Oklahoma State University Athletics
Cowboy Wrestling Champion Passes
May 17, 2011 | Cowboy Wrestling
STILLWATER, Okla. - Oklahoma State wrestling coach John Smith confirmed that former Cowboy wrestler Doug Blubaugh, a 1960 Olympic gold medalist, three-time All-American and 1957 NCAA champion, was killed in a roadside tragedy on Monday in Tonkawa, Okla.
Originally from Ponca City, Okla., Blubaugh wrestled at Oklahoma State from 1955-57 and compiled a 27-3-1 overall record during his time in Stillwater. He was third at the 1955 NCAA Championships, second at the 1956 NCAA Championships and won the 157-pound title at the 1957 NCAA Championships to cap a perfect 12-0 season that year.
One of 55 three-time All-Americans in Oklahoma State wrestling history, Blubaugh was a key part of three Cowboy NCAA-champion teams under coaches Art Griffith and Myron Roderick. He was inducted into the National Wrestling Hall of Fame and Museum in 1979.
"Doug Blubaugh was a true Oklahoma State wrestling hero," Smith said. "A tough farm kid who overcame adversity to become the best wrestler in the world. He was a good friend who will be greatly missed."
Blubaugh won national AAU freestyle titles in 1957, when he was named outstanding wrestler, and in 1959.
A year before his Olympic conquest, he won a gold medal in the 1959 Pan American Games at Chicago, matching the 1955 achievement of his brother, Jack. They were the first brothers to capture Pan Am titles.
From a competitive career totaling more than 400 victories against just 17 defeats, Blubaugh turned to coaching and won added respect for his teaching skills and his honesty and dedication. After seven years as an assistant at Michigan State, during which he was Freestyle coach of U. S. teams in the 1971 Pan American Games and World Championships, he spent a decade as head coach at Indiana University.
