90 and counting: Tug Baughn reflects on nearly 60-year sports legacy

An eclectic collection of 15 presidents, the full span of World War II and the television and computer revolutions have taken place during the span of E.L. Baughn’s life — better known to all his friends, which pretty much includes everyone who has ever known him, as Tug.

It was in mid-March 1934 when Tug first opened his eyes. The fangs of the Great Depression were still sunk deep into the neck of America’s economic bloodline and only 60 percent of households owned radios. Unemployment towered at 22 percent. Dust storms still ravaged the Midwest and record hot temperatures caused drought in 75 percent of the nation.

That was 90 years ago — and Tug is still kicking.

“I never dreamed I would be this old,” he told the E-E recently.

His impact on local and Oklahoma sports is legendary — a game official in either football, basketball or both for 50 years, and the most recent Bartlesville Doenges Ford Indians’ baseball head coach to lead the program to an American Legion state championship.

He and son Stan are the only father and son to have been inducted as individuals into the Bartlesville Athletic Hall of Fame — Tug (2013) and Stan (2021). He also is a member of the Oklahoma High School Officials Hall of Fame, the Oklahoma Softball Hall of Fame (as a fast pitch player) and a two-time All-American by the International Softball Conference (1957, 1967).

Tug’s biggest honor?

Nearly 71 years of marriage with his wife Phyllis and her unwavering support and love — as well as his most courageous defender.

“There’s no way you could number it,” Baughn said about his appreciation of Phyllis. “She saw the first game I ever refereed in my life. Somehow, she saw every game I ever coached in Legion baseball and in Little League. There couldn’t be anyone more supportive. I would have been nothing with her.”

Among other things, she might have saved him a black eye.

That happened back in 1976 when Tug and his staff led the Indians to the 1976 American Legion Mid-South Regional, held in Tulsa. They faced a Texas team in the early rounds.

“It was quite a rivalry,” Tug said. “We beat them. As soon as the game was over we started shaking hands, but the Texas people wanted to fight. ... Two or three of them went after Jack Elkin, my assistant, who was a big old boy."

To prevent a major brawl, tourney officials shepherded both teams into their respective dugouts and instructed the Texas players to leave the field first while instructing the Indians to stay in their dugout.

At one point a few minutes later after the Indians started to leave, an individual — who Tug estimated to be about 6-foot-6, 240 pounds — from the Texas group confronted him.

The individual drew back his fist as if to throw a punch at Tug. But, before the belligerent could cause any harm, precursive comeuppance came crashing down on his head.

“Phyllis clobbered him with a metal stadium seat,” Tug said. “He turned and ran with his tail between his legs to the bus.”

As I write of this experience, I have to chuckle — Phyllis weighed probably just above a third of that guy’s size.

Her protective act that day might define the boundary of Phyllis’ passion, but not her personality.

“I could have looked the world over and I would have never found a better image for a mother, for a wife and a supporter,” he said. I could have never found anybody that would come close. She is the ultimate. With a handicapped son (Steven, who died in 2019 at the age of 63) she never missed a day in her life talking to him on the phone.”

I don’t remember the first time after I moved in 1996 to Bartlesville that I met Tug. He was still officiating back then but I have no memory of seeing him in a striped shirt.

Whatever day Tug came into my life was a blessed one. He has been a loyal and gracious acquaintanceship, a tower of friendship and encouragement. His positive influence has radiated like a nourishing sun on most, if not all, of those who have spent time in his sphere of influence.

His record with the Indians is almost unbelievable — four seasons (1975-78), 204 wins, two state Legion titles and advancing one year within one win of qualifying for the American Legion World Series.

A few of his former players turned some of the lessons they learned from him into giving back as decades-long established school coaches in Bartlesville, Terry Hughes and Rick Johnson being two of them.

Asked how he hopes his former athletes remember him,  Tug said: "I hope they would say he played it hard and fair. I knew the rules backwards and forwards. I never did break the rules, but sometimes I went as far as I could legally. I think they would tell you I was very knowledgeable about coaching."

Tug also assessed his best trait as a coach.

"I felt there were better coaches than me coaching hitting and pitching," he said. "But, once the game started I felt like I could hold my own with anybody in managing a game."

He also referred to an observation one of his former players told a newspaper.

"He said, 'Tug is just like a conductor in an orchestra. ... It's just he's got them (his players) on a wire. ... He knows what he wants done and he knows how to orchestrate it," Tug said.

Something I've mentioned before is Tug's courage and loyalty on a night in the early 2000s to speak up for legendary Barnsdall coach Joe Gilbert at a special school board meeting. Tug had nothing personally to gain from that action. But, he did it. Joe — whose assignments as a Barnsdall coach were threatened by an unfortunate effort by some influential individuals — mostly survived the hostile effort and continued to coach multiple varsity sports up until his passing — at nearly age 90 — in 2021.

In fact, as a young basketball official, Tug had refereed a game in the early 1950s in which Joe Gilbert had been a player for Northeastern State.

In addition, Tug worked 23 state championship basketball games, many of them in the Oklahoma City Fairground Pavillion, and 21 state championship football games.

He began his coaching pursuit in 1966 — two years after he located his family to Bartlesville, due to his job with Phillips 66 — by leading the Redbird Ranch team to the 12-and-under Little League championship at Price Field.

Now Tug has reached 90. Even though he feels the effects of the years, his voice still resonates on the phone with boisterous enthusiasm and a full grasp of details about a life that has made a positive difference.

This article originally appeared on Bartlesville Examiner-Enterprise: 90 and counting: Tug Baughn reflects on nearly 60-year sports legacy