Olympic Games Gold Medalist Athlete. He captured top honors for the United States in freestyle wrestling at the 1960 Rome Olympiad. Raised in northern Oklahoma he was a standout wrestler in high school prior to attending Oklahoma State University; with the Cowboys he fought in the 157 pound weight class from 1955 until 1957 winning numerous honors including All-American designation three times, two AAU titles, and the 1957 NCAA championship. Blubaugh earned a Gold Medal at the 1959 Pan American Games before competing as a welterweight in the Rome Summer Olympics where he took Gold, defeating heavily favored Iranian Emam Ali Habibi in the process. In later years Blubaugh was a respected coach, working as an assistant for several schools including Michigan State where he spent seven years, and holding the top job at Indiana University for 10 seasons. He headed the US freestyle team at the 1971 Pan American Games, was named to the National Wrestling Hall-of-Fame in 1979, and eventually retired in Tonkawa, Oklahoma, where he died in a motor vehicle accident.
Olympic Games Gold Medalist Athlete. He captured top honors for the United States in freestyle wrestling at the 1960 Rome Olympiad. Raised in northern Oklahoma he was a standout wrestler in high school prior to attending Oklahoma State University; with the Cowboys he fought in the 157 pound weight class from 1955 until 1957 winning numerous honors including All-American designation three times, two AAU titles, and the 1957 NCAA championship. Blubaugh earned a Gold Medal at the 1959 Pan American Games before competing as a welterweight in the Rome Summer Olympics where he took Gold, defeating heavily favored Iranian Emam Ali Habibi in the process. In later years Blubaugh was a respected coach, working as an assistant for several schools including Michigan State where he spent seven years, and holding the top job at Indiana University for 10 seasons. He headed the US freestyle team at the 1971 Pan American Games, was named to the National Wrestling Hall-of-Fame in 1979, and eventually retired in Tonkawa, Oklahoma, where he died in a motor vehicle accident.
Bio by: Bob Hufford
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