Titans' First 1,000-Point Basketball Scorer Passes Away

Titans' First 1,000-Point Basketball Scorer Passes Away

Doug Ritchie, the first UW-Oshkosh men's basketball player to score 1,000 career points, passed away earlier this month (Jan. 2) in Fitchburg.

Ritchie, 88, earned four all-conference awards while playing for the Titans from 1947-50. He helped UW-Oshkosh to conference titles in 1947 and 1948.

Ritchie also participated in football and track & field at UW-Oshkosh. He was the holder of the school's record in the javelin for nearly a decade.

Ritchie graduated from the University of Wisconsin in 1950 and began teaching and coaching baseball, basketball and football for the Port Washington School District. In his 14 years there, Ritchie also was an elementary school, junior high school and high school principal.

In 1965, Ritchie became principal of Madison West High School, and in 1967, was recruited by the school board to become the superintendent of Madison Public Schools. Ritchie retired as superintendent in 1980, but continued working as a school consultant in the Madison area until the summer of 1999.

During his tenure as superintendent, Ritchie served as president of the Wisconsin Interscholastic Athletic Association Board of Control and helped to usher in the participation for girls in high school athletics.

Ritchie valued the importance of educating Madison's children and worked tirelessly to create learning opportunities for all students and teachers. He was a driving force in the creation of The Foundation for Madison's Public Schools. The Foundation remains influential today in promoting and encouraging teacher creativity in the classroom.

Ritchie was born to Thomas and Edna (nee Chandler) Ritchie on April 24, 1926. In 1948, Ritchie married his college sweetheart, Patricia Gallagher. The couple had five children, including Richard (Dick) who played basketball for the Titans from 1979-82. Patricia preceded him in death in 2005.

Ritchie, a graduate of Montello High School, was inducted into the UW-Oshkosh Hall of Fame in 1975.