Art Keith, who had a long career as a high school and college wrestling coach, and authored four wrestling instructional books, died May 17 at his home in Fairmont Hot Springs, British Columbia. He was 76 years old.
Among the books that Keith authored: The Complete Guide to Championship Wrestling, the 1976 book Complete Book of Wrestling Drills and Conditioning Techniques, and Successful Wrestling: Coaches' Guide for teaching Basic to Advanced Skills, published in 1990.
Jarold Arthur Keith was born May 1, 1934, in Arapahoe, Nebraska but spent most of his life in the Pacific Northwest. Keith attended Canby High School in Oregon, where he won three state wrestling titles, and even wrestled at the 1952 US Olympic Trials as a senior. He was Canby High's valedictorian for its 1952 graduating class.
Keith earned both a Bachelor and Master's degree at Oregon State University, winning the Pacific Coast Wrestling Championship three times. At freshman orientation, the 19-year-old Keith met 17-year-old Fern Miller. The two started dating, and were married in August 1955.
After college, Art Keith served a short tour of duty in the United States Army National Guard before launching his teaching and coaching career.
Keith coached at three different high schools in Oregon, then decided to return to college for his doctorate at the University of Oregon. While there, he served as the head coach of the Ducks wrestling program, and wrote the first of four wrestling books. He also coached Oregon's first NCAA champ, John Miller, who won the 115-pound title at the 1969 NCAAs at Brigham Young University in Utah.
According to the 2007-2008 University of Oregon wrestling media guide, Keith was head coach for five seasons (1965-1970), compiling a 37-42-2 record. His teams placed second in the conference in 1966, and as high as 15th place at the NCAAs.
After a 8 or 9-year break, Keith returned to coaching at the high school level in the state of Washington for about a dozen years. He and Fern retired to British Columbia 18 years ago. In 1997, Art Keith was honored by the Oregon Chapter of the National Wrestling Hall of Fame with its Lifetime Service To Wrestling award.
Keith is survived by his wife Fern; two sisters, Grace Daniels and Ester Boyd; three children, Dee Ann Gregg, Marla Lucas and Craig Keith; and five grandchildren, Kathryn Gregg, Michael and Stephen Lucas, Christopher and Helen Keith.
In an interview for Examiner.com, daughter Dee Ann said, "Dad often said, 'Your neighbor isn't just the guy next door.' That's why he was involved in the Cultural Exchange program, bringing wrestling teams to Japan to compete, and hosting wrestlers from Japan, Lebanon, Iran and Nigeria, among other places."
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