Personal
Father is Orin P. Howard and mother is D'Rilla ... father played football, baseball, basketball and ran track for BYU in the 1920s. Later he played baseball for the San Francisco Seals.
Before BYU
All-America honorable mention in basketball at Highland High ... was all-state in baseball and basketball.
Career Basketball Highlights
- Started for the Cougars as a sophomore, junior and senior
- Led the team in scoring as a junior with 15.4 points per game
- Led BYU in scoring his senior season with 18.2 ppg
- Finished among the top ten free throw shooters in the nation, hitting 85 percent of his attempts from the free throw line
- Became the fourth highest scorer in BYU history at the time
- Was named to the WAC All-Conference Second team both his junior and senior year
After BYU
- Drafted by the Chicago Bulls (NBA) and the California Angels (MLB)
- Chose to pursue baseball and signed a contract with the Angels
- Played professional baseball for seven years, including parts of five seasons of Major League Baseball
Post BYU Honors and Societies
- Inducted into the BYU Hall of Fame in 1982
1982 Hall of Fame Inductee
Following in a father's footsteps is tough enough as it is. Doug's effort was compounded by the fact his father, Orin P. Howard, had been a star at BYU and was inducted into the BYU Hall of Fame in 1975.
Yet fill them he did—and then some. Many athletes are blessed with the skills to play several sports well, few have the ability to excel. Doug excelled. While at BYU, Doug donned the blue and white Cougar uniforms of baseball and basketball and earned honors in both.
In basketball, Doug was known as "Mr. Steady" and when Coach Stan Watts needed a consistent, heads-up player, Doug got the call. In basketball, Doug was Second-Team All-WAC his junior and senior year and All-WAC Academic in 1969.
As a first baseman for BYU, Doug was named First-Team All-America in 1970 by the American Baseball Coaches Association. He was All-WAC Northern Division from 1968 to 1970. He also was named ABCA Second-Team All-America in 1969 and became the first BYU Cougar to be honored as a CoSIDA Academic All-American in 1970.
Doug had a career batting average of .378 and hit .427 the year he was selected to the All-America squad. He had 70 hits in 46 games his senior year and drove in 52 runs. During his career on the Cougar diamond, Doug set seven school records.
After completing play for BYU, Doug was drafted in the eighth round of the MLB Draft by the California Angels of the American League. He was also selected by the Chicago Bulls of the NBA. Doug chose baseball and inked a contract with the Angels. He played professional baseball for seven years before hanging up his cleats in 1977.
Summary
Played baseball and basketball at BYU... inducted into the BYU Athletic Hall of Fame in 1982... father, Orin P. "Bob" Howard, was also inducted in the BYU Athletic Hall of Fame in 1975.
Stats
Year Avg. G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI TB BB SO1968 .330 47 178 32 56 9 3 7 25 92 16 251969 .396 44 169 38 67 15 2 7 41 107 11 121970 .427 46 164 51 70 7 3 9 52 111 31 10