Sharpe placed third in the heavyweight bracket at the 1966 NCAA Wrestling Championships. The fifth-seeded, 6' 7", 250-pounder made it to the semifinals at the NCAAs, losing to top-seeded Bob Billberg of Minnesota State-Moorhead. Sharpe defeated Steve Shippos of Iowa State, 3-0, in the match for third place, avenging a loss to the Cyclone big man in the finals at the 1966 Big 8 conference championships two weeks earlier.
"He was academically gifted," is how Sooner teammate and 1972 Olympic gold medalist Wayne Wells described Sharpe in a tribute in The Oklahomana on Monday. "Had Luke continued in postgraduate competition and gained more experience, he had the potential to be successful on the international scene. He chose to pursue academics and business interests."
Louis "Luke" K. Sharpe was born on October 14, 1944 in Wichita Falls, Texas. In 1945, his family moved to Checotah, Okla. where he attended school through junior high. The Sharpes then relocated to Faribault, Minn. Where Luke graduated from Shattuck School in 1962. Upon graduation, Luke Sharpe headed south to Duke University in Durham, N.C., where, according to his obituary, he wrestled, played football, and joined Phi Delta Theta social fraternity. Frustrated with Duke athletics, he transferred to the University of Oklahoma to pursue his interest in wrestling, where he was guided by head coach Tommy Evans and former head coach Port Robertson. http://www.hbmfuneralhome.com/obituaries/Louis-Luke-Sharpe/#!/Obituary
After graduating from Oklahoma, Sharpe earned a Master's Degree in Accounting from the University of Massachusetts in Amherst in 1967. He began doctoral work at the University of Texas in Austin, Texas where he received a PhD in Marketing-Consumer Behavior in December 1970. Sharpe continued a career in academia, serving on the faculties at the University of Utah and the University of Texas in Austin. He authored or co-authored twenty-one publications and one book from 1970 to 1974.
In 1974, Sharpe left the collegiate world to join Sharpe's, the family clothing business based in Checotah. There he served many roles helping the stores expand to twenty-four locations in three states. He also helped establish Dentures and Dental Services, a group of full service dental clinics with forty locations in five states.
Sharpe is survived by his wife Holly, a daughter, two sons, and three grandchildren.
A memorial service was held Sunday in Eufaula, Okla. For those seeking to honor Luke Sharpe, the family asks that donations be made to Oncology Research at Mayo Clinic- Dept. of Development, 200 1st St. SW Rochester, Minnesota 55905.
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