As a Whitman freshman in 1958, Robert “Bob” Hough was a key contributor on coach Bill Martin’s 10th and final conference championship team. One of the links in a proud Missionary tradition of track sprinters, Hough ran on the victorious mile relay squad in that year’s conference championship meet, in addition to placing second in the 100-yard dash and fourth in the 220.
Hough’s talents blossomed during his sophomore season. He won both the 100 and 220 in back-to-back meets, posting best-times of 9.7 seconds in the 100 and 21.7 seconds in the 220. With Hough winning the 100 and anchoring the winning mile relay team, Whitman finished second at the conference meet. His success continued at the NAIA District Meet, where he won the 220.
Hough sprang from the blocks as a junior, dominating two meets by winning the 100 and 220 while anchoring victories in the mile relay. He added three more wins in Whitman’s next meet, despite suffering the first of what became a series of leg injuries. While hobbled at the conference championships, he won both sprints and again anchored a mile relay victory.
Injuries slowed Hough throughout his senior season. Still, he shared in a fourth consecutive conference title in the mile relay, and he placed second in the 100 and third in the 220. A junior and senior team captain, Hough capped his running career by winning both the Borleske Trophy as the top male athlete on campus, and the Klise Memorial Trophy, given to a track athlete for outstanding athletic ability and exemplary leadership.
Hough, who is semi-retired from a career in video and audio technology sales, lives in Cedar Hills, Ore., with his wife Barbara. They have two adult children, Kelly and Brian, and three grandchildren.
Hough is the older brother of Jan Hough Rolfe '64, who recently retired from Whitman as an associate vice president of development. Their parents, the late Emerson and Ethel Hough, moved to Milton-Freewater in 1940s and served for decades as community leaders. Among their many activities, Emerson was a member of the city council and library board, while Ethel was a Camp Fire executive and state president of the Oregon PEO organization.
