Doug Raymond was an outstanding competitor and coach of Terrier trackmen
Doug Raymond, a record-breaking middle distance runner during his undergraduate career at Boston University who went on to develop Terrier trackmen into school record holders and Olympians during a 15-year coaching career, passed away on November 25th after a brief illness.
Born on June 19, 1915 in Beverly, MA, Raymond went on to amass undefeated records in both the 440 and 880 as a collegiate runner. A 1938 graduate of Boston University who was inducted into the Terrier Athletic Hall of Fame in 1959, Raymond devoted much of his life to track as both an athlete and coach.
He qualified for the 1940 Olympics but then World War II interrupted his competitive career. He served as a commissioned officer in the United States Navy during World War II, serving five years in several major theaters of the war, with duty on vessels ranging from destroyer escorts to battleships and as a gun commander on US merchant ships making the dreaded North Atlantic crossings. He retired with the rank of Lt. Commander.
Following military service, Raymond returned to his alma mater where he coached seven straight New England Intercollegiate Championship teams, 5 straight Eastern Intercollegiate Team Championships, 25 All-Americans, 4 NCAA Record holders, and 1 world record holder.
Track stars came from afar to be coached by Raymond. John Lawlor left Dublin and bypassed Yale just to have Doug make him the best hammer thrower and 35-pound weight tosser in the world. John Thomas turned down close to 100 offers in order that Doug could teach him how to get over the bar at the seemingly 7-foot barrier. The first 7-foot high jumper in history, Thomas cleared the 7-foot mark 191 times, more then any man in track history.
Lawlor and Thomas were just two of the athletes that Raymond developed into Olympians. Some of the others included John "the younger" Kelley, Cliff Blair, Al Schoterman, Jacques Accumbray, and Gerald Tink.
Then, in 1960, Raymond was named the head track and field coach at Kent State University. During his 18-year tenure there, his team won the Mid-America Conference (MAC) Championship, and he was twice voted MAC Coach of the Year. He produced 34 NCAA Division 1 All-Americans, three NCAA Division 1 records, three members of the 1972 US Olympic Team and the all-time high scorer in the MAC Track Championships.
On the international level, Raymond coached the 1956 and 1960 Olympic Teams and the 1969 American team at the Pacific Conference Championships in Japan. He also coached a team of American athletes who traveled to Finland in 1956 for an international meet.
Raymond retired from Kent State University in 1978 but his name remains very evident, as the school still holds the annual "Doug Raymond Invitational." The 2004 Invitational is scheduled for the weekend of January 30th.
After his retirement from Kent State, he returned to Narragansett, RI, where he continued his interest in track and field, advising several local athletes and pursuing a lifelong enthusiasm for golf.
In addition to his being a member of the Boston University Athletic Hall of Fame, he was inducted into the Ohio Track and Field Association in 1987, the Varsity K Hall of Fame in 1988, the Portage County Hall of Fame, and, most recently, in 2003, he was inducted into United States Track Coaches Hall of Fame.
Popular with his fellow coaches, Raymond was elected president of the IC4A track Coaches Association, Vice-Chairman of the New England Track and Field A.A.U., and President of the Eastern Intercollegiate AA.
Raymond and his wife, the late Mary Dowling Raymond had five children; Martha (Arden) Sommers, Mark Kirk (Janet) Raymond, Kevin (Tracy) Raymond, Mary Louise (George) Remington, and Richard Raymond. He also had 10 grandchildren and four great grandchildren. He was preceded in death by his brothers Alvin, of Peabody MA, and Wilbur, of Beverly, MA.
The family has requested that donations can be made to "Doug Raymond Memorial Scholarship Fund" for Kent State University Track and Field in care of KSU Athletics Blue and Gold Fund, Box 5192, Kent OH 44242-001. Attention: Laing Kennedy, Athletic Director.
