Bobby Douglas

Bobby Douglas is a famed wrestling coach and Olympian. As the wrestling coach of several U.S Olympic teams, and one of only four collegiate coaches to win more than 400 dual meets, he also won an NCAA team national title at Arizona State. His numbers are really astounding: 13 NCAA champions, 110 All-America performances and 68 conference titles.

Douglas built upon this legacy by coaching wrestling legend Cael Sanderson to a gold medal in the 185-pound weight class at the 2004 Athens Olympic Games. It was no surprise that Douglas was named the 2004 USA Wrestling Freestyle Coach of the Year. In January 2005, Douglas was honored with the Edward Clark Gallagher Award, which is presented annually to the Oklahoma State University wrestling alumnus who exemplifies the spirit and leadership eminent in the tradition of champions. He also received the 2005 Iowa State Alumni Association Impact Award.

Douglas also defeated Dan Gable in a freestyle wrestling match during the Olympic Trials in Ames, Iowa in 1968, 11-1, 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. He was inducted into the NAIS Hall of Fame in 1985, the Arizona Wrestling Hall of Fame in 1999, the Dan Brands Hall of Fame in 2002, and the Ovac Hall of Fame in 2004. Hall of Fame In his career, he has coached many Olympians who placed in the top three in the world. He coached the Iowa State wrestling team for many years before stepping down in favor of one of his star pupils, Cael Sanderson, in 2006.