Douglas Blubaugh
Personal information
NationalityAmerican
Born(1934-12-31)December 31, 1934
Ponca City, Oklahoma, U.S.
DiedMay 16, 2011(2011-05-16) (aged 76)
Tonkawa, Oklahoma, U.S.
Sport
CountryUnited States
SportWrestling
Event(s)Freestyle and Folkstyle
College teamOklahoma A&M
TeamUSA
Medal record
Men's freestyle wrestling
Representing the  United States
Olympic Games
Gold medal – first place 1960 Rome 73 kg
Pan American Games
Gold medal – first place 1959 Chicago 78 kg
Collegiate Wrestling
Representing Oklahoma A&M
NCAA Wrestling Championships
Bronze medal – third place1955 Ithaca147 lb
Silver medal – second place1956 Stillwater157 lb
Gold medal – first place1957 Pittsburgh157 lb

Douglas Morlan Blubaugh (December 31, 1934 – May 16, 2011) was an American wrestler and Olympic Champion. He competed at the 1960 Olympic Games in Rome, where he became the freestyle Olympic Gold Medalist at welterweight, defeating the legendary 1956 Olympic Champion and 3-time World Champion Iranian Wrestler Emam-Ali Habibi.[1]

Blubaugh, born in Ponca City, Oklahoma, was an AAU Champion and an NCAA Champion in 1957 at Oklahoma State University. In 1959 he won another AAU Championship, winning the Outstanding Wrestler Award. Also in 1959 Blubaugh won a Pan-American Games Gold Medal before he made the 1960 Olympic team. While a student at OSU, Blubaugh was initiated as a member of Tau Kappa Epsilon fraternity; in January 2011, he was inducted into the TKE Oklahoma Hall of Fame.[2] In 1979, Blubaugh was inducted into the National Wrestling Hall of Fame as a Distinguished Member.[3]

For his efforts in Rome, Blubaugh was named the World's Outstanding Wrestler in 1960.[4] Blubaugh later became wrestling coach at Indiana University.[1]

He resided in Tonkawa, Oklahoma, and continued to be an ambassador for the sport of wrestling until his death in a traffic accident on May 16, 2011.[1] He was struck on his motorcycle by a pickup truck, which ran a stop sign.[5] He was 76.

References

  1. 1 2 3 Klingman, Kyle (May 17, 2011). "FLASH: Olympic Champion Doug Blubaugh passes away at 76". themat.com. USA Wrestling. Archived from the original on May 23, 2011. Retrieved May 18, 2011.
  2. ↑ "Helen Ford Wallace — Parties, Etc. — March 27th". The Oklahoman. March 27, 2011. Retrieved October 15, 2022.
  3. ↑ Doug Blubaugh. National Wrestling Hall of Fame. Retrieved September 17, 2022.
  4. ↑ "Douglas Blubaugh Obituary (2011) Oklahoman". Legacy.com.
  5. ↑ "Doug Blubaugh was tougher than he was good," NewsOK, Barry Tramel, 10 August 2017


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