Generous $100,000 gift will memorialize one of the region’s biggest track fans

One of the cornerstones of the new athletics complex will be the Doug Smith Museum at Heritage Hall. The museum will showcase the rich history of Mt. SAC athletics, and those familiar with his history know that there’s no more fitting figure to have his name on this museum than Doug Smith. A lifelong track and field enthusiast, Smith passed away in 2018 after a short but harrowing battle with pancreatic cancer. He remained involved in the track community and in the Heritage Hall plans until the end. In fact, on the day he died, he had a meeting scheduled to go over the museum details. His family knew they had to see this project through in his memory, and because of their $100,000 donation, the museum will be named after Doug.

Smith’s love of track was hereditary. His father Kenyon Smith was a pole vaulter and set records at Pomona College. Back then, the poles were made of bamboo, and track was one of top four sports in the country, along with baseball, football, and basketball. Kenyon was an AAU official and an usher in the 1932 Olympics. He was then an official at the 1952 and 1956 Olympic trials, and his kids attended the trials with him. Indeed, Kenyon’s sons—Doug, Blair, and Grant—all participated in track and field as kids. Doug’s event was the hurdles. He excelled in high school, both at Charter Oak and at Narbonne High School, and then in college at Harbor Community College and California State University at Long Beach. During that time, he often ran in the Mt. SAC relays, an event that would remain close to his heart.

After college, Doug began a career as a teacher and a coach. His love of track combined with his love of collecting meant that over his lifetime he amassed quite a collection of track and field memorabilia. Collecting was something he and his brother Grant had in common. Doug was only two years younger than Grant and followed in his footsteps in many ways, but it’s clear that the admiration went both ways. Grant’s esteem for his younger brother is evident in his voice. “I’m proud of what he did,” said Grant. The Doug Smith Museum will be “a great memory of him.”

The Mt. SAC relays were always a highlight of the year for Doug. He never missed this event. When he and his brothers were growing up, track events like the Mt. SAC relays weren’t uncommon, but Mt. SAC’s event is the only one of its caliber that remains in the region. Doug was proud to support it. The 2018 relays were the last track event he attended. He was in a wheelchair, but he was determined to go. He ended up in the hospital the next day and passed away shortly after, but it seems clear that he didn’t regret the decision to go. 

Mt. SAC stands out as a leader in the track and field community, and no one understood that or held more reverence for it than Doug Smith. “Doug would be very pleased to see the completion of the museum in his name. He would also be pleased to see the wonderful new Mt. SAC Stadium and athletic facility,” said his brother Blair. Mt. SAC athletics never had a better friend than Doug Smith, and now everyone who visits Heritage Hall will know that.