Robert Edward Douglas, born on March 27, 1942, is a retired American freestyle wrestler and coach whose life story is one of perseverance, triumph, and profound influence on the world of wrestling. From a challenging upbringing to Olympic glory and coaching success, Douglas has left an indelible mark on the sport.
Early Life and Overcoming Adversity
Born into poverty in Bellaire, Ohio, in 1942, Douglas faced numerous challenges early in life. His father was in prison, and his mother struggled with health issues. He grew up as a poor, young black kid living with his grandparents in a small coal-mining community in eastern Ohio. The level of poverty, racism and tragedy Bobby Douglas endured as a high school athlete perhaps was matched only by what he accomplished in Ohio and beyond. According to Sesker: “The community, located at the bus stop known as Stop 32, was a diverse collection of people from African, Italian, Polish, Czech, Russian and Slavic descent.
“The shack they lived in had an old wooden floor with holes in it, big enough to see the brown dirt the shacks were built on. The walls of the shack also had holes, allowing the wind and cold to whip through the small home. “We didn’t have any money,” Douglas said. “We were lucky to have food.
Despite these hardships, Douglas excelled in athletics. At Bridgeport High School he wrestled, played running back in football, and played baseball. He won two state high school titles, and was All-State in football and baseball.
“Those top black athletes became heroes of mine,” Douglas told Sesker. “They inspired me to try and do something similar to what they did.
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Collegiate Wrestling Career
Douglas began his college wrestling career at nearby West Liberty State College, located across the Ohio River in West Virginia. Douglas would eventually follow Kovalick to West Liberty College, a small NAIA college in Wheeling. He wrestled there for two years and captured an NAIA championship in 1962. He emerged on the national scene as 1962 NAIA champion for West Liberty State. A year later, he reached the NCAA finals, and his 13-8 duel with the defending champion from a larger school was a classic.
He then transferred to Oklahoma State, where he won the Big Eight Conference 147-pound crown. Transferring to Oklahoma State, he won the Big Eight, but was knocked out of the 1965 nationals by injury, closing his collegiate career at 72-2.
International Wrestling Achievements
It was in the international styles where Douglas earned worldwide renown, for his knowledge of the sport and his technical skills. Douglas competed as a featherweight at the 1964 and 1968 Olympics and placed fourth in 1964. He won a silver and a bronze medal at the 1966 and 1970 world championships, respectively,[2] and placed fourth in 1969. He was named the USA's outstanding wrestler in 1970, the year he retired.
He won three national Freestyle titles and represented the United States on two Olympic teams, placing fourth in 1964, and six World teams, winning a silver, a bronze and a fourth place. He was captain of the '68 Olympic team and his career record was 303 victories, 17 defeats. Douglas was the first black American to wrestle in the Olympics, the first to captain our Olympic team.
In 1968, Douglas defeated Dan Gable 11-1 in a freestyle wrestling match during the Olympic Trials in Ames, Iowa while Gable's only defeat in folkstyle wrestling in high school and college came in the NCAA finals of his senior year at Iowa State in 1970 to Larry Owings.
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Coaching Career
Douglas transitioned into coaching, where he continued to make a significant impact on the sport. He became head wrestling coach at Santa Barbara in 1973. A year later, he moved to Arizona State, which he led to the only NCAA team trophy won by a western school. He won an NCAA team national title at Arizona State in 1988 and is one of only four collegiate coaches to win more than 400 dual meets. Douglas also launched the Sunkist Kids club on a long series of national Freestyle championships.
He moved on to Iowa State and maintained its great tradition. He was an assistant coach for 10 World and Olympic Teams, was World Cup coach in 1987 and Olympic coach in 1992. In his career, he has coached many Olympians who placed in the top three in the world.
Douglas added to his legacy by coaching Cael Sanderson to a gold medal in the 185-pound weight class at the 2004 Olympics in Athens, Greece. Douglas was named the 2004 USA Wrestling Freestyle Coach of the Year. Some of the best wrestlers in United States history - Dan Gable, Cael Sanderson, Dave Schultz, John Smith, Kevin Jackson, Bruce Baumgartner, Kenny Monday and Zeke Jones - were positively influenced by Douglas' coaching and guidance.
Bobby Douglas | The Goal Journey
Legacy and Honors
Douglas is one of the great technicians in the sport. He has written several books on wrestling technique: Takedown I, Takedown II, Pinning and Olympic Technique, Take It To The Mat, Wrestling Skills and Drills, and The Last Takedown. He earned a bachelor's degree from Oklahoma State in 1967 and a master's degree from ASU in 1981, where he was admitted to the doctoral program.
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In 1987, Douglas was inducted into the National Wrestling Hall of Fame, following his enshrinement into the NAIA Wrestling Hall of Fame in 1985. Douglas was inducted into the NAIA Hall of Fame in 1985, the National Wrestling Hall of Fame as a Distinguished Member in 1987,[4] the Arizona Wrestling Hall of Fame in 1999, the Dan Brands Hall of Fame in 2002, and the Ovac Hall of Fame in 2004. Douglas is also a member of the Ohio Hall of Fame,[5] and in 1999 was inducted into the Arizona State Hall of Fame.
In January 2005, Douglas was honored with the Edward Clark Gallagher Award, presented annually to the Oklahoma State University wrestling alumnus who exemplifies the spirit and leadership eminent in the tradition of champions.
Bobby Douglas's Books
Here is a list of books written by Bobby Douglas:
- Takedown I
- Takedown II
- Pinning and Olympic Technique
- Take It To The Mat
- Wrestling Skills and Drills
- The Last Takedown
Influence on Wrestling
Douglas is an icon turned evangelist, trying to save his sport. Olympic coach, is urging high school rule changes to resemble the sport's international freestyle discipline. Among his recommendations are penalizing wrestlers for going out of bounds and more readily awarding points for back exposure.
"What I'm trying to do is get the wrestling coaches to tweak the high school rules so that our college wrestlers have an opportunity to compete on the international stage," he said. "The coaches that don't see the impact that our international performance has on wrestling, they are the ones that will get left behind." If we keep doing the same thing we're doing, we're going to lose wrestling."