Hall of Fame
Duane Crabaugh was born in Adair, Oklahoma. Following two years of service in the U.S. Army, Duane Crabaugh enrolled at Northeastern Oklahoma A&M in 1956 where he earned an Associate’s degree. He went on to earn a Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees from Northeastern State. Coach Crabaugh started his coaching career at Webber Falls, OK in 1958. He coached boys and girls basketball, and baseball from 1958 through 1962. His baseball team claimed a state championship in 1960. During his last two years, he coached boys’ basketball, baseball, and was the high school principal. In 1964, he moved to Del City to coach. In 1968, he was named the Boomer Conference Baseball Coach of the Year and was honored to coach the South All-State Baseball team the same year. His high school career totaled 208 wins against only 82 losses. He has been a member of the Oklahoma Coaches Association since 1959, and is a charter member of the Oklahoma Baseball coaches Association.
Coach Crabaugh moved to Rose State College in 1973 where he coached for 20 years, where he put together a 504-470 career record with the Raiders. He currently ranks No. 149 for most wins all-time in NJCAA history. He was named Oklahoma Baseball Collegiate Association’s Coach of the Year in 1979. He led his teams to 4 Conference titles, and was named JUCO Coach of the Year in both 1980 and 1981. Crabaugh was inducted into the Oklahoma Coaches Association Hall of Fame in 1985, Oklahoma Baseball Coaches Hall of Fame in 2000, and the NJCAA Baseball Hall of Fame in 2015.
Coach Crabaugh retired from coaching after the 1994 season with a career record of 712 wins and 550 losses.
Duane and his wife, Frieda, have a son, Denney, a fellow coach, and a daughter, Kim Judd. Both Denney and Kim attended Rose State College. In addition, after playing at Rose State, Denney Crabaugh followed in his father’s footsteps to become a successful baseball coach at Oklahoma City University. Denney was inducted into the NAIA Hall of Fame in 2006 and the American Baseball Coaches Association in 2015. Denny and Kim have given them six wonderful grandchildren who have provided untold hours of sports entertainment and unabashed pride in their academic accomplishments. There have not been many coaches in the history of two-year college baseball that displayed as strong leadership and moral fortitude as Duane Crabaugh.
