Ohio State Mourns Loss of 1939 Men’s Basketball Team Member – Ohio State Buckeyes
10/16/2007 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Richard Boughner played in first Final Four
COLUMBUS, Ohio – Richard J. Boughner, 90, a member of Ohio State’s 1939 NCAA Tournament team that advanced to the first Final Four, died Oct. 9 in Greenock, Pa. Boughner was one of 11 Buckeyes to play in the first NCAA title game, won by Oregon 46-33 March 27 on the campus of Northwestern University in Evanston, Ill.
Born in Akron, Ohio, in 1917, Boughner was a standout football and basketball player in Ohio before his tenure at Ohio State. He had a brief career on the gridiron (1937 and 1938) at Ohio State before concentrating on basketball, where he lettered in 1938 and 1939.
The 1939 Ohio State basketball team finished the year 16-7 overall and 9-2 in the Big Ten. The Buckeyes were conference champions that season.
Interment with military honors was held Oct. 15 at the Mount Vernon (Pa.) Cemetery. Memorial contributions may be made to the Mount Vernon Community Presbyterian Church, 2200 Buena Vista Road, McKeesport, PA 15135 or to the Western Pennsylvania Golf Association Scholarship Fund (www.wpga.org/scholarship).
