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    Mark Palmer •

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    Sensenbaugh, founding coach of Modesto Junior College wrestling, dead at 91

    Dean Sensenbaugh, who created the intercollegiate wrestling program at California's Modesto Junior College and served as its head coach for nearly thirty years, died last week at his home in Brookings, Ore., the Modesto Bee newspaper reported Wednesday. He had suffered a stroke on Aug. 21, his 91st birthday.

    Dean Sensenbaugh
    The Bee labeled Sensenbaugh "arguably California's all-time leading community college wrestling coach." Sensenbaugh established the MJC program after being approached by students in 1956, and remained at the helm until 1985. In 29 seasons, his teams compiled an overall record of 374-78-2, for a winning percentage of .824, the best in the state of California. Perhaps just as amazing: Sensenbaugh never wrestled, an aspect of his career that he shared with some all-time great college wrestling coaches such as Ed Gallagher, Oklahoma State coach roughly from World War I to World II ... but a much more rare feat in the past 50 years.

    This is not to say that Dean Kenneth Sensenbaugh was not an athlete. Born in Empire, Calif. in August 1924, Sensenbaugh played football, baseball and basketball at Modesto High School. At Modesto Junior College, he excelled as an all-state quarterback in 1943 and 1944, leading the 5-1 Pirates to the 1943 state title. In addition, Sensenbaugh was the point guard for the basketball team that won the MJC Tournament.

    Sensenbaugh interrupted his educational and sports career to serve in the Army in 1945 and 1946, then enrolled at San Jose State, where he was a reserve quarterback in 1949 and 1950. After earning his bachelor's degree at SJSU, Sensenbaugh entered Stanford University, where he acquired his Master's, then launched his long coaching career, first at Modesto High, where he coached football, basketball and track. He then moved on to MJC in 1956, where he was asked by a group of young wrestlers to start its team. With that move, MJC became only the third Northern California community college to offer wrestling 60 years ago.

    During Sensenbaugh's tenure at Modesto Junior College, the Pirate mat squad won six regional titles and placed second in the state in 1959-60. Six of his teams went undefeated and, during one run in the early 1970s, won 97 out of 100 dual matches. A dozen of his MJC wrestlers earned California state community college titles.

    Despite never having wrestled, Sensenbaugh earned a place in a number of halls of fame, including the Modesto Junior College Hall, the California Wrestling Hall of Fame, and the California chapter of the National Wrestling Hall of Fame.

    "He was extremely supportive of the wrestlers and took care of them in so many ways," said Lee Ehrler, a Modesto Junior College state champion under Sensenbaugh who later served as Pirates coach from 1986 to 2004 and from 2008 to 2010. "He made sure you had every opportunity to succeed."
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