Don was involved with the sport of wrestling for 57 years as a wrestler, official, coach and volunteer. Don attended St. Andrews Prep School in Sewanee, TN and lettered 4 years in wrestling and 2 years each in football and baseball.  Don won the MID SOUTH Wrestling Championship in 1959 (equivalent to a State Championship) at the 123lb weight class. He was awarded a 14-karat gold medal for his championship win.  Don was selected as a “Senior Favorite” due to his “fine leadership in the dorm, on the wrestling mat, and on the football field.” Quoting his yearbook as a Senior Favorite; “Don’s standing rule is: ‘Fight for anyone or anything you believe to be right!’”

Don married Elizabeth (Betty) Bowman in June 1961 in Birmingham, AL. Shortly thereafter they moved to Huntsville, AL and started a family. Don became a wrestling official in the mid-1960s and officiated high school matches and tournaments through the mid-1970s, including officiating at the Section and State tournaments.

Don volunteered as a youth wrestling coach beginning in 1983, and because here was no youth wrestling organization in Huntsville, he spent many weekends traveling to and from Chattanooga to give local young wrestlers the opportunity to compete. As the program grew over the next few years, Don started the Huntsville Youth Wrestling program in 1989 at Whitesburg and eventually that grew into several sites across the City of Huntsville.  This ultimately led to the beginning of what became known as the Southern Youth Wrestling Organization (SYWO), as the number of wrestlers continued to grow. In 1998, Don formed the Tiger Youth Wrestling Organization (TYWO) with Bob Posey, aligning it with Grissom High School and its wrestling program. Alongside his children and grandchildren, many of the wrestlers in Don’s youth program went on to have success wrestling at Grissom. To this day, the TYWO continues to feed the Grissom Wrestling program. 

Don was instrumental in developing many youth wrestlers who went on to have success at Grissom High School.  The list of Alabama High School State Champions and place finishers who wrestled in Don’s youth program is extensive and those individuals played a major role in the 5 State Championships (1989, 1990, 1995, 1996, 1997) won by Grissom in a 9-year span.

To commemorate his efforts and influence, Grissom Coach Joe Dasaro gifted Don with a framed picture that contains Coach Dasaro’s signature “tiger in a singlet” drawing with a listing of the years of the team’s State titles and a framed piece of the practice mat from Grissom High School to honor Don for his part in the success of the Grissom wrestling program.

Don retired from coaching youth wrestling in 2009 after spending countless hours and numerous weekends volunteering his time. When offered payment, he would turn it down and tell the booster club to put the money back into the program. It was more important to him to grow the sport of wrestling!

One of the things that stands out about Don is his willingness to give instruction to kids as they came off the mat after a match to show them what they could work on to better themselves. He would praise and encourage them regardless of the outcome. 

After coaching, Don volunteered for the AHSAA State Wrestling Tournament in Huntsville, every year that it was held there up until his passing in 2015.