Olympic Champion Doug Blubaugh passes away at 76 - 05/17/11 06:00 PM
One of the best front headlocks series and one of the strongest man on the planet.
Olympic Champion Doug Blubaugh passes away at 76
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Doug Blubaugh's Wrestling Hall of Fame biography
By Jason Bryant USA Wrestling
05/17/2011
Doug Blubaugh, a 1960 Olympic Champion and a 1957 NCAA Champion for Oklahoma State, died Monday evening after an auto accident in Tonkawa, Oklahoma. He was 76.
Blubaugh was allegedly the victim of a hit-and-run while riding his motorcycle. Details are thin at this time, but Blubaugh was widely known for his toughness and old school bruising style.
"Doug is a treasure to the wrestling history and heritage in the United States," said National Wrestling Hall of Fame Director Lee Roy Smith. "We suffered a great loss.
"(Doug) always said he could do two things -- coach wrestling and farm," said Smith. "He was always willing to help anybody that asked. He was someone who was great at working with our best athletes. He was probably at his best when he was working with our best."
"Not to mention, the greatest achievements he had as wrestler in college and on the international state. It's a great loss," said Smith.
Blubaugh's dramatic pin over Iran's Emamail Habibi at 160.5 pounds during the 1960 Olympic Games in Rome has been well-documented and is one of the biggest American wins in international wrestling lore.
Blubaugh was inducted into the National Wrestling Hall of Fame as a Distinguished Member in 1979.
Doug Blubaugh's National Wrestling Hall of Fame biography
In the shadowed ruins of Rome's ancient Basilica, Doug Blubaugh battled the world champion from Iran for the Olympic gold medal. Emamali Habibi had never known defeat. Three times the Persian attacked, each time throwing the young American into danger. Then a swift counterattack from Blubaugh hurled his opponent to his back ... suddenly the struggle was ended. Thus did an Oklahoma farm boy reach the apex of a brilliant athletic career, earning the 1960 Olympic gold medal at 160.5 pounds, and with it recognition as the outstanding wrestler in the world. Doug Blubaugh was no stranger to the role of champion. He won NCAA honors for Oklahoma State in 1957 and National AAU Freestyle titles in 1957, when he was named outstanding wrestler, and 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. Blubaugh is remembered, too, for his epic struggles with a former college teammate, Phil Kinyon. Over four years of Freestyle competition, they met 13 times. The first 12 bouts ended in draws, 11 scoreless. Five of these were in the 1960 Olympic trials, before Blubaugh crashed through for the takedown and victory that sent him on to Olympic glory. 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. As a champion athlete of awesome achievement, and as a living example to young men of the highest standards of character and integrity, Douglas Morlan Blubaugh is honored as a Distinguished Member of the National Wrestling Hall of Fame.
Olympic Champion Doug Blubaugh passes away at 76
207
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Related Links
Doug Blubaugh's Wrestling Hall of Fame biography
By Jason Bryant USA Wrestling
05/17/2011
Doug Blubaugh, a 1960 Olympic Champion and a 1957 NCAA Champion for Oklahoma State, died Monday evening after an auto accident in Tonkawa, Oklahoma. He was 76.
Blubaugh was allegedly the victim of a hit-and-run while riding his motorcycle. Details are thin at this time, but Blubaugh was widely known for his toughness and old school bruising style.
"Doug is a treasure to the wrestling history and heritage in the United States," said National Wrestling Hall of Fame Director Lee Roy Smith. "We suffered a great loss.
"(Doug) always said he could do two things -- coach wrestling and farm," said Smith. "He was always willing to help anybody that asked. He was someone who was great at working with our best athletes. He was probably at his best when he was working with our best."
"Not to mention, the greatest achievements he had as wrestler in college and on the international state. It's a great loss," said Smith.
Blubaugh's dramatic pin over Iran's Emamail Habibi at 160.5 pounds during the 1960 Olympic Games in Rome has been well-documented and is one of the biggest American wins in international wrestling lore.
Blubaugh was inducted into the National Wrestling Hall of Fame as a Distinguished Member in 1979.
Doug Blubaugh's National Wrestling Hall of Fame biography
In the shadowed ruins of Rome's ancient Basilica, Doug Blubaugh battled the world champion from Iran for the Olympic gold medal. Emamali Habibi had never known defeat. Three times the Persian attacked, each time throwing the young American into danger. Then a swift counterattack from Blubaugh hurled his opponent to his back ... suddenly the struggle was ended. Thus did an Oklahoma farm boy reach the apex of a brilliant athletic career, earning the 1960 Olympic gold medal at 160.5 pounds, and with it recognition as the outstanding wrestler in the world. Doug Blubaugh was no stranger to the role of champion. He won NCAA honors for Oklahoma State in 1957 and National AAU Freestyle titles in 1957, when he was named outstanding wrestler, and 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. Blubaugh is remembered, too, for his epic struggles with a former college teammate, Phil Kinyon. Over four years of Freestyle competition, they met 13 times. The first 12 bouts ended in draws, 11 scoreless. Five of these were in the 1960 Olympic trials, before Blubaugh crashed through for the takedown and victory that sent him on to Olympic glory. 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. As a champion athlete of awesome achievement, and as a living example to young men of the highest standards of character and integrity, Douglas Morlan Blubaugh is honored as a Distinguished Member of the National Wrestling Hall of Fame.