Dale Thomas Memorial Service Scheduled for 1 p.m. Sunday.
March 4, 2004
Corvallis, Ore. -
A memorial service for Dale Thomas has been scheduled for 1 p.m. Sun., March 14 at Gill Coliseum. Doors will open at Noon. The public is invited to attend.
The winningest collegiate wrestling coach in history, passed away early Thursday morning (March 4) at the Corvallis Manor at the age of 81.
Thomas spent 34 years, his entire collegiate coaching career, as the Beavers' wrestling coach from 1957 until his retirement in 1990.
Thomas died of kidney and liver failure due to complications from a rare disease called Sclerosing Cholangitis. Thomas passed away in his sleep and did not suffer, said his son, Dr. Steven Thomas.
Funeral and memorial services for Thomas are pending.
"Dale's passing is a great loss to many people," OSU Director of Athletics Bob De Carolis said. "He impacted countless individuals throughout his life. Our condolences and thoughts go out to his family."
The OSU wrestling program under Thomas was one of the most consistent in the nation. Thomas had an overall dual meet record of 616-169-12 in 34 years and was named NCAA Coach of the Year twice (1961 and 1970). He was named Pacific-10 Coach of the Year four times.
His teams won or tied for 22 conference championships, placed in the NCAA's Top 10 on 14 occasions and were in the top five seven times, including a runner-up finish in 1973. OSU had 60 All-Americans during Thomas' tenure, plus 116 conference champions and 60 NCAA place winners.
Thomas also helped bring numerous important meets and tournaments to Gill Coliseum, including the National Wrestling Coaches Association East-West All-Star Meet. Thomas' efforts also landed OSU the privilege of hosting the NCAA National Championships in 1961 and 1980; those meets helped make collegiate wrestling a national sport.
"Dale was a tremendous ambassador for the sport of wrestling and for Oregon State University in particular," De Carolis said. "He elevated wrestling at Oregon State to national prominence and set a standard of excellence for collegiate wrestling."
Thomas' biographical sketch at the National Wrestling Hall of Fame - which inducted him in 1980 - begins, "Perhaps no man has left his mark on wrestling in as many ways as Dale Thomas - as wrestler, coach, official, teacher and innovator."
"There's no doubt that he had the most influence on one state of anybody we've ever had in wrestling," said Myron Roderick, the former Oklahoma State coach who is now president of the Hall of Fame.
Among Thomas' other accomplishments:
* Elected to the National Wrestling Hall of Fame in 1980; the State of Iowa Hall of Fame in 1982; and the Cornell (Iowa) Sports Hall of Fame in 1970.
* Became the first coach in collegiate history to amass 500 career victories in 1983.
* Helped bring the United States vs. Soviet Union World Cup meet to Corvallis.
* Officiated in the 1960 and 1964 Olympic Games and several World Championships.
* Served on NCAA clinic staff in 1958 in Laramie, Wyoming; 1962 at Stillwater, Oklahoma and 1965 at Laramie.
* Coached the United States' Greco-Roman teams in international competition in 1961 and 1966.
* Taught wrestling and toured New Zealand and Southeast Asia while on sabbatical during the fall of 1973.
* Initiated the Oregon high school freestyle tournament in 1962; a state tournament was later added for the Greco-Roman style.
* Organized and directed the Wrestling Cultural Exchange program between Oregon high schools and locales including Japan, Europe, Mexico, New Zealand and South Africa.
* Developed and directed one of the largest wrestling tournaments in the world in the annual Oregon high school championships with over 400 contestants using eight mats at a 52 matches-per-hour clip.
* Started and developed the Kid Wrestling program for young athletes in Oregon. The program later became nationwide.
* Brought the NCAA championships to the West Coast for the first time in 1961 with Oregon State serving as the host school.
* Began and ran the Double D Wrestling Ranch in the Coast Mountains west of Corvallis.
Thomas was born February 26, 1923 in Marion Iowa.
As a collegian, Thomas wrestled for Cornell College (Iowa) in the late 1940s and was captain of the school's 1947 NCAA championship team. He won nine national titles in collegiate, freestyle and Greco-Roman competitions and was a member of United States Olympic teams in 1952 and 1956.
Thomas earned his bachelor's degree from Cornell in 1947, his master's degree from Purdue in 1948 and his doctorate from Iowa in 1956.
Said his son, Steven, "He cherished every moment. He wanted to live as long as he could - he was just tough. He also appreciated all of the support he received - it meant a lot to him."
Thomas was preceded in death by his wife Nina Thomas (1972). He is survived by his companion of 25 years, Nadine Richey, three sons, Dr. David Thomas, Dr. Steven Thomas, Kenneth Thomas and daughter Susan, and several grand children.
