Wayne BaughmanBaughman is one of fourteen honorees -- and the only amateur wrestler -- to be named as a member of the brand-new Oklahoma City Public Schools Athletics Hall of Fame Class of 2018. Inductees will be welcomed in a ceremony on May 15, 2018.
Here's how sports columnist Jenni Carlson of The Oklahoman -- the daily newspaper for Oklahoma City -- described the new hall, designed to honor great athletes and coaches from Oklahoma City's public high schools:
"Spearheaded by district alum and now district athletic director Keith Sinor, the hall of fame strives to honor and celebrate the district's rich history and excellence."
Members of the community were invited to submit names of athletes, coaches, supporters and other individuals they believed to be worthy of consideration for achieving greatness in their sport, as well as ethical conduct and moral character, by November 1. (The only other stipulation: athlete nominees had to have graduated at least ten years ago.) A selection committee winnowed the list of candidates submitted by the community down to the fourteen in the inaugural class, including Wayne Baughman.
Baughman, a 1959 graduate of Oklahoma City's John Marshall High School, became a wrestler because his football coach wanted his athletes to participate in a second sport. Getting booted from the basketball team, Baughman went out for wrestling… and despite his mat coach's statement that he was "too slow" -- and placed no higher than third at the Oklahoma state wrestling championships as a senior -- he made a favorable impression on University of Oklahoma wrestling coaches Tommy Evans and Port Robertson, who offered him a scholarship.
It was as an Oklahoma Sooner where the nation first saw Baughman's greatness as a wrestler. He was a two-time Big 8 conference champ and three-time NCAA All-American, winning the 191-pound title at the 1962 NCAAs by defeating Oklahoma State muscleman Joe James in his home gym in the finals. (Immediately out of college, the lean-muscled Baughman posed for an Air Force statue which has stood in downtown Oklahoma City for more than 50 years.)
Baughman continued his on-the-mat career beyond college. He wrestled on three U.S. Olympic Teams (1964, 1968 and 1972), eight World Championship teams and a Pan American squad. If that weren't enough, Baughman is the only wrestler to win national championships in four different wrestling styles (freestyle, Greco-Roman, collegiate and sombo).
Baughman later shared that international mat experience as a U.S. Olympic wrestling coach in 1976. He also mentored five World Championship teams and a Pan American team.
Baughman is also noted for being the head wrestling coach at the U.S. Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs for 27 seasons, retiring in 2007.
Among the other members of the inaugural class of inductees for the Oklahoma City Public Schools Athletics Hall of Fame include Henry Iba, legendary Oklahoma State basketball coach (whose name, along with that of wrestling coach Ed Gallagher, graces the school's Gallagher-Iba Arena) … early 1980s world lightweight boxing champ Sean O'Grady ... and Bobby Murcer, long-time outfielder and announcer for the New York Yankees.
Recommended Comments
There are no comments to display.
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now