Aug. 2, 2010

STANFORD, Calif. - Jon "Jack" Douglas, a two-sport star at Stanford who would go on to great success in Los Angeles real estate, died in his sleep Tuesday at his home in Brentwood, his family told the Los Angeles Times.

No cause was given. He was 73.

Douglas was a two-time tennis All-American at Stanford, in 1957 and '58, and quarterbacked the football team to a 6-4 season in 1957, earning awards as the team's most outstanding and inspirational player.

His success in athletics was followed by success in the business world. The Jon Douglas Co. would become one of the largest brokerages in the country by 1997 when it was bought by Coldwell Banker, according to The Times.

Douglas arrived at Stanford from Santa Monica (Calif.) High School as the No. 3-ranked junior tennis player in the country. He became Stanford's first tennis All-American, earning second-team honors in 1957 and was a first-team choice in '58 when he reached the NCAA singles and doubles finals, though he was unable to win either one. He played No. 1 for Stanford for three seasons, after going undefeated on the freshman team.

In football, he backed up future NFL star John Brodie for two years before earning the starting job and being elected team captain in 1957. Douglas completed 76 of 146 passes (53.5 percent) for 957 yards, threw nine touchdown passes and had six intercepted in '57. He led team in minutes played (397) - playing offense and defense, as was the norm in those days - and played all 60 minutes in his final game, a victory over California.

His 1-yard sneak gave Stanford a 14-6 lead in the third quarter in a 14-12 Big Game victory at Stanford Stadium on Nov. 23.

He would be awarded the Dr. Irving S. Zeimer Memorial Trophy for Stanford's "outstanding varsity football player of the year" and the Jim Reynolds Award, for the "most inspirational senior football player."

Douglas concentrated on amateur tennis after college, ranking among the top 10 U.S. players from 1960-62. He reached the quarterfinals of the U.S. Open in 1961 and made three appearances for the U.S. Davis Cup team, in 1958, 1960, and '61, scoring the only point for the U.S. in a 1961 finals loss to Italy.

Famed Los Angeles Times columnist Jim Murray once wrote that Douglas was "as good a 5-foot-9 athlete as any state ever produced."

Douglas, who graduated from Stanford with a history degree, was inducted into the Intercollegiate Tennis Association Hall of Fame in 1996 and is a member of the Stanford Hall of Fame.

According to The Times, services will be private.