Dubby Holt dies at 92

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POCATELLO — His name is on the side of Pocatello’s most iconic building, but the legacy of Milton “Dubby” Holt will long outlast the arena which bears his name.

A month shy of his 93rd birthday, the long-time Idaho State University coach and athletic director died Sunday at Portneuf Medical Center from complications of pneumonia. Jacqueline, Holt’s wife of 52 years, died in 1997.

Holt’s career at ISU spanned 34 years and covered every station in the sports department from athlete and coach to athletic director. He retired in 1979 after winning 13 consecutive conference championships in track, NCAA boxing championships in 1953 and 1957 and coaching the 1956 U.S. Olympic boxing team.

He also created the impetus to build Holt Arena, only the second enclosed football stadium ever built.

Longtime ISU coach and administrator Italo "Babe" Caccia, said Holt was successful at all kinds of coaching, but he always loved track, the sport he exceled in as an athlete.

Caccia, who attended junior college, college and entered the Navy with Holt said Dubby was a “Good guy who enjoyed life.”

“He knew everybody in town, he was a great guy to get along with and he was damn good coach.”

How Holt earned the nickname Dubby was a mystery to Caccia, as it predated their 70-year friendship.

“I really can’t answer that,” Caccia said with a chuckle, before adding, “I don’t think he liked the name Milton.”

Holt never lost his love affair with sports. He played golf until recently and was an avid sports fan, especially for college sports.

Phil Luckey, a trainer at ISU for the last 39 years and Holt’s first hire after he took over the athletic trainer spot at ISU in 1967, said Dubby was like a second father to him.

“He was my track coach in 1960. He developed me,” Luckey said. “You have to understand that I have been a trainer for 40 years. I have met a lot of people. There is no one in Dubby’s class. He is the greatest person I have ever met.”

Luckey said Holt’s success as a coach stemmed from his people skills and his commitment to his athletes.

“He never coached a sport, he coached an athlete. He knew what they needed,” he said.

Coaching athletes was Holt’s calling. He was one of the most successful college boxing coaches ever, despite having never boxed himself.

“He just knew how to coach,” Luckey said. “He paid attention to every athlete. He made every athlete feel like they were the best on the team, whether they were All-American or third string.

“Every time you went out on the track or into the boxing ring or wherever, you were going to give 100 percent because you knew he believed in you,” Luckey said.

Holt’s penchant for believing in his athletes was part of his general demeanor.

Earl Pond, whose name adorns the student union, said Holt was a lot of everything.

“He was a good coach, a good friend a good supporter of the university,” he said, adding that aside from his coaching prowess, Holt was well respected and friendly.

“I don’t think he ever had a bad word to say about anybody,” Pond said. “He was a gentleman.”

Besides being a successful athlete, coach and visionary athletic director, Holt served four years in the U.S. Navy as Chief Specialist during World War II, after which he returned to ISU.

Luckey said there would not a be a funeral for Holt, but that plans were in the works for a memorial or celebration of life to be held on campus in the coming days. “He was unbelievable as a boss and as a friend. I never looked at him as my boss,” Luckey said. “He was just Dubby.”

His name is written on the side of the landmark arena he built. It is part of the foundation of the university he loved.

More than that, Milton “Dubby” Holt will be forever etched on the hearts of his friends and athletes.

Asked if he had a few minutes to talk about Holt, Luckey’s answer was simple. “I have my whole life to talk about Dubby.”

By Greg McReynolds

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