Douglas Andrew Blake ’72

Doug died March 12, 2021, in Forked River, N.J., at age 70. He was one of the most gifted athletes of his era.

At Hackettstown (N.J.) High School, Doug excelled in football, was a state champion in wrestling, and an all-state pitcher and outfielder in baseball who was drafted by the Los Angeles Dodgers in 1968. He chose Princeton instead and after freshman year, continued to play football and baseball, where he led the nation in triples as a senior. An easygoing fellow, he was nicknamed “Trout,” because his hometown of Hackettstown is the location of the New Jersey State Fish Hatchery.

His classmates recognized his talent and voted him Best Athlete in the 1972 Nassau Herald. 

Doug worked in sales at Pitney Bowes in Pine Brook, N.J., until his retirement as national sales manager. While at Pitney Bowes, Doug reached high sales honors in numerous years. 

Doug was predeceased by his father, Arthur E. Blake, and his first wife, Gayle Lecheler Blake. He is survived by his wife, Meg Coogan-Blake; his mother, Helen Blake; brothers Arthur and Andrew; and sisters Elyse Allen and her husband, Daniel; Pamela Wolfe; Diane Schank and her husband, Harold, and Allison Struble and her husband, Robert. We extend our condolences to his family.