founded in July 1901 by John Alexander Dowie. He also started the Zion Tabernacle of the Christian Catholic Apostolic Church, which was the only...

.

Hernandez is a Speed skater too and the won the 1973 City of Chicago Park District Short Track Skating Championships. In 1973, 1974 and 1975, he won the Oak Lawn Short Track Skating Championships.

In 1974, Hernandez was referred to the Chicago Cougars

Chicago Cougars

The Chicago Cougars were an original franchise in the World Hockey Association from 1972 to 1975. The Cougars played their home games in the dilapidated International Amphitheatre. During the 1974 Avco Cup Finals against Gordie Howe and the Houston Aeros, the team's two home games were played at...

of the World Hockey Association

World Hockey Association

The World Hockey Association was a professional ice hockey league that operated in North America from 1972 to 1979. It was the first major competition for the National Hockey League since the collapse of the Western Hockey League in 1926...

by former Chicago Black Hawks All-Star defenseman and Chicago Cougars All-Star Pat Stapleton a tryout. He was denied a tryout by the future 1992 Montreal Canadians Stanley Cup

Stanley Cup

The Stanley Cup is an ice hockey club trophy, awarded annually to the National Hockey League playoffs champion after the conclusion of the Stanley Cup Finals. It has been referred to as The Cup, Lord Stanley's Cup, The Holy Grail, or facetiously as Lord Stanley's Mug...

winning Coach and Canadian Senator, the Honorable Jacques Demers. He was given a tryout with the Chicago Warriors of the United States Hockey League

United States Hockey League

The United States Hockey League is the top junior ice hockey league in the United States. The USHL has 16 member teams located in the Midwestern United States, consisting of players who are 20 years of age and younger...

. He scored a Hat-trick

Hat-trick

A hat-trick or hat trick in sport is the achievement of a positive feat three times during a game, or other achievements based on threes. The term was first used in 1858 in cricket to describe HH Stephenson's feat of taking three wickets in three balls. A collection was held for Stephenson, and he...

before separating his shoulder during an inter-squad game, ending his season with the squad. Skip Thayer, who at that time was, the Chicago Black Hawk's trainer treated the injury. In 1975 he was referred to the Indianapolis Racers

Indianapolis Racers

The Indianapolis Racers were a franchise in the former World Hockey Association from 1974 to 1978. They competed in five seasons, folding 25 games into the 1978–79 season. They played at Market Square Arena...

of the WHA by former Chicago Black Hawks All-Star defenseman Elmer Vasko

Elmer Vasko

Elmer "Moose" Vasko was a Canadian professional ice hockey defenceman who played 13 seasons in the National Hockey League for the Chicago Black Hawks and Minnesota North Stars and won the Stanley Cup in 1961.-Personal:He was one of the few players of Slovak descent in the NHL's younger years...

, a scout with the Indianapolis Racers. Hernandez was again denied by then Racers Coach Jacques Demers.

College years

In January 1975 he was recruited by Head Wrestling Coach Dr. James G. Pappas of Chicago State University

Chicago State University

Chicago State University is a state university of the U.S. state of Illinois, located in Chicago.-History:Cook County Normal School was founded in 1867, largely through the initiative of John F. Eberhart, the Commissioner of Schools for Cook County...

where he was awarded a wrestling scholarship. During registration, Hernandez signed a petition asking President Gerald Ford

Gerald Ford

Gerald Rudolph "Jerry" Ford, Jr. was the 38th President of the United States, serving from 1974 to 1977, and the 40th Vice President of the United States serving from 1973 to 1974...

, 38th President of the United States, to speak at the 397 - Commencement

Commencement speech

A commencement speech or commencement address is a speech given to graduating students, generally at a university, although the term is also used for secondary education institutions. The "commencement" is a ceremony in which degrees or diplomas are conferred upon graduating students...

Address at Chicago State University. Hernandez was among the 5,000 students' signatures on a 45 feet (13.7 m) scroll was presented to President Gerald Ford. He did honor the request. At 1:50 p.m. July 12, 1975 in the Arie Crown Theatre at McCormick Place

McCormick Place

McCormick Place is the largest convention center in the United States. It is made up of four interconnected buildings sited on and near the shore of Lake Michigan, about 4 km south of downtown Chicago, Illinois, USA. McCormick Place hosts numerous trade shows, including the Chicago Auto Show,...

Dr. Benjamin H. Alexander, President of the University, who conferred an honorary doctor of law

Doctor of law

Doctor of Law or Doctor of Laws is a doctoral degree in law. The application of the term varies from country to country, and includes degrees such as the LL.D., Ph.D., J.D., J.S.D., and Dr. iur.-Argentina:...

degree on the President Ford.

He won his first NCAA Collegiate victory 14-4 against Beloit College

Beloit College

Beloit College is a liberal arts college in Beloit, Wisconsin, USA. It is a member of the Associated Colleges of the Midwest, and has an enrollment of roughly 1,300 undergraduate students. Beloit is the oldest continuously operated college in Wisconsin, and has the oldest building of any college...

at a tournament held at Carthage College

Carthage College

Carthage College is a private liberal arts college affiliated with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. Situated in Kenosha, Wisconsin midway between Chicago, Illinois and Milwaukee, Wisconsin, the campus is on the shore of Lake Michigan and is home to 2,500 full-time and 900 part-time...

in Kenosha, Wisconsin

Wisconsin

Wisconsin is a U.S. state located in the north-central United States and is part of the Midwest. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michigan to the northeast, and Lake Superior to the north. Wisconsin's capital is...

in January 1975. He was a member of the first NAIA

National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics

The National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics is an athletic association that organizes college and university-level athletic programs. Membership in the NAIA consists of smaller colleges and universities across the United States. The NAIA allows colleges and universities outside the USA...

District #20 Championship Team in any sport at Chicago State University was the 1975 wrestling team. He took second place at the 1976 NAIA District #20 Championships held at Lewis University

Lewis University

Lewis University is a private Roman Catholic and Lasallian university located in Romeoville, Illinois, United States . The enrollment is currently around 6,800 students...

in Lockport, Illinois

Lockport, Illinois

Lockport is a city in Will County, Illinois, United States, that incorporated in 1853. Lockport is located in northeastern Illinois, 30 miles southwest of Chicago, and north of Joliet, at locks connecting Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal with the Des Plaines River via the Lockport...

. He was seeded 4th as he defeated the number 1 seed and defending District Champion, Chuck Kelley of Olivet Nazarene College 17-7 in the semi finals. Hernandez was defeated by NAIA All-American Rich Wagner of Lewis University in the District finals. The Cougar wrestling team captured their second straight NAIA District #20 Wrestling Championship. He qualified for the NAIA National Wrestling Championships held at Edinboro University in Edinboro, Pennsylvania

Edinboro, Pennsylvania

Edinboro is a borough in Erie County, Pennsylvania, United States. It is part of the Erie Metropolitan Statistical Area. As home to Edinboro University of Pennsylvania, it is a small college town, as well as a "resort community"...

. Highlights for Hernandez were dual meet victories over City of Chicago University rivals North Park University

North Park University

North Park University is a four-year university located at 3225 W. Foster Avenue on the north side of Chicago, Illinois in the North Park neighborhood. It was founded in 1891 by the Evangelical Covenant Church and shares its campus with the denomination's only seminary...

and the University of Chicago

University of Chicago

The University of Chicago is a private research university in Chicago, Illinois, USA. It was founded by the American Baptist Education Society with a donation from oil magnate and philanthropist John D. Rockefeller and incorporated in 1890...

. He also had a tournament victory over defending 1975 NAIA District #20 runner-up and number 2# seed George Vaughan of MacMurray College

MacMurray College

MacMurray College is a career-directed liberal arts college located in Jacksonville, Illinois. Its enrollment in fall 2011 was 548. It is from Springfield and from Chicago....

10-2 at the MacMurray College Invitational in Jacksonville, Illinois

Jacksonville, Illinois

Jacksonville is a city in Morgan County, Illinois, United States. The population was 18,940 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Morgan County....

.

He skated for the Chicago State University Ice Hockey Team of the Central States Collegiate Hockey League

Central States Collegiate Hockey League

The Central States Collegiate Hockey League is Division I ACHA club level hockey-college athletic conference. The CSCHL is in its 39th season of existence and is one of the top ranked ACHA leagues. It currently has 7 member teams in the Midwestern United States.-Format:League teams play a 20-game...

; where he scored his first NCAA goal against Northern Illinois University

Northern Illinois University

Northern Illinois University is a state university and research institution located in DeKalb, Illinois, with satellite centers in Hoffman Estates, Naperville, Rockford, and Oregon. It was originally founded as Northern Illinois State Normal School on May 22, 1895 by Illinois Governor John P...

. His first multiple point game was against Bradley University

Bradley University

Bradley University, founded in 1897, is a private, co-educational university located in Peoria, Illinois. It is a small institution with an enrollment of approximately 6,100 undergraduate and postgraduate students and a full-time faculty of approximately 350....

on December 5, 1976 scoring 1 goal and 2 assist at the Logan Ice Dome, Peoria, Illinois

Peoria, Illinois

Peoria is the largest city on the Illinois River and the county seat of Peoria County, Illinois, in the United States. It is named after the Peoria tribe. As of the 2010 census, the city was the seventh-most populated in Illinois, with a population of 115,007, and is the third-most populated...

.

He was also teammates with future National Hockey League

National Hockey League

The National Hockey League is an unincorporated not-for-profit association which operates a major professional ice hockey league of 30 franchised member clubs, of which 7 are currently located in Canada and 23 in the United States...

goaltender

Goaltender

In ice hockey, the goaltender is the player who defends his team's goal net by stopping shots of the puck from entering his team's net, thus preventing the opposing team from scoring...

Bob Janecyk

Robert T. Janecyk is a retired American professional ice hockey goaltender who played 110 games in the National Hockey League for the Los Angeles Kings and Chicago Black Hawks.-References:...

, who played for the Los Angeles Kings

Los Angeles Kings

The Los Angeles Kings are a professional ice hockey team based in Los Angeles, California. They are members of the Pacific Division of the Western Conference of the National Hockey League...

and Chicago Black Hawks. He attended Chicago State University with Willye White, who was the first American track and field

Track and field

Track and field is a sport comprising various competitive athletic contests based around the activities of running, jumping and throwing. The name of the sport derives from the venue for the competitions: a stadium which features an oval running track surrounding a grassy area...

athlete to compete in five Olympics, from 1956 to 1972 and Rosalyn Bryant

Rosalyn Bryant

Rosalyn Bryant is an American athlete who competed mainly in the 400 meters....

, who competed for the United States in the 1976 Summer Olympics

1976 Summer Olympics

The 1976 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XXI Olympiad, was an international multi-sport event celebrated in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, in 1976. Montreal was awarded the rights to the 1976 Games on May 12, 1970, at the 69th IOC Session in Amsterdam, over the bids of Moscow and...

held in Montreal, Canada in the 4 x 400 meters where she won a Silver medal.

Hernandez was recruited by 1975 World Cup Wrestling Coach and University of Maine at Presque Isle

University of Maine at Presque Isle

The University of Maine at Presque Isle is part of the University of Maine System. Located in Presque Isle, UMPI offers studies in social and life sciences, business, recreation, education, and natural sciences. Its campus radio station is WUPI....

Athletic Director

Athletic director

An athletic director is an administrator at many American colleges and universities, as well as in larger high schools and middle schools, who oversees the work of coaches and related staff involved in intercollegiate or interscholastic athletic programs...

; Dr. Gordon Anderson. He transferred to the University of Maine at Presque Isle in the fall of 1976. His first international victory was in November 1976 against Jean-Guy Duguay from the Université de Moncton

Université de Moncton

The Université de Moncton is a French language university located in Moncton, New Brunswick serving the Acadian community of Atlantic Canada...

, New Brunswick

New Brunswick

New Brunswick is one of Canada's three Maritime provinces and is the only province in the federation that is constitutionally bilingual . The provincial capital is Fredericton and Saint John is the most populous city. Greater Moncton is the largest Census Metropolitan Area...

, Canada

Canada

Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...

by fall. In December 1976, he took fourth place at the MIT Holiday Tournament defeating NCAA All-New England

New England

New England is a region in the northeastern corner of the United States consisting of the six states of Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut...

Wrestler Kevin Jarnigan of University of Massachusetts Lowell

University of Massachusetts Lowell

The University of Massachusetts Lowell is a public university in Lowell, Massachusetts, and part of the University of Massachusetts system...

by a score of 1-1 1-1 overtime referees decision held at the duPont Athletic Center, in Cambridge, Massachusetts

Cambridge, Massachusetts

Cambridge is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States, in the Greater Boston area. It was named in honor of the University of Cambridge in England, an important center of the Puritan theology embraced by the town's founders. Cambridge is home to two of the world's most prominent...

.

In January 1977, he took second place defeating Maine State High School Champion and Northern New England Collegiate Champion Mike Sirois of University of Maine

University of Maine

The University of Maine is a public research university located in Orono, Maine, United States. The university was established in 1865 as a land grant college and is referred to as the flagship university of the University of Maine System...

20-11 at the University of Maine at Presque Isle International Invitational. The Invitational featured John Peterson

John Peterson (wrestler)

John Peterson is an American wrestler and Olympic champion in Freestyle wrestling.-Olympics:Peterson competed at the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich where he received a silver medal in Freestyle wrestling, the middleweight class...

who a won gold medal at the 1976 Summer Olympics in Montréal, Canada. He participated in the 1977 Montréal International Open held at the Pierre Charbonneau Centre in Montréal, Canada losing to 1975 Pan-American Games Greco-Roman Bronze Medalist and Canadian Olympic Team member John McPhedran; who represented Canada at the 1976 Montréal Summer Games. Hernandez took third place Rhode Island College

Rhode Island College

Rhode Island College is a nationally ranked, coeducational, state-supported comprehensive college founded in 1854, located in Providence, Rhode Island, USA...

Invitational, losing to undefeated Rhode Island

Rhode Island

The state of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, more commonly referred to as Rhode Island , is a state in the New England region of the United States. It is the smallest U.S. state by area...

and All-New England Wrestler Jeff Condon 6-5. He won the 1977 Maine State Collegiate Championships.

In October 1977, Hernandez trained with Soviet defector Edwin Yarovinsky, a Russian

Russians

The Russian people are an East Slavic ethnic group native to Russia, speaking the Russian language and primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries....

National Champion in Greco-Roman Wrestling and a Master of the Sport in the USSR. In November 1977, he won the Acadia University

Acadia University

Acadia University is a predominantly undergraduate university located in Wolfville, Nova Scotia, Canada with some graduate programs at the master's level and one at the doctoral level...

, Nova Scotia

Nova Scotia

Nova Scotia is one of Canada's three Maritime provinces and is the most populous province in Atlantic Canada. The name of the province is Latin for "New Scotland," but "Nova Scotia" is the recognized, English-language name of the province. The provincial capital is Halifax. Nova Scotia is the...

Open, defeating Canadian Interuniversity Sport

Canadian Interuniversity Sport

Canadian Interuniversity Sport is the national governing body of university sport in Canada, comprising the majority of degree granting universities in the country. Its equivalent body for organized sports at colleges in Canada is The Canadian Colleges Athletic Association...

wrestlers from Dalhousie University

Dalhousie University

Dalhousie University is a public research university located in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada. The university comprises eleven faculties including Schulich School of Law and Dalhousie University Faculty of Medicine. It also includes the faculties of architecture, planning and engineering located at...

, Saint Francis Xavier University and Acadia University. Hernandez set and still holds the University of Maine at Presque Isle record for the fastest pin in 8 seconds against Glen Chase from the University of Maine at Orono

Orono, Maine

Orono is a town in Penobscot County, Maine, United States. It was first settled in 1774 and named in honor of Chief Joseph Orono of the Penobscot Nation. It is home to The University of Maine. The population was 10,362 at the 2010 census.- Geography :...

in December 1977. He also still holds the University of Maine at Presque Isle record for most points scored in a match defeating New England Prep School Champion and 4 time Northern New England Collegiate place winner Ernie Votolato of Bowdoin College

Bowdoin College

Bowdoin College , founded in 1794, is an elite private liberal arts college located in the coastal Maine town of Brunswick, Maine. As of 2011, U.S. News and World Report ranks Bowdoin 6th among liberal arts colleges in the United States. At times, it was ranked as high as 4th in the country. It is...

28-7. He took second place at the Rhode Island College Invitational losing to NCAA D-3 New England runner–up Dennis Maroney in January 1978. He won the 1978 Maine State Collegiate Championships.

In August 1978, Hernandez placed 6th. gaining All-American status in the Hammer throw

Hammer throw

The modern or Olympic hammer throw is an athletic throwing event where the object is to throw a heavy metal ball attached to a wire and handle. The name "hammer throw" is derived from older competitions where an actual sledge hammer was thrown...

at the AAU/ChicagoFest

ChicagoFest

ChicagoFest was a summer music festival in the city of Chicago,started in 1978 by Mayor Michael Bilandic. It was held annually at Navy Pier, and lasted for roughly two weeks. It featured sixteen separate stages, each sponsored by a national retail brand and a media sponsor compatible to the stage's...

National Outdoor Championships, held at Stagg Field

Stagg Field

Amos Alonzo Stagg Field is the name of two different football fields for the University of Chicago. The earliest Stagg Field is probably best remembered for its role in a landmark scientific achievement by Enrico Fermi during the Manhattan Project. The site of the first nuclear reaction received...

, University of Chicago

University of Chicago

. Two-time Olympian

Olympic Games

The Olympic Games is a major international event featuring summer and winter sports, in which thousands of athletes participate in a variety of competitions. The Olympic Games have come to be regarded as the world’s foremost sports competition where more than 200 nations participate...

Rick Wohlhuter

Rick Wohlhuter is an American athlete who competed mainly in the 800 meters.He graduated from Notre Dame and qualified for the 1972 Olympic Games, held in Munich, Germany. He also competed for the United States in the 1976 Summer Olympics held in Montreal, Canada in the 800 and 1500 meters...

along with Ted Haydon, member of the U.S. Track & Field Hall of Fame hosted the event.

In November 1978, Hernandez won first place at the Norwich University

Norwich University

Norwich University is a private university located in Northfield, Vermont . The university was founded in 1819 at Norwich, Vermont, as the American Literary, Scientific and Military Academy. It is the oldest of six Senior Military Colleges, and is recognized by the United States Department of...

Invitational by defeating Fleming of Norwich University by fall in the finals. In January 1979, he won first place at the University of New Brunswick

University of New Brunswick

The University of New Brunswick is a Canadian university located in the province of New Brunswick. UNB is the oldest English language university in Canada and among the first public universities in North America. The university has two main campuses: the original campus founded in 1785 in...

International Open Championships in Fredericton, New Brunswick

Fredericton, New Brunswick

Fredericton is the capital of the Canadian province of New Brunswick, by virtue of the provincial parliament which sits there. An important cultural, artistic, and educational centre for the province, Fredericton is home to two universities and cultural institutions such as the Beaverbrook Art...

by pinning Team New Brunswick Canada Games

Canada Games

The Canada Games is a high-level multi-sport event with a National Artists Program held every two years in Canada, alternating between the Canada Winter Games and the Canada Summer Games. Athletes are strictly amateur only, and represent their province or territory.The Games were first held in 1967...

members Richard Cuthberson, David Niles and defeating Wallace Gregory of Team Newfoundland & Labrador Canada Games member 10-7 in the finals. He won another first place at the Université de Moncton International Open defeating Joel Pelletier of Northern Maine Community College

Northern Maine Community College

Northern Maine Community College is a community college in Presque Isle, Maine and one of the seven colleges in the Maine Community College System. The campus was founded in 1961 on the grounds of the former Presque Isle Air Force Base.-Academics:...

23-3 in the finals in Moncton, New Brunswick

Moncton, New Brunswick

Moncton is a Canadian city, located in Westmorland County, New Brunswick. The city is situated in southeastern New Brunswick, within the Petitcodiac River Valley, and lies at the geographic centre of the Maritime Provinces...

. Another highlight for Hernandez was the dual meet victory over Northern New England Champion Roger Crosier of MIT 10-2.

In February 1979, he was the 1979 Maine State Collegiate runner-up and he took third place at the Northern New England Championships as he defeated Keith Outlaw of Bowdoin College 10-6 at Plymouth State University

Plymouth State University

Plymouth State University, formerly Plymouth State College, is a regional comprehensive university located in Plymouth, New Hampshire and part of the University System of New Hampshire....

located in Plymouth, New Hampshire

Plymouth, New Hampshire

Plymouth is a town in Grafton County, New Hampshire, United States, in the White Mountains Region. Plymouth is located at the convergence of the Pemigewasset and Baker rivers. The population was 6,990 at the 2010 census...

. He took fifth place at the NCAA D-3 Northeast Regional held at State University of New York Maritime College

State University of New York Maritime College

SUNY Maritime College is a maritime college located in the Bronx, New York City in historic Fort Schuyler on the Throggs Neck peninsula where the East River meets Long Island Sound...

located in the Bronx

The Bronx

The Bronx is the northernmost of the five boroughs of New York City. It is also known as Bronx County, the last of the 62 counties of New York State to be incorporated...

, New York City, New York. In April 1979, he won the USA Wrestling Maine State Freestyle and State Greco-Roman Wrestling Championships. He was selected and won the "Most Outstanding Wrestler Award" at the Hyde School

Hyde School

Hyde School is a historic school at 100 High Street in Lee, Massachusetts.The school was built in 1894 and added to the National Historic Register in 2004....

in Bath, Maine

Bath, Maine

Bath is a city in Sagadahoc County, Maine, in the United States. As of the 2000 census, the city population was 9,266. It is the county seat of Sagadahoc County. Located on the Kennebec River, Bath is a port of entry with a good harbor. The city is popular with tourists, many drawn by its...

.

The State of Maine AAU Olympic Freestyle Wrestling All-Star Team selected him to compete against The Netherlands

Netherlands

The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...

Olympic Freestyle Wrestling Team. He was selected 1979 NCAA D-3 All-New England Honors, 1979 NCAA D-3 All-Northeast Regional Honors. He was a 3 time NAIA District #5 All-New England wrestler in 1977, 1978 and 1979. He qualified 4 times for the NAIA National Tournament.

Hernandez is a brother of Kappa Delta Phi

Kappa Delta Phi

Kappa Delta Phi is a college general men's fraternity that was founded on April 14, 1900 at the Bridgewater Normal School, now known as Bridgewater State University...

National Fraternity

Fraternity

A fraternity is a brotherhood, though the term usually connotes a distinct or formal organization. An organization referred to as a fraternity may be a:*Secret society*Chivalric order*Benefit society*Friendly society*Social club*Trade union...

. He was also 3 time Captain of the men’s University of Maine at Presque Isle Ice Hockey Club Team. In November 1976, he recorded his first collegiate hat-trick

Hat-trick

against the University of Maine at Machias

University of Maine at Machias

The University of Maine at Machias is one of seven campuses in the University of Maine System. Located in Machias, Maine, United States, the seat of Washington County, the university was founded in 1909 as a normal school for developing teachers, and offers studies in recreation, education,...

scoring 4 Goals and 2 assist for 6 points at the Border Arena in St. Stephen, New Brunswick

St. Stephen, New Brunswick

St. Stephen is a Canadian town in Charlotte County, New Brunswick, situated on the east bank of the St. Croix River at .-Climate:...

, Canada. The UMPI Hockey Team enjoys the honor of being the first team to play in the Alfond Arena

Alfond Arena

Alfond Arena is a 5,712-seat multi-purpose arena in Orono, Maine, USA. The arena opened in 1977. It is home to the University of Maine Black Bears ice hockey and basketball teams. It is recognizable for its distinctive multi-angular roof design, which was also used in the Pavilion at Villanova...

against the University of Maine

University of Maine

Black Bears losing 4–3 on February 4, 1977. He also was 2 time Most Valuable Player and 3 times High Scoring Champion while playing for the University of Maine at Presque Isle. In November 1977, he played for the Canadian Semi-Professional Hockey Team Perth–Raiders of the now defunct St. John Valley Hockey League, in Perth-Andover, New Brunswick

Perth-Andover, New Brunswick

Perth-Andover is a Canadian village in Victoria County, New Brunswick.The village is divided by the Saint John River with Perth on the east bank and Andover on the west bank; each was a separate community until municipal amalgamation in 1966...

, Canada

Canada

. Hernandez is one a few Student Athletes who has played collegiate hockey and wrestled at the same time.

Hernandez graduated with a Bachelor Arts Degree in Social Science that was conferred by the 70th Governor of Maine

Governor of Maine

The governor of Maine is the chief executive of the State of Maine. Before Maine was admitted to the Union in 1820, Maine was part of Massachusetts and the governor of Massachusetts was chief executive....

Joseph Brennan who gave the Commencement Address at the University of Maine at Presque Isle May 10, 1979. Hernandez was teammates with Oren Koules

Oren Koules

Oren Koules is an American entertainment industry and professional sports industry executive. He was president of Evolution Entertainment, producer of the Saw film series...

(the future president of Evolution Entertainment

Evolution Entertainment

Evolution Entertainment is an American independent entertainment management and film production company. The company was founded in 1998 Mark Burg and Oren Koules. and is best known for producing the first Saw film.-History:...

and producer of the Saw franchise) who played for the Portland Winter Hawks

Portland Winter Hawks

The Portland Winterhawks are a major junior ice hockey team based in Portland, Oregon, playing in the Western Hockey League, a member league in the Canadian Hockey League. They play their home games at the Memorial Coliseum, though typically a few games each season are also played in the...

of the Western Hockey League

Western Hockey League

The Western Hockey League is a major junior ice hockey league based in Western Canada and the Northwestern United States. The WHL is one of three leagues that constitute the Canadian Hockey League as the highest level of junior hockey in Canada...

. They led “The Generals" of the Saint Spectrum Summer Ice Hockey League to a league title in August 1979 in Bridgeview, Illinois

Bridgeview, Illinois

Bridgeview is a village in Cook County, Illinois in the United States. It is located approximately from the Chicago Loop. As of the 2010 census, the village population was 16,446...

. In October 1979, he was in the field of 3,700 race starters and finished among the 2,869 finishers at the Chicago Marathon

Chicago Marathon

The Bank of America Chicago Marathon is a major marathon held yearly in Chicago in Cook County, Illinois, United States. Alongside the Boston, New York, London and Berlin Marathons, it is one of the five World Marathon Majors. Thus, it is also an IAAF Gold Label race...

.

In 1979-80, Hernandez played one season in the Northern Illinois Collegiate Hockey League for the Conference Champions Richard J. Daley College

Richard J. Daley College

Richard J. Daley College is one of the seven City Colleges of Chicago with an enrollment of approximately 4500 students and 81 full-time faculty. The college was founded as William J. Bogan Junior College in 1960 and utilized classrooms in the evenings provided by William J. Bogan High School in...

. He registered an empty net goal

Empty net goal

An empty net goal, or colloquially an empty netter , occurs in ice hockey when a team scores a goal into a net with no goaltender present...

on December 8, 1979 against Wheaton College (Illinois)

Wheaton College (Illinois)

Wheaton College is a private, evangelical Protestant liberal arts college in Wheaton, Illinois, a suburb west of Chicago in the United States...

in a 4-2 win at the Saint Spectrum Ice Arena in Bridgeview, Illinois. He accomplishes a Gordie Howe hat trick

Gordie Howe hat trick

In ice hockey, a Gordie Howe hat trick is a variation on the hat-trick, wherein a player scores a goal, records an assist, and gets in a fight all in one game. It is named after Gordie Howe, well known for his skill at both scoring and fighting....

by scoring a goal, getting an assist, and getting in a fight, all in the same game playing on February 8, 1980 against Wheaton College (Illinois) at the All Season Ice Rinks in Naperville, Illinois

Naperville, Illinois

Naperville is a city in DuPage and Will Counties in Illinois in the United States, voted the second best place to live in the United States by Money Magazine in 2006. As of the 2010 census, the city had a total population of 141,853. It is the fifth largest city in the state, behind Chicago,...

. He scored 21 goals and 33 assist for 54 points. He was selected to play in the NICHL All-Star Game and he was named 1st Team All-Conference Right Wing. His two year total including the previous season from University of Maine at Presque Isle where he scored 29 goals and 29 assist for 58 points, Hernandez joined the 100 Point Club of Collegiate Ice Hockey where he totaled 50 Goals and 58 Assist for 112 points.

1980 - 1989

Hernandez was named head wrestling coach at University of Maine at Presque Isle for the 1980-81 season. He coached 3 Northern New England Champions, 3 All-New England NAIA Wrestlers, 2 All-New England D-3 NCAA Wrestlers and 3 NAIA National Qualifiers. He was selected as NAIA District 5 Wrestling Coach of the Year. He was the State of Maine Report Editor for Wrestling USA Magazine in 1980–1981.

He enlisted in the United States Army

United States Army

The United States Army is the main branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military, and is one of seven U.S. uniformed services...

in October 1981. He won 2 United States Army Correctional Brigade

United States Army Correctional Brigade

The United States Army Correctional Brigade is a prison which prepares prisoners for transition to civilian life as useful citizens or, in a few select cases, for return to military service. Prior to 1 October 1992, Camp Funston was the home of the Brigade...

Freestyle Wrestling Championships, 1 Headquarters and Headquarters Company Garrison

Garrison

Garrison is the collective term for a body of troops stationed in a particular location, originally to guard it, but now often simply using it as a home base....

Freestyle Wrestling Championship, 3 United States Army 1st Infantry Division Freestyle Wrestling Championships and 3 Fort Riley

Fort Riley

Fort Riley is a United States Army installation located in Northeast Kansas, on the Kansas River, between Junction City and Manhattan. The Fort Riley Military Reservation covers 100,656 acres in Geary and Riley counties and includes two census-designated places: Fort Riley North and Fort...

, Kansas

Kansas

Kansas is a US state located in the Midwestern United States. It is named after the Kansas River which flows through it, which in turn was named after the Kansa Native American tribe, which inhabited the area. The tribe's name is often said to mean "people of the wind" or "people of the south...

Post Freestyle Wrestling Championships during his tour of duty at Fort Riley.

In January 1983, Hernandez was selected to the All-Army National Wrestling

Amateur wrestling

Amateur wrestling is the most widespread form of sport wrestling. There are two international wrestling styles performed in the Olympic Games under the supervision of FILA : Greco-Roman and freestyle. Freestyle is possibly derived from the English Lancashire style...

team at Ft. Bliss, Texas

Texas

Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...

. He was instructed by 1984 Olympic Wrestling Coach Floyd Winter. Hernandez won a Bronze at the Texas Tech

Texas Tech Red Raiders

The Texas Tech Red Raiders are the athletic teams that represent Texas Tech University . The women's basketball team uses the name Lady Raiders; however, the school's other women's teams use the "Red Raiders" name. The university's athletic program fields teams in 15 varsity sports and 30 club sports...

Wrestling Invitational defeating NJCAA Academic All-American Brad McBee of Garden City Community College

Garden City Community College

Garden City Community College is a fully accredited community college located in Garden City, Kansas, USA. GCCC has regional accreditation by the Higher Learning Commission of the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools...

, Garden City, Kansas

Garden City, Kansas

Garden City is a city in and the county seat of Finney County, Kansas, United States. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 26,658. The city is home to Garden City Community College and the Lee Richardson Zoo, the largest zoological park in western Kansas.-History:In February 1878, James...

11-9 and Texas State Collegiate Champion Richard Gerber of Richland College

Richland College

Richland College is a community college that is part of the Dallas County Community College District and is located near the Lake Highlands area of Dallas, Texas near the border with Richardson and Garland. The school was founded in 1972 and is the largest school in the DCCCD, featuring nearly...

, Dallas, Texas

Dallas, Texas

Dallas is the third-largest city in Texas and the ninth-largest in the United States. The Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex is the largest metropolitan area in the South and fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States...

by fall to helped the Army National Team win the team title. During his training at Ft. Bliss, he has worked with Ernie Shavers, an American former professional boxer and is widely considered the "Hardest heavyweight puncher of all-time".

Hernandez in 1983 won a Bronze Medal defeating Richard Croucher of Ottawa, Kansas

Ottawa, Kansas

Ottawa is a city situated along the Marais des Cygnes River in the central part of Franklin County, located in east-central Kansas, 50 miles southwest of Kansas City, Mo., in the central United States. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 12,649. It is the county seat and most populous...

by fall at the USA Wrestling Kansas State Freestyle Wrestling Championships held in Junction City, Kansas

Junction City, Kansas

Junction City is a city in and the county seat of Geary County, Kansas, United States. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 23,353. Fort Riley, a major U.S. Army post, is nearby...

. He won a Silver Medal at the 1983 Kansas State University

Kansas State University

Kansas State University, commonly shortened to K-State, is an institution of higher learning located in Manhattan, Kansas, in the United States...

Wrestling Championships defeating John Robb 8-4 of Topeka, Kansas

Topeka, Kansas

Topeka |Kansa]]: Tó Pee Kuh) is the capital city of the U.S. state of Kansas and the county seat of Shawnee County. It is situated along the Kansas River in the central part of Shawnee County, located in northeast Kansas, in the Central United States. As of the 2010 census, the city population was...

. In 1984 Hernandez was defeated by John Robb 3-1 in the finals at the Kansas State University Wrestling Championships held in Manhattan, Kansas

Manhattan, Kansas

Manhattan is a city located in the northeastern part of the state of Kansas in the United States, at the junction of the Kansas River and Big Blue River. It is the county seat of Riley County and the city extends into Pottawatomie County. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 52,281...

. Hernandez won the Silver Medal at the 1984 USA Wrestling Kansas State Freestyle Wrestling Championships losing to Kurt Lang of Wichita, Kansas

Wichita, Kansas

Wichita is the largest city in the U.S. state of Kansas.As of the 2010 census, the city population was 382,368. Located in south-central Kansas on the Arkansas River, Wichita is the county seat of Sedgwick County and the principal city of the Wichita metropolitan area...

in the finals 7-6.

While stationed at Fort Riley; he trained with Nate Foster (holder of over 300 powerlifting

Powerlifting

Powerlifting is a strength sport. It resembles the sport of Olympic weightlifting, as both disciplines involve lifting weights in three attempts. Powerlifting evolved from a sport known as 'odd lifts' which followed the same three attempt format but used a wide variety of events akin to Strongman...

records, International Powerlifting Federation

International Powerlifting Federation

The International Powerlifting Federation is an international governing body for the sport of powerlifting as recognized by the General Association of International Sports Federations as well as the International Olympic Committee via inclusion into the World Games.The IPF was founded in 1971, and...

referee, and Viet Nam veteran) and Hernandez won 2 United States Army Correctional Brigade Powerlifting Championships and took a Silver Medal at the 1982 Fort Riley, Kansas and 1st Infantry Division Powerlifting Championships.

In 1983 he won a Bronze Medal in the 100 meter dash at the Fort Riley and 1st Infantry Division Track & Field Championships. Hernandez won a Bronze at The Athletics Congress (TAC) Pentathlon

Pentathlon

A pentathlon is a contest featuring five different events. The name is derived from Greek: combining the words pente and -athlon . The first pentathlon was documented in Ancient Greece and was part of the Ancient Olympic Games...

Championships held at the Rocky Mountain Masters Games in Denver, Colorado

Denver, Colorado

The City and County of Denver is the capital and the most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Denver is a consolidated city-county, located in the South Platte River Valley on the western edge of the High Plains just east of the Front Range of the Rocky Mountains...

. He competed at the 1983 Oklahoma

Oklahoma

Oklahoma is a state located in the South Central region of the United States of America. With an estimated 3,751,351 residents as of the 2010 census and a land area of 68,667 square miles , Oklahoma is the 28th most populous and 20th-largest state...

Scottish Highland Games

Highland games

Highland games are events held throughout the &Highland games are events held throughout the &Highland games are events held throughout the &(-è_çà in Scotland and other countries as a way of celebrating Scottish and Celtic culture and heritage, especially that of the Scottish Highlands. Certain...

held at Drillers Stadium

Drillers Stadium

Opened in 1981, Drillers Stadium, located in Tulsa, Oklahoma, USA is a minor league baseball stadium, located in the Tulsa metropolitan area. From 1981 to 2009, Drillers Stadium was home to the Tulsa Drillers, a minor league baseball team which plays in the Texas League...

, in Tulsa, Oklahoma

Tulsa, Oklahoma

Tulsa is the second-largest city in the state of Oklahoma and 46th-largest city in the United States. With a population of 391,906 as of the 2010 census, it is the principal municipality of the Tulsa Metropolitan Area, a region with 937,478 residents in the MSA and 988,454 in the CSA. Tulsa's...

. He medaled two Bronze in the Weight throw

Weight throw

The weight throw is a track and field event that is held at Scottish Highland games and occasionally at indoor track meets.In the Highland Games, the weight throw consists of two separate events, the light weight and the heavy weight. In both cases, the implement consists of a steel or lead weight ...

, Stone put

Stone put

The stone put is one of the main Scottish heavy athletic events at modern-day Highland games gatherings. Similar to the shot put, the stone put more frequently uses an ordinary stone or rock instead of a steel ball...

but failed to place in the Scottish Hammer throw

Hammer throw

, Caber toss

Caber toss

The caber toss is a traditional Irish athletic event practised at the Irish Highland Games involving the tossing of a large wooden pole called a caber. It is said to have developed from the need to toss logs across narrow chasms to cross them. In Irishtown the caber is usually made from a Larch tree...

, and Weight over the bar

Weight over the bar

The Weight Over the Bar competition is a test of strength featured at Scottish Highland games. The weight is a steel or lead weight attached to a metal circular handle. The weight is thrown one-handed over a bar set at increasing heights above the thrower. The thrower has three attempts for each...

. He competed with a broken right wrist in two places.

He participated in the 1984 US Olympic Greco-Roman Wrestling Trials losing to 1983 Greco-Roman Pan-American Silver Medalist James Andre of Minnesota

Minnesota

Minnesota is a U.S. state located in the Midwestern United States. The twelfth largest state of the U.S., it is the twenty-first most populous, with 5.3 million residents. Minnesota was carved out of the eastern half of the Minnesota Territory and admitted to the Union as the thirty-second state...

. Hernandez attended a Sambo clinic during the Olympic Trials, where he was introduced to the sport of Sambo by Jim Schneweis, a US National Sambo Champion and Coach Schneweis cornered Hernandez during the Olympic Trials.

In the summer of 1984 Hernandez worked with the Heart of America Sports Attractions

Heart of America Sports Attractions

Heart of America Sports Attractions, also known as the Midwest Wrestling Association, Central States Wrestling and the World Wrestling Alliance, was an American professional wrestling promotion that ran shows mainly in Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska and Iowa...

, also known as the Midwest Wrestling Association, Central States Wrestling and the National Wrestling Alliance

National Wrestling Alliance

The National Wrestling Alliance is a wrestling promotion company and sanctions various NWA championships in the United States. The NWA has been in operation since 1948...

at Ft. Riley, Kansas. He served as a Bodyguard

Bodyguard

A bodyguard is a type of security operative or government agent who protects a person—usually a famous, wealthy, or politically important figure—from assault, kidnapping, assassination, stalking, loss of confidential information, terrorist attack or other threats.Most important public figures such...

and Escort

Law enforcement escort

A police escort, also known as a law enforcement escort, is a feature offered by most law enforcement agencies to assist in transporting VIPs or other important individuals....

for 6 NWA Central States Tag Team Championships and NWA Central States World Heavyweight Championship events. He worked with NWA Central States Headline Wrestlers such as Ric Flair

Ric Flair

Richard Morgan Fliehr is an American professional wrestler, better known by his ring name Ric Flair. Also known as "The Nature Boy", Flair is one of the most well-known professional wrestlers in the world....

, Gypsy Joe

Gilberto Melendez

Gilberto Melendez is a Puerto Rican professional wrestler better known under the ring name Gypsy Joe. Currently he wrestles for the Southern Wrestling Federation in Tullahoma, Tennessee.-Professional wrestling career:...

, Harley Race

Harley Race

Harley Leland Race is a retired American professional wrestler and current promoter and trainer. During his career as a wrestler, he held the NWA World Heavyweight Championship 7 times...

, Marty Jannetty

Marty Jannetty

Frederick Marty Jannetty is an American professional wrestler, best known for his time in the World Wrestling Federation as part of tag team The Rockers with partner Shawn Michaels, and later as a singles competitor. While in the WWF, he became a one time Intercontinental Champion and a one time...

, Buzz Tyler

Buzz Tyler

Buzz Tyler is a retired American professional wrestler who competed in North American regional promotions during the 1970s and 1980s including the National Wrestling Alliance, most notably teaming with J.J...

, Ox Baker

Ox Baker

Douglas A. Baker better known professionally as Ox Baker, is an American former professional wrestler and actor, and was feared for his dreaded finishing move, the Heart Punch, sometimes called the "Hurt Punch", after Baker's famous catchphrase "I love to hurt people!" He has appeared in several...

, "Bulldog" Bob Brown

Bob Brown (wrestler)

Robert Harold Brown was a Canadian professional wrestler, better known by his ring name "Bulldog" Bob Brown.- Early life :...

and Tommy Rogers.

In January 1985, he was a Hockey Counselor at the Bill Bennett

Bill Bennett

William Richards Bennett, PC, OBC , commonly known as Bill Bennett, was the 27th Premier of the Canadian province of British Columbia 1975–1986. He is a son of the former Premier, W. A. C. Bennett. He was a 3rd cousin, twice removed, of R.B...

(former Boston Bruin and Hartford Whalers

Hartford Whalers

The Hartford Whalers were a professional ice hockey team based for most of its existence in Hartford, Connecticut, U.S.A.. The club played in the World Hockey Association from 1972–79 and in the National Hockey League from 1979–97...

) Hockey School. He played on the 1985 USA Hockey Rhode Island

Rhode Island

The state of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, more commonly referred to as Rhode Island , is a state in the New England region of the United States. It is the smallest U.S. state by area...

Men’s State Ice Hockey Champions from Cranston, Rhode Island

Cranston, Rhode Island

Cranston, once known as Pawtuxet, is a city in Providence County, Rhode Island, United States. With a population of 80,387 at the 2010 census, it is the third largest city in the state. The center of population of Rhode Island is located in Cranston...

. Hernandez also played in the USA Hockey New England District-Yankee Conference (Connecticut

Connecticut

Connecticut is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, and the state of New York to the west and the south .Connecticut is named for the Connecticut River, the major U.S. river that approximately...

, Maine

Maine

Maine is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States, bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the east and south, New Hampshire to the west, and the Canadian provinces of Quebec to the northwest and New Brunswick to the northeast. Maine is both the northernmost and easternmost...

, New Hampshire

New Hampshire

New Hampshire is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. The state was named after the southern English county of Hampshire. It is bordered by Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Atlantic Ocean to the east, and the Canadian...

, Rhode Island

Rhode Island

The state of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, more commonly referred to as Rhode Island , is a state in the New England region of the United States. It is the smallest U.S. state by area...

and Vermont

Vermont

Vermont is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. The state ranks 43rd in land area, , and 45th in total area. Its population according to the 2010 census, 630,337, is the second smallest in the country, larger only than Wyoming. It is the only New England...

) Championship game held at the Cranston Veterans Ice Arena in Cranston, Rhode Island.

In April 1985, he won the USA Wrestling Vermont

Vermont

State Freestyle Championships by pinning 2 time Vermont High School State Champion Chad Thompson of Essex Junction, Vermont

Essex Junction, Vermont

Essex Junction is a village in the town of Essex in Chittenden County, Vermont, United States. The population was 8,591 at the 2000 census. It was incorporated on November 15, 1892....

in the finals. He won a Bronze Medal at the 1985 USA Wrestling New England Freestyle Championships as he was defeated by Massachusetts State and New England High School Champion John Gautreau by a score of 5-4 held in Reading, Massachusetts

Reading, Massachusetts

Reading is an affluent town situated in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States, some north of central Boston. The population was 24,747 at the 2010 census.-Settlement and Independence:...

.

In April 1986, he won the USA Wrestling Massachusetts

Massachusetts

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2010...

State Freestyle Wrestling Championships pinning NCAA New England University Champion John Hanlon of Boston College

Boston College

Boston College is a private Jesuit research university located in the village of Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts, USA. The main campus is bisected by the border between the cities of Boston and Newton. It has 9,200 full-time undergraduates and 4,000 graduate students. Its name reflects its early...

in the finals. He won the 1986 USA Wrestling New England Freestyle Wrestling Championship by defeating New England High School Champion Tom Piccirillo of Springfield, Massachusetts

Springfield, Massachusetts

Springfield is the most populous city in Western New England, and the seat of Hampden County, Massachusetts, United States. Springfield sits on the eastern bank of the Connecticut River near its confluence with three rivers; the western Westfield River, the eastern Chicopee River, and the eastern...

in the finals. At the 1986 USA Wrestling Rhode Island

Rhode Island

The state of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, more commonly referred to as Rhode Island , is a state in the New England region of the United States. It is the smallest U.S. state by area...

State Free-Style Championships he defeated National Junior College Athletic Association

National Junior College Athletic Association

The National Junior College Athletic Association , founded in 1938, is an association of community college and junior college athletic departments throughout the United States. It is held as Divisions and Regions. The current NJCAA holds 24 separate regions.-History:The idea for the NJCAA was...

All-American Richard Moore of Cuyahoga Community College

Cuyahoga Community College

Cuyahoga Community College is a two-year college in Cuyahoga County, Ohio. Founded in 1962, Cuyahoga Community College is the oldest, and largest community college in Ohio with a Fall 2009 enrollment of 31,024. * http://www.tri-c.edu/news/Pages/20100823a.aspxIn August of 2010, the college reported...

by a score of 7-3 for the Silver. Hernandez won a Silver Medal at the 1986 WPI Freestyle Wrestling Championships defeating New England Prep National Place-Winner and All-New England Wrestler Chris Henry of Amherst College

Amherst College

Amherst College is a private liberal arts college located in Amherst, Massachusetts, United States. Amherst is an exclusively undergraduate four-year institution and enrolled 1,744 students in the fall of 2009...

by a score of 7-0.

In July 1986, he was a Bay State Games Freestyle Wrestling finalist by defeating two-time All-New England Wrestler and Norwich University All-New England Hall of Fame Member Matt Bogaczyk 4-3. He also defeated Bay State Games Champion Dave Brennan of American University

American University

American University is a private, Methodist, liberal arts, and research university in Washington, D.C. The university was chartered by an Act of Congress on December 5, 1892 as "The American University", which was approved by President Benjamin Harrison on February 24, 1893...

1-0. The Governor of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts Michael Dukakis

Michael Dukakis

Michael Stanley Dukakis served as the 65th and 67th Governor of Massachusetts from 1975–1979 and from 1983–1991, and was the Democratic presidential nominee in 1988. He was born to Greek immigrants in Brookline, Massachusetts, also the birthplace of John F. Kennedy, and was the longest serving...

opened the Bay State Games ceremonies held at Nickerson Field

Nickerson Field

Nickerson Field is a stadium on the site of Braves Field, in Boston, Massachusetts, the former home of the National League Boston Braves baseball team which is now located in Atlanta...

in Boston, Massachusetts. In June 1987, he won a Bronze Medal defeating Bay State Games

Bay State Games

The Bay State Games are an Olympic-style athletic event for amateur athletes in the state of Massachusetts, which includes several divisions and allows athletes of all ages to compete. The Games are divided into Summer and Winter Games. The Summer Games include 25 sports and are usually held in...

Champion Steve Dunn by fall at the Boston University

Boston University

Boston University is a private research university located in Boston, Massachusetts. With more than 4,000 faculty members and more than 31,000 students, Boston University is one of the largest private universities in the United States and one of Boston's largest employers...

Freestyle Wrestling Championships held in Boston, Massachusetts. Hernandez was again a Bay State Games Freestyle Wrestling finalist and Governor Dukakis opened the Bay State Games ceremonies held at the Boston Garden

Boston Garden

The Boston Garden was an arena in Boston, Massachusetts, USA. Designed by boxing promoter Tex Rickard, who also built the third iteration of New York's Madison Square Garden, it opened on November 17, 1928 as "Boston Madison Square Garden" and outlived its original namesake by some 30 years...

.

In April 1987, Hernandez won a Bronze Medal at the USA Wrestling New England Freestyle Championships defeating Bay State Games Bronze Medalist Joe Muscarella of Bridgewater State College

Bridgewater State College

Bridgewater State University is a public liberal-arts college in Bridgewater, Massachusetts, in the United States. It is the largest college in the Massachusetts state university system outside of the University of Massachusetts system. The school's mascot is the bear.-History:BSU was founded by...

6-1 held in Brockton, Massachusetts

Brockton, Massachusetts

Brockton is a city in Plymouth County, Massachusetts, United States; the population was 93,810 in the 2010 Census. Brockton, along with Plymouth, are the county seats of Plymouth County...

.

He won his first United States Sambo Championship in May 1987 at the Amateur Athletic Union National Sambo Championships by defeating Earl Norman of Washington, D.C.

Washington, D.C.

Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....

12-0. He was named Outstanding Wrestler at Howard University

Howard University

Howard University is a federally chartered, non-profit, private, coeducational, nonsectarian, historically black university located in Washington, D.C., United States...

in Washington, D.C. He won the AAU National Masters Greco-Roman Championships pinning World Amateur International Federation of BodyBuilders

International Federation of BodyBuilders

Champion, Yohnnie Shambourger of Maryland

Maryland

Maryland is a U.S. state located in the Mid Atlantic region of the United States, bordering Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware to its east...

in 54 seconds in the finals. In the Masters Greco-Roman All-Around Championship final, he defeated Omar Malik of Maryland. Hernandez placed 4th in the Greco-Roman Open losing 12-2 to Pan-American Greco-Roman Champion Mark Black of Ohio

Ohio

Ohio is a Midwestern state in the United States. The 34th largest state by area in the U.S.,it is the 7th‑most populous with over 11.5 million residents, containing several major American cities and seven metropolitan areas with populations of 500,000 or more.The state's capital is Columbus...

.

Hernandez earned a Silver Medal losing to US Army wrestler Charles Cody of Ft. Knox, Kentucky

Kentucky

The Commonwealth of Kentucky is a state located in the East Central United States of America. As classified by the United States Census Bureau, Kentucky is a Southern state, more specifically in the East South Central region. Kentucky is one of four U.S. states constituted as a commonwealth...

10-9 at the 1989 Amateur Athletic Union Senior National Free-Style Wrestling Championship finals held at the Kellogg Arena

Kellogg Arena

The Kellogg Arena is an 9,800-seat multi-purpose arena in Battle Creek, Michigan, USA. It was built in 1980. It seats 4,675, for basketball games, 4,859, for ice shows, 4,433, for the circus, 1,500, for theatrical shows and concerts, 6,200 for end-stage concerts and 6,500 for center-stage...

in Battle Creek, Michigan

Michigan

Michigan is a U.S. state located in the Great Lakes Region of the United States of America. The name Michigan is the French form of the Ojibwa word mishigamaa, meaning "large water" or "large lake"....

. The 1989 Amateur Athletic Union Masters National Free-Style Wrestling Championship was held at the same venue as Hernandez took a fourth place medal. He was defeated by Sambo World Cup Bronze winner Greg Archer of Indiana

Indiana

Indiana is a US state, admitted to the United States as the 19th on December 11, 1816. It is located in the Midwestern United States and Great Lakes Region. With 6,483,802 residents, the state is ranked 15th in population and 16th in population density. Indiana is ranked 38th in land area and is...

13-7 and Sambo Pan-American Champion Josh Henson of Virginia

Virginia

The Commonwealth of Virginia , is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" after the eight U.S. presidents born there...

by a score of 5-4. In the All-Around portion of the Masters competition; Hernandez lost in the finals to former Wisconsin Badger Randy Lex of Wisconsin 15-1 to take the Silver.

Hernandez was selected as the 1989 AAU Middle Atlantic Masters Outstanding Wrestler Award for his Grand Prix placement finishes of AAU Middle Atlantic tournaments held in Shamokin, Pennsylvania

Shamokin, Pennsylvania

Shamokin is a city in Northumberland County, Pennsylvania, at the western edge of the Anthracite Coal Region. At the 2000 census the population was 8,009 residents...

. At the AAU Middle Atlantic Greco-Roman Championship finals; Hernandez was defeated in the finals by NCAA Champion Dan Muthler of United States Naval Academy

United States Naval Academy

The United States Naval Academy is a four-year coeducational federal service academy located in Annapolis, Maryland, United States...

. He won the Bronze in Freestyle defeating former Pennsylvania high school state runner-up, Drew Perman of Drexel University

Drexel University

Drexel University is a private research university with the main campus located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA. It was founded in 1891 by Anthony J. Drexel, a noted financier and philanthropist. Drexel offers 70 full-time undergraduate programs and accelerated degrees...

by fall.

At the 1989 USA Wrestling Rhode Island State Free-Style Championships; Hernandez defeated 2-time Rhode Island State High School Champion Damon Popella of East Greenwich, Rhode Island

East Greenwich, Rhode Island

East Greenwich is a town in and the county seat of Kent County, Rhode Island, United States. The population was 13,146 at the 2010 census. East Greenwich is the wealthiest municipality within the state of Rhode Island....

by a score of 9-0 for the Bronze Medal. In May 1989 at the New England Freestyle Wrestling Championships, he won a Bronze Medal losing to All-New England Wrestler Scott Viera of Rhode Island College 5-4 held in Providence, Rhode Island. He won the Bronze Medal at the 1989 USA Wrestling Connecticut State Freestyle Championships defeating Connecticut State High School Medalist Peter Mooney of Saint Bernard School, Uncasville, Connecticut

Uncasville, Connecticut

Uncasville is an area in the town of Montville, Connecticut. The area traditionally known as Uncasville is a village in southeastern Montville, at the mouth of the Oxoboxo River...

, by a score of 10-1.

1990 - 1999

In July 1991, Hernandez won two Gold Medals at the 1991 Amateur Athletic Union National Masters Free-Style Wrestling Championships held at the Kellogg Arena in Battle Creek, Michigan. He defeated AAU Masters Champion and FIAS Sambo World Masters Champion Bruce Gabrielson of Maryland

Maryland

by fall in the semi-finals. He defeated Gene Emery of New Jersey

New Jersey

New Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...

4-1 in the Championship finals. Hernandez was named Outstanding Wrestler of the Amateur Athletic Union National Masters Free-Style Wrestling Championships.

In 1994 Hernandez won a Bronze Medal at the Loring Air Force Base

Loring Air Force Base

Loring Air Force Base is a former United States Air Force base that was under the operational control of the Strategic Air Command for most of its existence. In 1992, it was transferred to the newly-established Air Combat Command, and it was finally closed as an active Air Force installation in...

Short Track Skating Championships and a Gold Medal in the 5000 meter Speed Skating Championships at Loring Air Force Base, Limestone

Limestone

Limestone is a sedimentary rock composed largely of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of calcium carbonate . Many limestones are composed from skeletal fragments of marine organisms such as coral or foraminifera....

, Aroostook County, Maine

Aroostook County, Maine

Aroostook County is a county located in the U.S. state of Maine. In 2010, its population was 71,870. In land area, it is the largest county in the state and the largest U.S. county east of the Mississippi River. Its seat is Houlton...

.

In 1995 he took fifth place as a member of the USA Wrestling National Veterans Team at the Fédération Internationale des Luttes Associées World Veterans Freestyle Wrestling

Freestyle wrestling

Championships held at the Universiade Hall in Sofia

Sofia

Sofia is the capital and largest city of Bulgaria and the 12th largest city in the European Union with a population of 1.27 million people. It is located in western Bulgaria, at the foot of Mount Vitosha and approximately at the centre of the Balkan Peninsula.Prehistoric settlements were excavated...

, Bulgaria. He was coached by United States Olympic Freestyle Coach Bruce Burnett.

Hernandez at age 43; won three Gold medals, two Silvers and two Bronzes at the Grand National AAU Wrestling Championships. He participated in Sambo, Greco-Roman and Freestyle wrestling contested at the 3 day event in 1997, held at Rabobank Arena

Rabobank Arena

Rabobank Arena is a 10,000-seat multi-purpose arena, Bakersfield, California, USA. Located downtown at the corner of Truxtun Avenue and N Street, it was built in 1998, and was originally known as Centennial Garden. The city-owned arena sold naming rights to the Dutch cooperative bank Rabobank in...

in Bakersfield, California

California

California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...

. He won the Bronze losing to King of the Cage

King of the Cage

King of the Cage, also known as KOTC, is a mixed martial arts promotion based in Southern California, USA.-History:KOTC was founded in 1998 by Terry Trebilcock. KOTC features up and coming MMA stars as well as experienced combat fighters....

Champion and UFC fighter Dean Lister

Dean Lister

Dean Richard Lister is an American mixed martial artist and a former King of the Cage champion. He currently fights at the Middleweight division after moving down from the Light Heavyweight class...

of California in the Sambo Open Finals. Hernandez won the Sambo Masters Championship over Carl Mayhugh of California and took a Silver losing to defending Masters Champion and Oregon State High School Champion David Bell of Oregon

Oregon

Oregon is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is located on the Pacific coast, with Washington to the north, California to the south, Nevada on the southeast and Idaho to the east. The Columbia and Snake rivers delineate much of Oregon's northern and eastern...

8-4 in the Masters Sambo All-Around Finals. In the Greco Roman Master Finals he won the Silver as he was defeated by Canadian Champion and AAU Silver medalist Josef Tesar of Calgary, Alberta. Hernandez won the Bronze over Alan Mayo of the United States Navy

United States Navy

The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...

in the Open Finals. Hernandez defeated Pac-8 Champion and USA Wrestling National Vets Runner-up Michael McIntyre of California 6-4 and California Community College State Wrestling Champion and NCAA College Division Runner-up Pat Farner of California in the Free-Style Masters Championship Finals All-Around Competition. Hernandez pinned Adam Ruiz of Mexico

Mexico

The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...

in the Masters Championship for the Gold.

One week prior to the Grand National AAU Wrestling Championships, he won 2 Bronze Medals in the 100 meter dash and the Shot-put at the USA Track & Field Eastern Masters Regional Track & Field Championships held at the University of Maine in Orono, Maine.

In 1999, he gained All-America honors as he took a fifth place losing to Outstanding Sambo Wrestler and Champion; Jeff Rusak of Old Dominion University

Old Dominion University

Old Dominion University is a state university located in Norfolk, Virginia, United States, and is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools...

by armbar submission at the Combat

Combat

Combat, or fighting, is a purposeful violent conflict meant to establish dominance over the opposition, or to terminate the opposition forever, or drive the opposition away from a location where it is not wanted or needed....

Sport Spectacular 2 Championships and the AAU - United States Sambo Association National Championships held at MCB Quantico, Virginia

Virginia

. He won the AAU National Masters Championship unopposed. He won the National Sambo Masters Bronze in the All-Around Competition defeating Paul Thomas of Brazil. Hernandez represented Puerto Rico

Puerto Rico

Puerto Rico , officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico , is an unincorporated territory of the United States, located in the northeastern Caribbean, east of the Dominican Republic and west of both the United States Virgin Islands and the British Virgin Islands.Puerto Rico comprises an...

and won the 1999 Fédération Internationale Amateur de Sambo West Pan-American Bronze by defeating Bahia

Bahia

Bahia is one of the 26 states of Brazil, and is located in the northeastern part of the country on the Atlantic coast. It is the fourth most populous Brazilian state after São Paulo, Minas Gerais and Rio de Janeiro, and the fifth-largest in size...

State Jiu-jitsu Champion, Paul Thomas of Brazil

Brazil

Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...

.

Hernandez competed as a member of the USMC National Sambo Team in 1999 and 2000. He was selected by XXIII Olympiad Greco Roman Silver medalist and USMC Wrestling Coach Greg Gibson. Hernandez also contributed to the USMC Teams success; which won the US National Sambo Team Championships in 1999 and 2000.

2000 - 2009

In February 2000, Hernandez represented the Black Bear Wrestling Club of the University of New Brunswick as he won the New Brunswick International Freestyle Wrestling Open in the Masters Division. He pinned Canadian Amateur Wrestling Association Junior Silver Medalist Jean Luc Pitre of Club Lutte Acadie-Bathurst and finished 3rd pl. in the Open Division. He was defeated by All-Canadian Wrestler Mike Trites of the University of New Brunswick by a score of 10-9 in the semi-finals held in Fredericton, New Brunswick, Canada.

In April 2000, Hernandez won a Gold Medal at the XXV National AAU Sambo Championships at the Chinese Martial Arts Millennium Festival held at Disney's Wide World of Sports Complex

Disney's Wide World of Sports Complex

ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex is a athletic complex located in the Walt Disney World Resort. The complex includes 9 venues and hosts numerous amateur and professional sporting events throughout the year....

in Orlando

Orlando, Florida

Orlando is a city in the central region of the U.S. state of Florida. It is the county seat of Orange County, and the center of the Greater Orlando metropolitan area. According to the 2010 US Census, the city had a population of 238,300, making Orlando the 79th largest city in the United States...

, Florida

Florida

Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...

. Hernandez defeated 22 year old Eric Wagner of Virginia in the Open Finals by armbar submission. He was 46 years old at the time. He represented Puerto Rico and won the Fédération Internationale Amateur de Sambo West Pan-American Silver medal by defeating Canadian Amateur Wrestling Association Greco Roman Silver Medalist Josh Albright of Nova Scotia, Canada by a score of 7-2.

In July 2000, he won a pair of World FIAS West Bronze medals at the Federation International Association Sambo World Championships held at the Hara Arena

Hara Arena

Hara Arena is a 5,500-seat multi-purpose arena, in Trotwood, Ohio, just outside the city of Dayton.At one time, it hosted the Dayton Jets basketball team and Dayton Gems, Dayton Blue Hawks, Dayton Owls, Dayton Bombers and Dayton Ice Bandits ice hockey teams and The Marshals indoor football...

in Dayton, Ohio

Dayton, Ohio

Dayton is the 6th largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Montgomery County, the fifth most populous county in the state. The population was 141,527 at the 2010 census. The Dayton Metropolitan Statistical Area had a population of 841,502 in the 2010 census...

. He was defeated by mixed martial arts

Mixed martial arts

Mixed Martial Arts is a full contact combat sport that allows the use of both striking and grappling techniques, both standing and on the ground, including boxing, wrestling, Brazilian jiu-jitsu, muay Thai, kickboxing, karate, judo and other styles. The roots of modern mixed martial arts can be...

fighter Bryan Densberger of Pennsylvania in Combat Sambo in the finals by heel hook submission. He lost to World FIAS West Champion Oscar Hernandez of Venezuela

Venezuela

Venezuela , officially called the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela , is a tropical country on the northern coast of South America. It borders Colombia to the west, Guyana to the east, and Brazil to the south...

in Sport Sambo finals. Hernandez won the World FIAS West Masters Championship by defeating a 4th degree black belt in Budoshin (Japanese origin) Jujutsu Jeff Wynn of Virginia. Hernandez was defeated by 1999 World FIAS West Masters Champion Destin Luc Allain of France

France

The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...

8-4 in the All-Round Master finals. Hernandez represented Puerto Rico at the FIAS West World Championships.

In November 2000, Hernandez was selected by the United States Sambo Association to represent the United States at the FIAS West World Cup of Sambo Wrestling held in Nice, France. He won a Silver Medal by defeating National Sambo Champion Martial Bouchaud of France

France

and losing to defending World Champion Vanyo Todorov of Bulgaria

Bulgaria

Bulgaria , officially the Republic of Bulgaria , is a parliamentary democracy within a unitary constitutional republic in Southeast Europe. The country borders Romania to the north, Serbia and Macedonia to the west, Greece and Turkey to the south, as well as the Black Sea to the east...

in the Championship finals. The US National Sambo Team placed second.
In November 2001, Hernandez was selected again to represent the United States at the FIAS West World Cup of Sambo held in Nice, France. He took 5th place losing to French National Sambo Champion and FIAS West World Champion Samuel Lelièvre of Cherbourg, France. The US National Sambo Team placed second. In November 2002, Hernandez was selected to represent the United States at the FIAS West World Cup of Sambo held in Nice, France for his third selection to the USA National Sambo Team. He could not participate due to military obligations. Hernandez at age 49 was ranked 3rd. in the USSA rankings.

From 1999 to 2001, Hernandez had earned six All American Standards of Excellence Awards in the 5 km and 8 km events sponsored by National Masters News. He ran a total of 60 road running

Road running

Road running is the sport of running on a measured course over an established road . These events would be classified as long distance according to athletics terminology, with distances typically ranging from 5 kilometers to 42.2 kilometers in the marathon. They may involve large numbers of runners...

events during this period along with heavy weight training

Weight training

Weight training is a common type of strength training for developing the strength and size of skeletal muscles. It uses the weight force of gravity to oppose the force generated by muscle through concentric or eccentric contraction...

to get into world class shape.

In February 2002, he finished 6th place at the 2002 CAWA Eastern Canadian National Open Freestyle Wrestling Championships, losing to Canada Summer Games Silver Medalist Marc Duguay of Club Lutte Acadie-Bathurst. He won a Gold Medal at the CAWA Eastern Canadian National Freestyle Wrestling Masters Championships held in Fredericton, New Brunswick, Canada.

In May 2003, he won the 6th World AAU

Amateur Athletic Union

Iron Man Wrestling Championships in Open and Masters division held in Knoxville, Tennessee

Knoxville, Tennessee

Founded in 1786, Knoxville is the third-largest city in the U.S. state of Tennessee, U.S.A., behind Memphis and Nashville, and is the county seat of Knox County. It is the largest city in East Tennessee, and the second-largest city in the Appalachia region...

. He pinned Sunshine Games Champion Glen Tolleson of Florida in 1:23 in the Greco Roman Championship finals.

Hernandez has competed at the Maine Skirmish competitions (The Maine Brazilian-Jiu-Jitsu State Championships) in 2003, 2005 and 2007 held at Winslow High School

Winslow High School (Maine)

Winslow High School is a four year public high school located in Winslow, Maine. It is a part of Maine AOS 92 - Kennebec Valley Consolidated Schools along with the city of Waterville, Maine and the town of Vassalboro, Maine, and is one of two high schools in the School Unit...

, Winslow, Maine

Winslow, Maine

Winslow is a town and census-designated place in Kennebec County, Maine, United States, along the Kennebec River. The population was 7,743 at the 2000 census.-History:...

. He has won 2 Gold, 3 Silver and a Bronze medal in Open and Masters Expert divisions. In the 2003 open finals, Hernandez was defeated by a choke submission by 2003 Unified Shoot Wrestling Federation Middleweight World Champion Jay Jack.

In 2004 represented the United States of America and the United States Army

United States Army

at the FIAS British Sambo Championships held at the Swallows Leisure Centre, Sittingbourne

Sittingbourne

Sittingbourne is an industrial town about eight miles east of Gillingham in England, beside the Roman Watling Street off a creek in the Swale, a channel separating the Isle of Sheppey from mainland Kent...

, Kent

Kent

Kent is a county in southeast England, and is one of the home counties. It borders East Sussex, Surrey and Greater London and has a defined boundary with Essex in the middle of the Thames Estuary. The ceremonial county boundaries of Kent include the shire county of Kent and the unitary borough of...

, England

England

England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

.
He won the British Sambo Open Silver Medal by defeating MMA fighter Grant Waterman of Portsmouth, England 14-4.

In 2005 at age 51 years old, Hernandez represented the USA and the US Army at the FIAS British Sambo Championships held in Sittingbourne, England. Hernandez defeated 18 year old Ben Lawson of England 6-1. Then he defeated returning Silver Medalist Graham Mann of Norfolk, England 12-0 in the semi-finals. He was defeated by FIAS 3 x World Sambo Medalist and 15 x British Champion Paul Sawyer of Bournemouth, England 2-0 in the finals for the Silver medal. He was awarded an International Budo Federation 1st. Degree Black Belt in Sambo from 1980 British Olympic Judo

Judo

is a modern martial art and combat sport created in Japan in 1882 by Jigoro Kano. Its most prominent feature is its competitive element, where the object is to either throw or takedown one's opponent to the ground, immobilize or otherwise subdue one's opponent with a grappling maneuver, or force an...

Team Member and International Master of the Sport in Sambo; Grandmaster

Grandmaster (martial arts)

Grandmaster and Master are titles used to describe or address some senior or experienced martial artists. Such titles may be, to some extent, aligned to the elderly martial arts master stock character in fiction...

Martin Clarke; at the conclusion of the FIAS British National Sambo Championships.

He joined Team Irish; a Martial Arts Fight Club out of Bangor

Bangor, Maine

Bangor is a city in and the county seat of Penobscot County, Maine, United States, and the major commercial and cultural center for eastern and northern Maine...

, Maine

Maine

owned by UFC fighter Marcus Davis

Marcus Davis

Marcus Paul Davis , is an Irish-American mixed martial artist. He currently fights as a welterweight. He was a contestant on The Ultimate Fighter 2 on Spike TV. He holds notable wins over Chris Lytle, Paul Taylor, Jonathan Goulet, and Shonie Carter.-Boxing career:Marcus began boxing at 14...

"The Irish Hand Grenade" in May 2006. Hernandez has trained and worked out with UFC fighters Dale Hartt, WEC

World Extreme Cagefighting

World Extreme Cagefighting was an American mixed martial arts promotion. It was purchased by Zuffa, LLC, the parent company of Ultimate Fighting Championship , in 2006. In its final incarnation, it was made up of 3 weight classes: 135, 145 and 155 lbs. To accommodate the smaller...

Champion Mike Brown

Mike Brown (fighter)

Mike Thomas Brown is an American mixed martial artist. He currently fights as a featherweight in the Ultimate Fighting Championship organization and is a former WEC Featherweight Champion...

and Marcus Davis.

In June 2006; he won the Silver at the North American Grappling Association

North American Grappling Association

North American Grappling Association is an organization started in 1995 that holds Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu tournaments in North America and Europe. NAGA is the largest submission grappling association in North America with over 46,600 participants world-wide. Including some of the top jiu-jitsu...

New England

New England is a region in the northeastern corner of the United States consisting of the six states of Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut...

Championships, losing to MMA fighter Phil Myers of Boston

Boston

Boston is the capital of and largest city in Massachusetts, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. The largest city in New England, Boston is regarded as the unofficial "Capital of New England" for its economic and cultural impact on the entire New England region. The city proper had...

Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu

Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu is a martial art, combat sport, and a self defense system that focuses on grappling and especially ground fighting...

(Gracie Barra

Gracie Barra

Gracie Barra is one of the largest Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu associations, with over 400 black belts and 150 schools or affiliates worldwide. It is headed by Carlos Gracie, Jr., son of Carlos Gracie the first Gracie to ever learn Jiu-Jitsu from Japanese emigrant to Brazil Otávio Mitsuyo Maeda.- History...

Boston) by a rear naked choke. In November later that year; he won a Silver in the No-Gi competition by defeating World NAGA Champion Neal Keegstra of New Jersey

New Jersey

(Royce Gracie

Royce Gracie

Royce Gracie is a Brazilian professional mixed martial artist, a UFC Hall of Famer and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu practitioner. A legend and pioneer in the sport of mixed martial arts, he is widely considered to be the most influential figure in the history of modern MMA.Gracie gained fame for his...

) 6-2 in the semi-finals then losing Phil Myers of Boston Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu (Gracie Barra Boston) by arm bar submission (Hernandez was ahead leading 5-4 with 10 seconds left in overtime). The North American Grappling Association Championships was held at Sacred Heart University

Sacred Heart University

Sacred Heart University is a Roman Catholic university located in suburban Fairfield, Connecticut, United States. Sacred Heart was founded in 1963 by the Most Reverend Walter W. Curtis, Bishop of the Diocese of Bridgeport, Connecticut. Sacred Heart University was the first Catholic university in...

William H. Pitt Center

William H. Pitt Center is a 2,100-seat multipurpose arena in Fairfield, Connecticut. It was built in 1997 and is home to Sacred Heart University athletics. It hosted the finals of the 2008 Northeast Conference men's basketball tournament....

in Fairfield, Connecticut

Fairfield, Connecticut

Fairfield is a town located in Fairfield County, Connecticut, United States. It is bordered by the towns of Bridgeport, Trumbull, Easton, Redding and Westport along the Gold Coast of Connecticut. As of the 2010 census, the town had a population of 59,404...

. Hernandez was ranked number #1 in the State of Maine in both Gi & No-Gi for the 2006 season.

In 2007 Hernandez represented the USA and the American Sambo Association at the FIAS/BSF British Sambo Championships held in Sittingbourne, Kent, England. He took the Silver Medal by defeating Oktam of Uzbekistan

Uzbekistan

Uzbekistan , officially the Republic of Uzbekistan is a doubly landlocked country in Central Asia and one of the six independent Turkic states. It shares borders with Kazakhstan to the west and to the north, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan to the east, and Afghanistan and Turkmenistan to the south....

, 1-0 in the semi-finals (Hernandez is one of a handful of American Sambo fighters to defeat a Uzbekistan fighter in Sambo). He was defeated by FIAS World Sambo Medalist and World Cornish Wrestling

Cornish wrestling

Cornish wrestling is a form of wrestling which has been established in Cornwall, an area of southwest Britain for several centuries. The referee is known as a 'stickler', and it is claimed that the popular meaning of the word as a 'pedant' originates from this usage...

Champion Darrin Richardson of Gosport

Gosport

Gosport is a town, district and borough situated on the south coast of England, within the county of Hampshire. It has approximately 80,000 permanent residents with a further 5,000-10,000 during the summer months...

, England, 2-0, in the Championship finals.

In 2008 at the North American Grappling Association's World Championships at Essex County College

Essex County College

Essex County College is an open-door, public two-year college located in Essex County, New Jersey, United States. It is committed to providing quality educational programs and life-long learning activities at the most affordable cost. The college is open to students with a wide variety of...

in Newark, New Jersey

Newark, New Jersey

Newark is the largest city in the American state of New Jersey, and the seat of Essex County. As of the 2010 United States Census, Newark had a population of 277,140, maintaining its status as the largest municipality in New Jersey. It is the 68th largest city in the U.S...

, Hernandez won a pair of world titles. He won a Bronze No-Gi Championship by defeating Phil Kavowski of New York, New York by choke submission and the Silver Medal in the Gi competition losing to World NAGA Champion Neal Keegstra of New Jersey (Royce Gracie) by a score of 2-2 overtime split decision.

On April 4, 2009 he repeated his performance at these same championships by winning a Silver No-Gi Championship losing to World NAGA Champion Neal Keegstra of New Jersey (Royce Gracie) by a score of 4-2. Hernandez won the Bronze Medal in the Gi competition by defeating his opponent from Poland

Poland

Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...

by forfeit. The event held at Essex County College in Newark, New Jersey. In November 2009 Hernandez won a Bronze Medal in the Expert division at the North American Grappling Championships. He defeated NAGA NO-GI Executive Cruiserweight World Submission Grappling Champion George Sommers of Newark, New Jersey (Team End Game/Eddy Rolon) by a score of 8-0 held at Essex County College in Newark, New Jersey. He won a Bronze Medal in the Gi Expert division. NAGA Fighter has ranked Hernandez 3rd. in the Top National Fighters in NO-GI, and ranked him, 6th Nationally in GI for 2009. Hernandez has also been ranked #2 in New England both NO-GI & Gi for 2009. He is ranked number #1 in the State of Maine in both Gi & No-Gi for the 2009 season.

2010 - present

On July 24, 2010 Hernandez won the Bronze Medal at the Scottish Open Judo and the Federation International Association of Sambo Championships held at the DG1 Leisure Centre, Dumfries and Galloway

Dumfries and Galloway

Dumfries and Galloway is one of 32 unitary council areas of Scotland. It was one of the nine administrative 'regions' of mainland Scotland created in 1975 by the Local Government etc. Act 1973...

, Scotland

Scotland

Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...

. Hernandez fought former British World Team member from 2002 World Championships held in Krasnoyarsk

Krasnoyarsk

Krasnoyarsk is a city and the administrative center of Krasnoyarsk Krai, Russia, located on the Yenisei River. It is the third largest city in Siberia, with the population of 973,891. Krasnoyarsk is an important junction of the Trans-Siberian Railway and one of Russia's largest producers of...

Siberia

Siberia is an extensive region constituting almost all of Northern Asia. Comprising the central and eastern portion of the Russian Federation, it was part of the Soviet Union from its beginning, as its predecessor states, the Tsardom of Russia and the Russian Empire, conquered it during the 16th...

, Russia

Russia

Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...

and many time Scottish Champion Jack Tinning of Dumfries, Scotland losing 4-3 for the Silver. Hernandez also took 5th place in the Judo Open Black Belt Division. He was defeated by John Imrie of Edinburgh, Scotland a 5th Dan Judo and former British Olympic Team Member. Hernandez was the oldest fighter at the event. He represented the USA and the American Sambo Association. Hernandez also instructed a MMA seminar to a group of Whitehaven, England-based MMA club that featured MMA fighters Derek Morris of St Helens, Merseyside

St Helens, Merseyside

St Helens is a large town in Merseyside, England. It is the largest settlement and administrative centre of the Metropolitan Borough of St Helens with a population of just over 100,000, part of an urban area with a total population of 176,843 at the time of the 2001 Census...

and International Fight League

International Fight League

The International Fight League was an American mixed martial arts promotion billed as the world's first MMA league. It was founded on January 7, 2006 and closed on July 31, 2008...

Title Contender Alex Cook of Whitehaven.

Hernandez continues to compete internationally in sambo, wrestling, judo

Judo

, brazilian jiu-jitsu

Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu

Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu is a martial art, combat sport, and a self defense system that focuses on grappling and especially ground fighting...

and submission wrestling

Submission wrestling

Submission wrestling or Combat wrestling in Japan, is a formula of competition and a general term describing the aspect of martial arts and combat sports that focus on clinch and ground fighting with the aim of obtaining a submission using submission holds...

events. He is one of a few of American Sambo fighters to have medaled in both FIAS West and FIAS East sanctioned international events. He processes a total of 14 World Titles & 44 International Titles in Submission Grappling, Sport Sambo, Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, Combat Sambo, American Folkstyle and Freestyle Wrestling. Hernandez is a 31-time National AAU All-American in Sambo, Freestyle, Greco-Roman and American Folkstyle Wrestling and he is an AAU National Champion in all four styles. Hernandez is the oldest known active competitive Sambo fighter in the USA today.

Honors and awards

Hernandez was featured on a box of Wheaties

Wheaties

Wheaties is a brand of General Mills breakfast cereal. It is well known for featuring prominent athletes on the exterior of the package, and has become a major cultural icon...

Energy Crunch in December 2001. Hernandez was welcomed into the Wheaties Family by Olympic Champion Mary Lou Retton

Mary Lou Retton

Mary Lou Retton is an American gymnast and Olympic gold medalist. She was the first female gymnast from outside Eastern Europe to win the Olympic all-around title, after 14 Eastern Bloc countries boycotted the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles.-Personal life:Retton was born in Fairmont, West...

and Tiger Woods

Tiger Woods

Eldrick Tont "Tiger" Woods is an American professional golfer whose achievements to date rank him among the most successful golfers of all time. Formerly the World No...

in Madison Square Garden

Madison Square Garden

Madison Square Garden, often abbreviated as MSG and known colloquially as The Garden, is a multi-purpose indoor arena in the New York City borough of Manhattan and located at 8th Avenue, between 31st and 33rd Streets, situated on top of Pennsylvania Station.Opened on February 11, 1968, it is the...

, New York City

New York City

, New York

New York

New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...

.

"Being on the Wheaties box was one of the biggest thrills of my wrestling career, and I'm honored!"

Hernandez is the First Sombo Wrestler to be on a Box the Breakfast of Champions Wheaties. Over 15 million boxes were produced and sold all over the world from December 2001 until January 2005.

Hernandez also said that he received one of the greatest honors that has ever been bestowed on him, one he will never forget.
“I received a letter of congratulations from the US Army Reserve's Command Sergeant Major Alex Lackey," Hernandez said. "He told me that I am the Everyday Champion and I represent over 205,000 Reservists all over the world". "I never received that kind of letter or acknowledgement from anybody in my entire military career! I was deeply honored".

He was also featured in Sports Illustrated

Sports Illustrated

Sports Illustrated is an American sports media company owned by media conglomerate Time Warner. Its self titled magazine has over 3.5 million subscribers and is read by 23 million adults each week, including over 18 million men. It was the first magazine with circulation over one million to win the...

s "Faces in the Crowd

Faces in the Crowd

Faces in the Crowd is a long-running segment from Sports Illustrated. Starting in the January 9, 1956 issue, the segment was originally titled These Faces in the Crowd. The predecessor to These Faces... was a segment called Pat on the Back. It differed in that it did not just focus on unknown or...

" and CNN/SI "Faces in the Crowd

Faces in the Crowd

".
Hernandez was the second and last Sambo fighter to appear in Sports Illustrated

Sports Illustrated

"Faces in the Crowd" in October 1997 (the first was 1984 Olympic Silver Medalist Greg Gibson in 1981). At the time, Sport Illustrated readership numbered near 23 million per week, not including web viewers. However, at the time of Hernandez’s listing, Sports Illustrated had teamed up with CNN, making Hernandez the first known Sambo fighter covered on CNN Sports Illustrated.

On June 4, 2006, he was inducted with Major League Baseball

Major League Baseball

Major League Baseball is the highest level of professional baseball in the United States and Canada, consisting of teams that play in the National League and the American League...

All-Star

All-star

All-star is a term designating an individual as having a high level of performance in their field. Originating in sports, it has since drifted into vernacular and been borrowed heavily by the entertainment industry...

Shortstop

Shortstop, abbreviated SS, is the baseball fielding position between second and third base. Shortstop is often regarded as the most dynamic defensive position in baseball, because there are more right-handed hitters in baseball than left-handed hitters, and most hitters have a tendency to pull the...

Mike Bordick

Michael Todd Bordick is an American retired professional baseball shortstop. He played in Major League Baseball from 1990 to 2003 with four different teams: the Oakland Athletics, Baltimore Orioles, New York Mets, and Toronto Blue Jays.-Early life:Bordick's father, Michael, was in the Air Force,...

into the Maine Sports Hall of Fame. The Master of Ceremonies Dick Costello; Athletic Director at the University of Southern Maine

University of Southern Maine

The University of Southern Maine is a multi-campus public urban comprehensive university and part of the University of Maine System. USM's three primary campuses are located in Portland, Gorham, and Lewiston...

introduced Hernandez as "The State of Maine's Most Decorated Wrestler ever". He also rec'd Congratulations from Maine Governor John E. Baldacci.

Hernandez has been inducted into these athletic Halls of Fame

Hall of Fame

A hall of fame, wall of fame, walk of fame, walk of stars or avenue of stars is a type of attraction established for any field of endeavor to honor individuals of noteworthy achievement in that field...

University of Maine at Presque Isle
University of Maine at Presque Isle
The University of Maine at Presque Isle is part of the University of Maine System. Located in Presque Isle, UMPI offers studies in social and life sciences, business, recreation, education, and natural sciences. Its campus radio station is WUPI....

Athletic Hall of Fame
Illinois
Illinois
Illinois is the fifth-most populous state of the United States of America, and is often noted for being a microcosm of the entire country. With Chicago in the northeast, small industrial cities and great agricultural productivity in central and northern Illinois, and natural resources like coal,...

Wrestlers Hall of Fame
Latin American World Wide Martial Arts
Martial arts
Martial arts are extensive systems of codified practices and traditions of combat, practiced for a variety of reasons, including self-defense, competition, physical health and fitness, as well as mental and spiritual development....

Hall of Fame
Diversified League Of Martial Artists Hall of Fame
Action Martial Arts Magazine Hall of Honors

Hernandez has been presented by Maine Governor Angus King

Angus King

Angus S. King, Jr. served two terms as the 72nd Governor of Maine from 1995 to 2003. Since 2004, King has been a distinguished lecturer at Bowdoin College teaching a course called "Leaders and Leadership"; in the fall of 2009, he also taught a similar course at Bates College...

with the State of Maine Legislative Sentiment Awards for his work in Wrestling and Sombo. He has been Awarded a total of fourteen State of Maine Legislative Sentiment Awards by both the Houses of the Maine State Legislature. A proclamation honored him in May 1999 “upon winning gold and bronze medals at the AAU Sombo wrestling championships at Quantico, Virginia.” He won the gold medal in the 180-pound class of the masters division and placed third in the Masters All-Round. He holds the distinction of being one of only two master’s division wrestlers in the country to have won gold medals in the three wrestling disciplines: Greco-Roman, Freestyle and Sombo.” Esquire

Esquire

Esquire is a term of West European origin . Depending on the country, the term has different meanings...

Josh Henson of Virginia “The Father of US Sambo” is the other.

He was selected to serve as the Grand Marshal

Grand Marshal

Grand Marshal is a ceremonial, military, or political office of very high rank. The term has its origins with the word "Marshal" with the first usage of the term "Grand Marshal" as a ceremonial title for certain religious orders...

l of the Washburn August Festival Parade in 2002. Hernandez threw the ceremonial first pitch

Ceremonial first pitch

The ceremonial first ball is a longstanding ritual of American baseball in which a guest of honor throws a ball to mark the end of pregame festivities and the start of the game. Originally, the guest threw a ball from his/her place in the grandstand to the pitcher or catcher of the home team...

at the 4th of July

Independence Day (United States)

Independence Day, commonly known as the Fourth of July, is a federal holiday in the United States commemorating the adoption of the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776, declaring independence from the Kingdom of Great Britain...

2003 Portland Sea Dogs

Portland Sea Dogs

The Portland Sea Dogs are the Double-A minor league affiliate of the Boston Red Sox. Established in 1994 and based in Portland, Maine, the Sea Dogs play in the Northern Division of the Eastern League....

Baseball

Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each. The aim is to score runs by hitting a thrown ball with a bat and touching a series of four bases arranged at the corners of a ninety-foot diamond...

Game at Hadlock Field

Hadlock Field

Hadlock Field is a Minor League baseball stadium in Portland, Maine. It is primarily home to the Portland Sea Dogs of the Eastern League. It is also the home of the Portland Bulldogs and Deering Rams baseball teams. The stadium is named for Edson J...

in Portland, Maine

Portland, Maine

Portland is the largest city in Maine and is the county seat of Cumberland County. The 2010 city population was 66,194, growing 3 percent since the census of 2000...

.

In 2006, Hernandez was nominated for the American Sombo Association's Pioneer of American Sambo Award. The winner was UFC Fighter and Movie Star Oleg Taktarov

Oleg Taktarov

Oleg Nikolaevich Taktarov is a retired Russian mixed martial artist and actor. He is a practitioner of Sambo and Judo and has competed in the Ultimate Fighting Championship and Pride Fighting Championships. Taktarov was the UFC 6 tournament champion and holds notable wins over Marco Ruas and David...

.

In October 2008, Hernandez is featured in the Scholastic Book Series called "Maine-America the Beautiful" in the biographical dictionary 'Famous Mainers' section. Hernandez is one of five athletes featured and one of 47 other Famous Mainer's listed in the book. He has been featured in Ultimate Grappling Magazine, Black Belt Magazine

Black Belt Magazine

Black Belt is an American magazine covering martial arts and combat sports founded in 1961 by Mitoshi Uyehara. During the early years of the publication, Uyehara was a hands-on owner and publisher...

, Inside Ku-Fu, Army Reserves Magazine, Soldiers Magazine, Combat Warrior Magazine, Discover Maine Magazine “Maine's History Magazine”, and Cumbria Life Magazine. He is in a collection of "Maine Famous Natives" by worldatlas.com.

He has been a guest on Soldiers Radio and Television, MPBN’s “Maine Things Considered” radio show, NOW.com

NOW.com

NOW.com was an online TV/broadband network operated by PCCW Limited.-Service:The network broadcasted news and other programmes in primarily in English, Cantonese, Mandarin, as well as select channels in other languages:* German...

(Network of the World), “Don Shields on Sports” Fox Sports

Fox Sports (USA)

Fox Sports is a division of the Fox Broadcasting Company . It was formed in 1994 with Fox's acquisition of broadcast rights to National Football League games...

Maine network WRKD

WRKD

Fox Sports Maine is a network of sports/talk stations owned by Blueberry Broadcasting carrying Fox Sports Radio. Located in Central Maine, it comprises WFAU AM 1280 Gardiner, Maine, WRKD AM 1450 Rockland, Maine, and WIGY Madison, Maine FM 97.5...

AM 1450, WHOU FM 100.1 with Kevin Sjoberg & Ken Holch, "Out and About with Al Gardner” Maine Coast TV Channel 7, “Sports Nuts” Knox County TV 58 Maine, “Potato Picker's Special” CBS-affiliated WAGM television station

Television station

A television station is a business, organisation or other such as an amateur television operator that transmits content over terrestrial television. A television transmission can be by analog television signals or, more recently, by digital television. Broadcast television systems standards are...

and Nova Television (also known as Nova televiziya (Нова телевизия, literally New Television), NTV, Nova TV or simply Nova) the first Bulgarian commercial television

Commercial Television

Commercial Television was the third free-to-air broadcast television station in Hong Kong. It first went on air in 1975, and ceased transmissions in 1978.-History:...

network. Hernandez declined an invitation in December 2001 to be on the Howard Stern

Howard Stern

Howard Allan Stern is an American radio personality, television host, author, and actor best known for his radio show, which was nationally syndicated from 1986 to 2005. He gained wide recognition in the 1990s where he was labeled a "shock jock" for his outspoken and sometimes controversial style...

Radio Show WXRK, due to the nature and content of the show.

On July 24, 2010 at the Moreig Hotel, Hernandez was honored by the Dumfries and Galloway Council in Dumfries

Dumfries

Dumfries is a market town and former royal burgh within the Dumfries and Galloway council area of Scotland. It is near the mouth of the River Nith into the Solway Firth. Dumfries was the county town of the former county of Dumfriesshire. Dumfries is nicknamed Queen of the South...

-Dumfriesshire

Dumfriesshire

Dumfriesshire or the County of Dumfries is a registration county of Scotland. The lieutenancy area of Dumfries has similar boundaries.Until 1975 it was a county. Its county town was Dumfries...

, Scotland

Scotland

. Hernandez was also presented by Robin Hyslop 4th Dan, Chairman of the British Sombo Federation and President of the Scottish Sombo Federation with the Scottish Sombo Federation Medal, in recognition of Hernandez’s “Fighting Spirit” and his contributions to Scottish and British Sambo. On November 4, 2010, the President of the American Sambo Association Steve Koepfer announced James "Chico" Hernandez is the "Pioneer of American Sambo" Award winner for 2009. This award is intended to recognize individuals who have made great strides towards supporting Sambo in the United States and Notable Achievements in US Sambo.

Professional life

Hernandez is a Licensed

Licensure

Licensure refers to the granting of a license, which gives a "permission to practice." Such licenses are usually issued in order to regulate some activity that is deemed to be dangerous or a threat to the person or the public or which involves a high level of specialized skill...

Social Worker, and retired from the Maine State Prison

Maine State Prison

The Maine State Prison was erected in Thomaston, Maine in 1824 and relocated to Warren in 2002. This maximum-security prison has a capacity of 916 adult male inmates with an average daily population of 900.-History:...

. He worked in the Special Management Unit and served as an Correctional Caseworker with his specialty in Forensic Social Work

Forensic Social Work

Forensic Social Work is the application of social work to questions and issues relating to law and legal systems. This specialty of the social work profession goes far beyond clinics and psychiatric hospitals for criminal defendants being evaluated and treated on issues of competency and...

. He also served as a Prison Guard, Probation Officer

Probation officer

Parole officers and probation officers play a role in criminal justice systems by supervising offenders released from incarceration or sentenced to non-custodial sanctions such as community service...

and Self Defense Instructor for the Staff, Prison Guards, Correctional Emergency Response Team

Correctional Emergency Response Team

A Correctional Emergency Response Team , Special Emergency Response Team for Correction , or Special Operation Response Team is a team of highly trained corrections officers in the United States tasked with responding to incidents, riots, cell extractions, mass searches, or disturbances in...

(CERT), Maine Department of Corrections and at the Maine Criminal Justice Academy. He served as an Notary Public

Notary public

A notary public in the common law world is a public officer constituted by law to serve the public in non-contentious matters usually concerned with estates, deeds, powers-of-attorney, and foreign and international business...

for the Secretary of State

Secretary of State

Secretary of State or State Secretary is a commonly used title for a senior or mid-level post in governments around the world. The role varies between countries, and in some cases there are multiple Secretaries of State in the Government....

in Maine.

Hernandez has been awarded the following Black Belts.

10th Degree Black Belt

Black belt (martial arts)

In martial arts, the black belt is a way to describe a graduate of a field where a practitioner's level is often marked by the color of the belt. The black belt is commonly the highest belt color used and denotes a degree of competence. It is often associated with a teaching grade though...

in Sport Sombo under Jorge L. Garcia-Ortiz of the International Combat Aikido & Jujitsu Federation, San Juan, Puerto Rico

San Juan, Puerto Rico

San Juan , officially Municipio de la Ciudad Capital San Juan Bautista , is the capital and most populous municipality in Puerto Rico, an unincorporated territory of the United States. As of the 2010 census, it had a population of 395,326 making it the 46th-largest city under the jurisdiction of...

.

9th. Degree Black Belt in Wrestling under Wade Schalles

Wade Schalles

Wade Schalles is an American amateur wrestler, a two-time NCAA National Champion who holds multiple records in the sport including holding the Guinness Book of World Records title for most amateur wrestling wins and pins, and is the creator of several of wrestling's most notorious moves -...

(Guinness Book of World Records holder for having the most wins and pins of anyone who has ever competed) of the Martial Arts Academy of America, Orlando, Florida

Orlando, Florida

.

3rd Degree Black Belt in Military Combat Sombo under Cardo Urso (Urso was the Chief trainer of instructors for the Marine Corps Close Combat Program and the Chief Trainer of Instructors for the Marine Corps Martial Arts Program) of the Marine Corps Martial Arts Program

Marine Corps Martial Arts Program

The Marine Corps Martial Arts Program is a combat system developed by the United States Marine Corps to combine existing and new hand-to-hand and close quarters combat techniques with morale and team-building functions and instruction in what the Marine Corps calls the "Warrior Ethos". The...

, Quantico, Virginia

Quantico, Virginia

- Demographics :As of the census of 2000, there are 561 people, 295 households, and 107 families living in the town. The population density is . There are 359 housing units at an average density of .-Racial composition:...

.

2nd Degree Black Belt in Submission Fighting under Jessey Bouchard of the Metro Fight Club, Detroit, Michigan

Detroit, Michigan

Detroit is the major city among the primary cultural, financial, and transportation centers in the Metro Detroit area, a region of 5.2 million people. As the seat of Wayne County, the city of Detroit is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan and serves as a major port on the Detroit River...

.

1st Degree Black Belt in Hybrid Wrestling under Lance Campbell of the Gladiators Club, Modesto, California

Modesto, California

Modesto is a city in, and is the county seat of, Stanislaus County, California. With a population of approximately 201,165 at the 2010 census, Modesto ranks as the 18th largest city in the state of California....

.

1st Degree Black Belt in Sombo under Martin Clarke of the British Sombo Federation, Sittingbourne

Sittingbourne

Kent, England.

1st. Degree Black Belt in Sombo under Marin Slavov of the Bulgarian Sports Ministry, Varna, Bulgaria.

He volunteers in schools to warn children of the dangers of drugs and crime. He also donates his time by helping area schools with recreational activities, sports and martial arts. He was very active in the Crime Prevention Program, sponsored by the Maine State Prison from 1996 to 2002 and also the Project Angel Tree a program of Prison Fellowship

Prison Fellowship

Prison Fellowship is a Christian prison outreach and criminal justice reform organization. Its programs reach prisoners, ex-prisoners, and families of prisoners throughout the United States and, through Prison Fellowship International , in 112 countries worldwide.- Leadership :Charles W...

Ministries that reaches out to the children of inmates and their families from 1996 to 2005.

He has been a participant at the Law Enforcement Torch Run

Law Enforcement Torch Run

The Law Enforcement Torch Run Campaign to benefit the Special Olympics began in 1981 in Wichita, Kansas and is the largest grass-roots fundraising movement for the Special Olympics....

, a volunteer at the Special Olympics

Special Olympics

Special Olympics is the world's largest sports organization for children and adults with intellectual disabilities, providing year-round training and competitions to more than 3.1 million athletes in 175 countries....

in the State of Maine, a participant at the Louie Louie

Louie Louie

"Louie Louie" is an American rock 'n' roll song written by Richard Berry in 1955. It has become a standard in pop and rock, with hundreds of versions recorded by different artists...

parade in Providence, Rhode Island

Providence, Rhode Island

Providence is the capital and most populous city of Rhode Island and was one of the first cities established in the United States. Located in Providence County, it is the third largest city in the New England region...

to benefit The Leukemia Society of America and a volunteer at the Aroostook Teen Conference sponsored by the Aroostook Action Program ( Community Action Agencies

Community Action Agencies

In the United States and its territories, Community Action Agencies are local private and public non-profit organizations that carry out the Community Action Program , which was founded by the 1964 Economic Opportunity Act to fight poverty by empowering the poor as part of the War on Poverty.CAAs...

) which fights poverty

Poverty

Poverty is the lack of a certain amount of material possessions or money. Absolute poverty or destitution is inability to afford basic human needs, which commonly includes clean and fresh water, nutrition, health care, education, clothing and shelter. About 1.7 billion people are estimated to live...

by empowering the poor in the United States and its territories, as part of the War on Poverty

War on Poverty

The War on Poverty is the unofficial name for legislation first introduced by United States President Lyndon B. Johnson during his State of the Union address on January 8, 1964. This legislation was proposed by Johnson in response to a national poverty rate of around nineteen percent...

.
In 2002 Hernandez volunteered for the Bangor Club; Altrusa International Inc, an international non-profit organization

Non-profit organization

Nonprofit organization is neither a legal nor technical definition but generally refers to an organization that uses surplus revenues to achieve its goals, rather than distributing them as profit or dividends...

focused on community service and national clubs for business and professional women. In 2003 he worked as a volunteer for Coats for Kids sponsored by WLBZ

WLBZ

WLBZ is the NBC-affiliated television station for Central and Eastern Maine licensed to Bangor. It broadcasts a high definition digital signal on VHF channel 2 from a transmitter on Rider Bluff in Holden. The station can also be seen on Time Warner Cable channel 3 and in high definition on digital...

and WCSH

WCSH

WCSH is the NBC-affiliated television station for Southern Maine and Northern New Hampshire. Licensed to Portland, it broadcasts a high definition digital signal on UHF channel 44 from a transmitter on Winn Mountain in Sebago. The station can also be seen on Comcast and Time Warner Cable channel 6...

. In 2005 and 2007 Hernandez volunteered as a self-defense instructor at Sittingbourne Community College

Sittingbourne Community College

The Sittingbourne Community College is an 11-18 school located in Sittingbourne, Kent, with just over 1100 students.The school offers a Post-16 unit, which offers a variety of courses....

in Sittingbourne, Kent, England and in 2008 he instructed the Self Defense Course at Northern Maine Community College

Northern Maine Community College

, Presque Isle, Maine. In March 2011, he played against the Harlem Superstars comedy basketball

Basketball

Basketball is a team sport in which two teams of five players try to score points by throwing or "shooting" a ball through the top of a basketball hoop while following a set of rules...

team as a member of the Caribou High School

Caribou High School

Caribou High School is an American high school educating students in grades 9 through 12. It is located in Caribou, Maine, at 308 Sweden Street. The current principal is Mark Jones. Current Guidance Counselors include Martin Gallant, Director of Guidance, and Mark Pinette, Guidance...

basketball "Dream Team" with the proceeds benefiting a kidney transplant patient.

Hernandez is currently serving as a High School

High school

High school is a term used in parts of the English speaking world to describe institutions which provide all or part of secondary education. The term is often incorporated into the name of such institutions....

wrestling coach for the Caribou High School Vikings in Caribou, Maine

Caribou, Maine

Caribou is the second largest city in Aroostook County, Maine, United States. Its population was 8,189 at the 2010 census.-History:Between 1838 and 1839, the undeclared Aroostook War flared between the United States and Canada, and the Battle of Caribou occurred in December 1838...

. He has also served as a coach for South Kingstown High School

South Kingstown High School

South Kingstown High School is a public high school in Washington County, Rhode Island. Approximately 1300 students attend SKHS in grades 9-12.-Athletics:...

in Washington County, Rhode Island

Washington County, Rhode Island

Washington County, commonly known colloquially as South County, is a county located in the southwestern part of the U.S. state of Rhode Island. Washington County borders Kent County to the north, New London County in Connecticut to the west, Suffolk County in New York to the southwest, the Atlantic...

in 1985-87 and Waterford High School

Waterford High School (Connecticut)

Waterford High School is a public high school in Waterford, Connecticut, United States.-History:The high school was constructed in 1957. The first graduating class was in 1960. The school renovation began in 2010 with a budget of $67 million dollars....

in Waterford, Connecticut

Waterford, Connecticut

Waterford is a town in New London County, Connecticut, United States. It is named after Waterford, Ireland. The population was 19,152 at the 2000 census. The town center is listed as a census-designated place .-Geography:...

in 1988-89. He coached 2 Amateur Wrestling News High School All-Americans, 1 New England HS Champion, 4 HS State Champions, and 9 State place winners. He continues to share his knowledge with young wrestlers giving them a hand onto the winning pedestal.

Military

Hernandez is a US Army Veteran

Veteran

A veteran is a person who has had long service or experience in a particular occupation or field; " A veteran of ..."...

of the Cold War

Cold War

The Cold War was the continuing state from roughly 1946 to 1991 of political conflict, military tension, proxy wars, and economic competition between the Communist World—primarily the Soviet Union and its satellite states and allies—and the powers of the Western world, primarily the United States...

and has also served honorably during the war eras of 1982 Lebanon War

1982 Lebanon War

The 1982 Lebanon War , , called Operation Peace for Galilee by Israel, and later known in Israel as the Lebanon War and First Lebanon War, began on 6 June 1982, when the Israel Defense Forces invaded southern Lebanon...

and Operation Urgent Fury (Grenada

Grenada

Grenada is an island country and Commonwealth Realm consisting of the island of Grenada and six smaller islands at the southern end of the Grenadines in the southeastern Caribbean Sea...

), Gulf War

Gulf War

The Persian Gulf War , commonly referred to as simply the Gulf War, was a war waged by a U.N.-authorized coalition force from 34 nations led by the United States, against Iraq in response to Iraq's invasion and annexation of Kuwait.The war is also known under other names, such as the First Gulf...

(Desert Shield, Desert Storm, Operation Enduring Freedom, and Operation Iraqi Freedom) and the War on Terrorism

War on Terrorism

The War on Terror is a term commonly applied to an international military campaign led by the United States and the United Kingdom with the support of other North Atlantic Treaty Organisation as well as non-NATO countries...

. He attained the rank of First Sergeant

First Sergeant

First sergeant is the name of a military rank used in many countries, typically a senior non-commissioned officer.-Singapore:First Sergeant is a Specialist in the Singapore Armed Forces. First Sergeants are the most senior of the junior Specialists, ranking above Second Sergeants, and below Staff...

(1SG) during his military career. He completed his Combat Basic Training at Fort Dix, New Jersey

Fort Dix, New Jersey

JB MDL Dix , better known as Fort Dix, is a United States Army base located approximately south-southeast of Trenton, New Jersey. Dix is under the jurisdiction of the United States Army Reserve Command...

in March 1982.

He has served as a Combat Basic Training Instructor

Drill instructor

A drill instructor is a non-commissioned officer or Staff Non-Commissioned Officer in the armed forces or police forces with specific duties that vary by country. In the U.S. armed forces, they are assigned the duty of indoctrinating new recruits entering the military into the customs and...

at the United States Military Academy

United States Military Academy

The United States Military Academy at West Point is a four-year coeducational federal service academy located at West Point, New York. The academy sits on scenic high ground overlooking the Hudson River, north of New York City...

at West Point, New York

West Point, New York

West Point is a federal military reservation established by President of the United States Thomas Jefferson in 1802. It is a census-designated place located in Town of Highlands in Orange County, New York, United States. The population was 7,138 at the 2000 census...

. He has also taught at other US Army Post such as Fort Leonard Wood

Fort Leonard Wood (military base)

Fort Leonard Wood is a United States Army installation located in the Missouri Ozarks. The main gate is located on the southern boundary of St. Robert. The post was created in December 1940 and named in honor of General Leonard Wood, former Chief of Staff, in January 1941...

, Missouri

Missouri

Missouri is a US state located in the Midwestern United States, bordered by Iowa, Illinois, Kentucky, Tennessee, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Kansas and Nebraska. With a 2010 population of 5,988,927, Missouri is the 18th most populous state in the nation and the fifth most populous in the Midwest. It...

, Fort Bragg

Fort Bragg (North Carolina)

Fort Bragg is a major United States Army installation, in Cumberland and Hoke counties, North Carolina, U.S., mostly in Fayetteville but also partly in the town of Spring Lake. It was also a census-designated place in the 2010 census and had a population of 39,457. The fort is named for Confederate...

, North Carolina

North Carolina

North Carolina is a state located in the southeastern United States. The state borders South Carolina and Georgia to the south, Tennessee to the west and Virginia to the north. North Carolina contains 100 counties. Its capital is Raleigh, and its largest city is Charlotte...

, Fort Lewis

Fort Lewis

Joint Base Lewis-McChord is a United States military facility located south-southwest of Tacoma, Washington. The facility is under the jurisdiction of the United States Army Joint Base Garrison, Joint Base Lewis-McChord....

, Washington and Fort Indiantown Gap

Fort Indiantown Gap

Fort Indiantown Gap, also referred to as "The Gap" or "FIG", is a census-designated place and U.S. Army post primarily located in Lebanon County, Pennsylvania. A portion of the installation is located in eastern Dauphin County...

, Pennsylvania

Pennsylvania

The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...

.

He is also a Master Fitness Trainer and a Graduate of the Premier Class from the Soldier Physical Fitness Academy at Fort Benjamin Harrison

Fort Benjamin Harrison

Fort Benjamin Harrison was a U.S. Army post located in suburban Lawrence, Indiana, northeast of Indianapolis. It is named for the 23rd United States President, Benjamin Harrison. Land was purchased in 1903, with the post being officially named for President Harrison in honor of Indianapolis being...

, Indiana

Indiana

in 1983. Hernandez studied under U S Air Force Maj. Kenneth H. Cooper

Kenneth H. Cooper

Kenneth H. Cooper is an doctor of medicine and former Air Force Colonel from Oklahoma, who introduced the concept of aerobics. He is the author of the 1968 book Aerobics, which emphasized a point system for improving the cardiovascular system...

, M.D., M.P.H, a physician

Physician

A physician is a health care provider who practices the profession of medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring human health through the study, diagnosis, and treatment of disease, injury and other physical and mental impairments...

who authored the 1968 book Aerobics

Aerobics

Aerobics is a form of physical exercise that combines rhythmic aerobic exercise with stretching and strength training routines with the goal of improving all elements of fitness...

. He graduated from the Warrior Leader Course

Warrior Leader Course

The Warrior Leader Course , formerly the Primary Leadership Development Course , is the first course of study in the US Army Non-Commissioned Officer Education System . WLC is a 15-day course that trains Soldiers in the fundamentals of leadership. The course curriculum includes instruction in...

, Fort Riley, Kansas, the Maine Military Academy at Camp Keyes, Maine, and the Vermont Military Academy in Jericho, Vermont.

Hernandez during his US Army career was awarded the Physical Fitness Badge

Physical Fitness Badge

The United States Army Physical Fitness Badge is awarded to soldiers who obtain a score of 270 or higher, with a score of 90 or above in each event, on the 300-point scale of the Army Physical Fitness Test...

of Excellence a total 26 times. In 2003 he received a Challenge coin

Challenge coin

A challenge coin is a small coin or medallion , bearing an organization’s insignia or emblem and carried by the organization’s members. They are given to prove membership when challenged and to enhance morale. In addition, they are also collected by service members.- Origins of the challenge coin...

for his “Superior Performance as an Instructor” at West Point. He was presented by the Commanding General of the 98th Division Major General

Major General

Major general or major-general is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. A major general is a high-ranking officer, normally subordinate to the rank of lieutenant general and senior to the ranks of brigadier and brigadier general...

Charles E. Wilson a Division Challenge coin in 2002 and in 2004 he was presented by the Commanding General of the 98th Division Major General Bruce E. Robinson a Division Challenge coin. Hernandez has also received Challenge coins from the 3rd.Basic Combat Training Brigade, Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri in 1999, 2000, 2001 and 2002 for “Outstanding Performance as an Instructor”; the 1st Infantry Division, Fort Riley, Kansas, coin for “Soldier of the Quarter” in 1983 and in 1996 he was presented by the Commander of US Army ROTC Cadet Command coin at Fort Bragg, North Carolina.

He has served with TRADOC at Fort Jackson, South Carolina

Fort Jackson, South Carolina

Fort Jackson is a United States Army installation, which TRADOC operates on for Basic Combat Training , and is located in Columbia, South Carolina. This installation is named for Andrew Jackson, a United States Army General and 7th President of the United States.-Overview:Fort Jackson was created...

, the United States Army Correctional Brigade

United States Army Correctional Brigade

, 1st Infantry Division, 76th Infantry Division and 98th Division during his military career. Hernandez has served in the US Army and US Army Reserves from 1981 to 2006. Currently he is in the US Army Retired Reserve since 2006.

Prior to his military career; Hernandez was also a DJ for CBS Radio

CBS Radio

CBS Radio, Inc., formerly known as Infinity Broadcasting Corporation, is one of the largest owners and operators of radio stations in the United States, third behind main rival Clear Channel Communications and Cumulus Media. CBS Radio owns around 130 radio stations across the country...

FM broadcasting

FM broadcasting is a broadcasting technology pioneered by Edwin Howard Armstrong which uses frequency modulation to provide high-fidelity sound over broadcast radio. The term "FM band" describes the "frequency band in which FM is used for broadcasting"...

101-WOZI

WOZI

WOZI is an American radio station in Presque Isle, Maine. It is a Classic rock formatted station owned by Cumulus Media.- History :Originally on 101.7 MHz as a sister station to WOZW AM 710 and in 2007 part of the Channel X Radio network. Radio pioneer Allan Weiner bought the station and the...

located in Presque Isle, Maine

Presque Isle, Maine

Presque Isle is the commercial center and largest city in the sparsely populated Aroostook County, Maine, United States. The population was 9,692 at the 2010 census...

and was known as "Chico The Midnight Rambler" from 1980 to 1982. In 1981 he entered the Kentucky Fried Chicken 5th Annual National Songwriting Contest while he was at WOZI and his entry received a National Honorable Mention.

Hernandez resides in Washburn, Maine

Washburn, Maine

Washburn is a town in Aroostook County, Maine, United States. It was incorporated on February 25, 1861, and named after Israel Washburn, the governor of Maine at the time...

External links

American Sambo Association
http://lutte-wrestling.ifrance.com/
http://www.britishsombo.co.uk/chico_hernandez.htm

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.

Early years

College years

1980 - 1989

1990 - 1999

2000 - 2009

2010 - present

Honors and awards

Professional life

Military

See also

External links