Personal
- From Salt Lake City, Utah
- Was a two-time All-American in baseball for BYU in addition to being All-Conference in basketball
Career Highlights
- Started for the Cougars from his sophomore season on
- Led the team in scoring his junior year with 15.4
- 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
Before BYU
- Star at Highland High School
- All-state, All-American honorable mention as prep
After BYU
- Was 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
Post BYU Honors and Societies
- Inducted into the BYU Hall of Fame in 1982
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.