Doug McArthur, who was involved in all things Tacoma sports, dead at 94
Doug McArthur had a hand in most all things sports and recreation in Tacoma. Over the years, he was a sports director for KTAC radio, worked for Metro Parks, served as the athletic director for the University of Puget Sound, coached golf, fastpitch, basketball, baseball and more.
McArthur died on Dec. 6 at 94, leaving a lasting impact on the South Sound athletics community.
He was a 1946 graduate of Lincoln High School before attending Washington State University and the College of Puget Sound, where he studied communications. After a brief stint in the military during the Korean War, McArthur returned to Tacoma and became the sports director at KTAC radio in 1956.
He was superintendent of public recreation and supervisor of athletics for the Tacoma Public Schools and the Metropolitan Park District in the early 1960s. Between 1966 and 1978 he was the athletic director at UPS, which led to his induction into the Logger Athletic Hall of Fame.
McArthur oversaw two national championships in the Tacoma community: as coach of the Stanley Shoemen who won the 1956 National Amateur Baseball Championships and as athletic director at UPS when the Loggers won the 1976 national men’s basketball title under coach Don Zech.
He was heavily involved in the public relations campaign leading to the passage of a bond measure funding the Tacoma Dome in 1980.
“Doug had his hands in everything,” said Marc Blau, the Tacoma-Pierce County Sports Hall of Fame chairman.
Coaching, administration, radio broadcasting, fundraising, recreation, parks — if it involved athletics and Tacoma, McArthur was probably there.
“He just loved sports, loved people and embraced it from day one,” Blau said. “He had the golden touch when it came to involvement in sports. … He touched so many people in the community and his hand was on so many sports-related venues and programs.”
Blau and the Tacoma Athletic Commission named one of their biggest honors after him, creating the “Doug McArthur Lifetime Achievement Award” in 2012. Blau cited McArthur’s involvement across a wide range of activities as the reason he was selected.
“He was involved in so many different aspects of sports in the community,” Blau said. “It wasn’t just one thing here or one thing there. It was the magnitude of those things he was involved in. He did it 24/7.”
Current UPS men’s basketball coach Aubrey Shelton, also a Lincoln grad, shared some words in a post on X after McArthur’s passing.
“Can’t think of a person who has had a greater impact on the Tacoma athletic community than Doug McArthur,” he wrote. “What an incredible life he lived. Grateful for his support and kindness to me over the years.”
