John Strickland devoted 50 years as a teacher, coach and official for students in Ada, Bray-Doyle and Duncan schools.

He coached both junior high and high school teams in Ada and Duncan, recording a 147-38 dual record in 14 years at the junior high level and 217-46 in 18 high school seasons.

He coached two state high school runner-up teams, one dual state runner-up team, five regional champion teams and five regional runners-up and six district championships.

Individually he had eight state champions, nine state runners-up, two Outstanding Wrestler award winners and two high school All-Americans.

He officiated for the Oklahoma Secondary Schools Association for 32 years, serving five regional tournaments and one state championship.

He was inducted into the Duncan Athletic Hall of Fame in 2018.