STEVE GOUGH WAS a two-time NCAA Division II champion for Seattle Pacific, winning the triple jump in 1968 and the decathlon in 1970. The charter member of the Falcons Hall of Fame passed away on May 21, 2021, at the age of 73.
Gough, a graduate of Roosevelt High School just four miles north of campus, originally had basketball in mind when he arrived at then-Seattle Pacific College in the fall of 1966.
Instead, he turned his focus to track under the guidance of legendary head coach Ken Foreman. In 1968, Gough won the NCAA triple jump with a leap of 50 feet, 3 inches.
When Gough was a senior in 1970, the NCAA added the decathlon to its list of events, and Gough won the inaugural title that year, scoring 7,269 points.
By the time his college career was complete in 1970, Gough — who played basketball in 1966-67 — had six All-American awards and school records for the high jump, long jump, triple jump, discus, and decathlon.
To this day, his long jump (24 feet, 3¾ in 1970, and triple jump (51-0½, also in 1970) records still stand.
“We used to call him a one-man track team because he would score anywhere from 20 to 25 points in one meet,” said JOHN GLANCY ’70, MEd ’05, Gough’s teammate who has served Seattle Pacific in numerous on-campus positions for 42 years. “He won a lot of track meets for us.”
Gough was the SPU Athlete of the Year in 1969 and 1970.
Gough completed in the decathlon at three U.S. Olympic trials, placing fourth in 1972, and fifth in 1976.
In addition to his four sons – BRYAN GOUGH ’97, KYLE GOUGH ’98, CHRIS GOUGH ’99, and JEFF GOUGH ’02 — Gough is survived by his wife, PAULA EVANS GOUGH ’70.
