The National Wrestling Hall of Fame was saddened to learn that Bobby Douglas, a Distinguished Member inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1987, passed away on Tuesday, at the age of 83. Douglas was inducted into the National Wrestling Hall of Fame Dan Gable Museum’s Glen Brand Wrestling Hall of Fame of Iowa in 2003. 

No plans for a memorial service for Douglas will be made available. The family is appreciative of the love and support for Bobby and asks for privacy during this time. 

He was the first Black American to wrestle in the Olympics, the first to captain the United States Olympic wrestling team, the first to coach wrestling at a major university and the first to win an NCAA Division I team title. Douglas showed, by example, that others could reach such goals. 

“Bobby Douglas was a giant in our sport who reshaped American wrestling as an extraordinary athlete, a brilliant coach, and a true trailblazer. Bobby and I both competed at Oklahoma State and later spent years coaching together on World and Olympic teams for USA Wrestling,” said Lee Roy Smith, Executive Director of the National Wrestling Hall of Fame. “I witnessed firsthand not only his unmatched knowledge and competitive spirit, but even more importantly, his deep commitment to the well-being and development of the athletes he coached. He cared about them not just as competitors, but as people. 

“On behalf of our Board of Governors and staff, we mourn Bobby’s passing and extend our heartfelt condolences to his wife, Jackie, his son, Bobby Jr., and to his entire family, friends, and the countless athletes and colleagues whose lives he touched,” Smith added. “His legacy will live on in the sport he loved and in the generations he inspired.” 

The Making of a Champion is the title of his books, and it also is the pattern of Douglas' life. From a small town in eastern Ohio, and a small college in West Virginia, he rose to become a dominant athlete of the 1960s, earning national and international acclaim. 

He won two state high school titles, and was All-State in football and baseball. He emerged on the national scene as a 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. 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. 

It was in the international styles where Douglas earned worldwide renown, for his knowledge of the sport and his technical skills ... which he later would share with another generation as coach, author and clinician. 

Douglas represented the U.S. at the 1964 Olympic Games in Tokyo, Japan, and the 1968 Olympic Games in Mexico City, Mexico. He competed at six Senior World Championships from 1963 to 1970, with appearances in both Greco-Roman and men’s freestyle. He collected two men’s freestyle World medals, silver in 1966 in Toledo, Ohio, and bronze in 1970 in Edmonton, Canada. His career record was 303-17. 

He became head wrestling coach at Santa Barbara in 1973. A year later, he moved to Arizona State, which he led to the 1988 NCAA Division I team championship. ASU became the first and remains the only team west of the Rocky Mountains to secure the title. During his 18-year career the Sun Devils also won nine conference titles and finished in the Top 10 at the NCAA tournament nine times. Douglas coached two NCAA champions, 58 All-Americans and 37 conference champions at ASU. 

Douglas led Iowa State from 1992-2006 and coached individuals to 10 NCAA titles, 31 conference titles and 52 All-America honors. He also launched the Sunkist Kids club on a long series of national freestyle championships. 

He coached many notable athletes, none more prominent than current Penn State head coach Cael Sanderson, who still stands as the only NCAA Division I wrestler to go undefeated in college while winning four individual titles with a 159-0 record. Douglas helped coach Sanderson to a gold medal at the 2024 Olympic Games. 

On the USA Wrestling side as a coach, Douglas was an assistant for 10 World and Olympic Teams, as well as the men’s freestyle head coach at the 1992 Olympic Games in Barcelona, Spain. He was named USA Wrestling Freestyle Coach of the Year in 1992 and 2004. 

Douglas is also a member of the NAIA Wrestling Hall of Fame, the Ohio Hall of Fame and the Arizona State Hall of Fame. 

As a wrestler of notable achievement, and as an outstanding teacher and leader, Bobby Eddie Douglas is honored as a Distinguished Member of the National Wrestling Hall of Fame, the highest honor a U.S. wrestler can achieve outside of the competition mats.