Who is David Douglas? Your answer to that question will tell you which is your quizzing generation. Those from the late 70’s to early 80’s know him as a skinny quizzer who dominated at AACS. Those who quizzed in the mid to late 80’s know him as the moustached coach of a Southside powerhouse. Those who knew him in the early to mid 90’s know him as the energetic entrepreneur that started the PQA and made invitationals commonplace. Those who have quizzed in the late 90’s to the present day know him as one of the best quizmasters in the country. Never has one man done so much for so many.
When listing the best quizzers of all time with the panel, he was in everyone’s top 15. When listing the best coaches, he was in everyone’s top 10. When listing the best quizmasters, he was in everyone’s top 5. Finally, Ron and Bob decided to put him in the entrepreneur category and we all agreed that was the most appropriate. You see, for all of the individual things that David Douglas accomplished, at the center of them all, he sought to grow the ministry.
When a senior in high school, he worked with a lowly freshman who now leads one of the best programs to re-enter the Bible Quiz scene. When a coach at Southside, he took time out of coaching the greats he had, like Valerie Wood and Matt Rexford, to help fledgling programs (many are now powerhouses) grow. He took it to the next step when he started and grew the PQA and SCQANIT. And now as a quizmaster, he continues to help teams improve themselves. His legacy stretches from South Florida to Maryland to Alabama to North Carolina to Virgnina and that doesn’t even include the fact that he is the only person to coach two of the most storied programs in Bible Quiz history.
Before the rule change at the Winter Retreat whose legend spreads through Florida like wildfire, David’s team attempted to allow him to quiz on the High School team while still in Middle School. This not only changed forever the landscape of the now defunct event, but it was the first time that someone ever used the excuse, “I don’t want to compete against him, he’s too young and that makes him better.” While this has been used countless times since then, he made the argument that previously only worked for older siblings when mom and dad locked them out of the house en vogue. Just last year, I heard that argument made several times. While counter-intuitive, it is the most overused excuse in quizzing.
As a coach, his crowning achievements were his AACS victories. I think he was the first-ever coach to lead a team to eight consecutive national top-three finishes. Consistent greatness like that is often taken for granted. I think many coaches who consistently have very good teams, but rarely, if ever, make it over the hump are often not given dap for their efforts. David Douglas is the godfather of those coaches. His two AACS titles are given little credence, but as we described when speaking of Valerie, he came very close to another. Further, he seemed to always take teams, where all contributed, a concept which Randy Thaxton perfected.
I have read the message board lately and there seems to be some questioning about what is the best tournament in the country. Nary a tournament has been mentioned that does not utilize the skills of David Douglas as a QuizMaster or Question Writer. I think it is almost a given that if you want your tournament to be respected, you have to get David Douglas involved. When the whole idea to success just means getting someone’s “Midas touch,” you know that person is special.
When anyone can impact a ministry for more than 20 years, they warrant some consideration as the biggest impact ever. While many of his varied accomplishments by themselves warrant consideration to this lofty perch, the totality of them makes this choice a no-brainer. David is currently expecting his third child and his oldest had her first quizzing experience in an FQA event last April. I am sure his evangelsitic nature toward Bible Quiz will catapult all his kids, in addition to others in the area, to a top 10 team very soon.
Use God’s Light, David, you’re on the list!