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    Kent State champ, Wadsworth coach Doan dead at 99

    Russ Doan, Kent State wrestling champ who led Wadsworth High School to an Ohio state team title, died last week at age 99, the Medina Gazette reported Thursday.

    Russ Doan
    Born in Woodsfield, Ohio in Sept. 1916, Russell Kennedy Doan's athletic career began at Ravenna and Paris (now Southeast) high schools in northeast Ohio. For college, Doan stayed close to home, attending Kent State University. As an athlete for the Golden Flashes, Doan was a three-time Interstate wrestling champ at 128 pounds in 1937-39. Wrestling for legendary, long-time coach Joe Begala, Doan served as captain his senior year and lost only two matches in a four-year career, which included an undefeated junior season. Doan earned four varsity letters in wrestling, as well as three in baseball. He was inducted into the Kent State Hall of Fame in 1982; his bio described him as "one of Joe Begala's favorites."

    After graduating from Kent in 1939, Doan came to Wadsworth, Ohio to coach the high school wrestling squad. He took the Grizzlies to the team title in 1942, coaching individual state champions Junior McCrork and Ken Cartwright, runners-up Robert Shannon and Jack Smith and state placers James Sailors, Bob White, Art Cartwright and Elmer Webber the year the Grizzlies won it all.

    Doan stepped away from his teaching/coaching career at Wadsworth from 1943-46 to serve as a U.S. Navy Lieutenant in charge of the V-5 wrestling program for pre-flight cadets. He assisted coach Begala in producing the first hard-cover naval wrestling instructional manual.

    In 1955, Doan came to Elyria High School, where he was an athletic director for 24 years. During his tenure at that school west of Cleveland, the Pioneers basketball team reached the regional level nine times in the ten-year span from 1957-65, and the Elyria football team was unbeaten in 1968, 1969, 1971 and 1979. In addition, Doan managed the local big-school sectional basketball tournament and later the Class AA district tournament for many years. The school also hosted the district track tournament for many years under his watch.

    Doan helped establish the Elyria Sports Hall of Fame in 1971, and was welcomed into it in 1975. All told, Doan has been honored in 13 halls of fame.

    Doan is survived by his daughter Susan (Donald) Dobina of Louisville, son Terry (Laurie) of Elyria along with six grandchildren and four great grandchildren. He was preceded in death by his wife of 73 years, Eileen, who passed away in 2012.

    Services and burial have already taken place.

    In lieu of flowers donations in Russell's name can be made to Elyria Sports Hall of Fame Ring of Honor Scholarship Fund P.O. Box 1462 Elyria, OH 44036-1462.
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