Candidates for the Hall of Fame have been certified
members of the NATA, in good standing, for a minimum of
30 years. The Hall of Fame award recognizes the very
best in our profession. This award for lifetime
achievement honors dedicated members that have
contributed to athletic training by their leadership,
service, scholarship, promotion of the profession and
professionalism at the local, state, district and
national level. A Hall of Fame candidate exemplifies the
mission statement of the NATA and the NATA Code of
Ethics; by their conduct and advancement of the
profession.
Mike Chambers compiled a long
and distinguished career as the head athletic trainer at
Louisiana State University. Chambers, who has trained at
several all-star games in the south, was so popular during
his stint at LSU that the school's mascot - a live Bengal
Tiger - was named in his honor.
Tad Gormley died near the
place to which he dedicated his life - City Park Stadium
near Loyola University. Every Sunday, Gormley was the
overseer of the "Gormley Handicap Games," a track meet
staged at City Park. Gormley, whose first love was track
and field, served at Tulane, Loyola and Louisiana State
Universities as head athletic trainer and track coach.
Gormley died in 1965 at the age of 81.
When Thomas "Fitz" Lutz was
head athletic trainer at Georgia, he was instrumental in
saving a season for the star of the team and keeping the
Bulldogs rolling through "The Golden Era" of great Georgia
teams. Lutz, who served at Georgia from 1938 to 1942,
invented and patented a special face mask for the
Bulldogs' star, Frankie Sinkwich, enabling him to play the
entire season with a fractured jaw. Lutz eventually became
the Baltimore Colts head athletic trainer for three
seasons before coming to the University of North Carolina
in 1950. Lutz died four years later in Chapel Hill at the
age of 44.
Frank Mann, who served for
almost 25 years as athletic trainer at the University of
Kentucky, dedicated his life to fulfilling the need for
qualified athletic trainers in the work of college sports.
After completing a course in the art of handling the
physical injuries and mental stresses of athletes, Mann
accepted a job at the University of Indiana in 1906 as
athletic trainer. After stints at Iowa, the University of
Chicago and Purdue for the next 14 years, Mann landed at
Kentucky and worked until his retirement in 1950. Mann
died in 1957 at the age of 70.
Claude "Big Monk" Simons, who
was the head trainer at Tulane University from 1921 until
his death in 1943, has gone down in history as one of the
great names in intercollegiate athletics. Simons also
served as head coach in basketball, baseball, track and
boxing while at Tulane. Simons was president of the
Southern Amateur Athletic Union and had Tulane's olympic-size
pool named in his honor.
Frank Wandle was athletic
trainer at Army, Yale and served two years at Louisiana
State University before retiring. Dates are not available
but he was inducted into the NATA Hall of Fame in 1962.
Mickey O'Brien went to work
for the University of Tennessee in 1938 - just in time to
help with three successive unbeaten seasons and trips to
bowl games. Experts in sports medicine regard O'Brien as
one of the premier college athletic trainers. He helped
form the Southeastern Conference Trainers Association and
serves as its first president. O'Brien, who is currently
retired and living in Knoxville, was designated Trainer
Emeritus in 1977 for the Volunteers' football team.
After graduating from Mercer
College in 1923, Charles "Smokey" Harper became known as
one of the most prominent athletic trainers in the
Southeast Conference. From 1931 to 1936 he trained at
Vanderbilt before moving on to Florida for a short time.
In 1940 he returned to Vanderbilt, met Paul "Bear" Bryant
and followed the coaching legend to Kentucky, Texas A&M
and Alabama before he eventually retired.
Werner "Dutch" Luchsinger was
associated with sports in the southern section of the U.S.
for 48 years. After graduating from Tulane where he was a
standout in three sports, Luchsinger became the athletic
director, track and basketball coach at Fortier High
School in New Orleans from 1930 to 1941. Afterwards, he
served as physical training director at a nearby athletic
facility. Luchsinger served as head athletic trainer at
Mississippi State from 1948 to 1964.
During his 28 years of
athletic training at Ole Miss, Wesley "Doc" Knight served
as president of the Southeastern Conference Trainers
Association and the NCAA District III Trainers Association
in 1962-63. Since his retirement, Knight has held the
title of Trainer Emeritus at Ole Miss and has been active
in the coaching ranks for the Special Olympics.
Samuel Lankford has been
associated with athletic training and related activities,
including publication, since 1930. Before coming to
Virginia Tech in 1963 as head athletic trainer, Lankford
spent 12 years at the University of Florida in the same
position. For several years Lankford was the athletic
training editor of the National Athletic Journal. Among
his professional contributions are two books and numerous
articles on athletic training and conditioning.
Milford "Kenny" Howard, the
head athletic trainer of Auburn athletes since 1949, is
regarded as one of the top athletic trainers in the
nation. He was one of seven Olympic athletic trainers in
1952, and has been the athletic trainer in both the
Blue-Gray post-season all star game as well as the Senior
Bowl. A 1948 graduate of Auburn, Howard was also selected
for the Training Staff of the 1975 Pan American Games.
Marty Broussard's athletic
training career spans three decades at Louisiana State
University. Broussard is currently the supervisor of
athletic training at LSU and a member of the Health,
Physical Education and Recreation Department. Broussard
was an exceptional baseball and track athlete during his
college days at LSU, but took time out to serve as a
student athletic trainer for the football team. He was an
athletic trainer for the U.S. Olympics in 1960 and for the
1955 Pan American Games.
Tulane has one of the nation's
finest athletic trainers in the person of Earl "Bubba"
Porche. In addition to his duties as athletic trainer at
the Blue-Gray game, Porche served as athletic trainer for
the U.S. Track Team that competed in three meets in Europe
in 1967 and was an athletic trainer at the Pan-American
Games in 1971. Porche came to Tulane from the Navy in 1946
as assistant athletic trainer as was subsequently named
head athletic trainer.
One of the most popular
individuals associated with the Florida State athletic
program is Don Fauls. Affectionately known as "Rooster".
Fauls has been treating Florida State athletes since 1954.
Fauls came to Florida State after serving as athletic
trainer for professional baseball teams in Greensboro,
North Carolina and Omaha, Nebraska. He has worked as an
athletic trainer for the U.S. Pan American team and was a
member of the Olympic Training Selection Committee.
Warren Morris learned athletic
training from two of the profession's most notable
athletic trainers - A. D. Dickerson of Northern Iowa
University and Alfred " Duke" Wyre at the University of
Maryland. From that solid background, Morris, who received
his masters from the University of Maryland, went on to be
named head athletic trainer at the University of Georgia
in 1965. An active member of the NATA, Morris has been
active in the athletic training scene in Georgia as well.
He was the first licensed athletic trainer in the state of
Georgia and later became the chairman for the Georgia
License Examination of Athletic Training.
Jim Goostree, a diversified
college athlete, attended Southwestern at Memphis (two
years) and then the University of Tennessee while earning
his bachelor's and master's degrees in the early 1950's.
He signed on as head athletic trainer at the University of
Alabama in 1957, one year before the arrival of the late
Paul "Bear" Bryant. In his long career with the Crimson
Tide, Goostree served as head athletic trainer for the
Blue-Gray All-Star game and as head athletic trainer for
the Senior Bowl for 15 seasons. After 27 years as head
athletic trainer, Goostree recently assumed the role of
assistant athletic director at the university.
It was during his
undergraduate days at the University of Texas that Joe
Worden first became interested in the care and prevention
of athletic injuries. He had a good teacher - Texas
athletic trainer Frank Medina, a former U.S. Olympic
athletic trainer. Worden earned his bachelor's degree in
physical education in 1948 and his master's in education
the following year. In 1949, he accepted a position as
athletic trainer at Vanderbilt University, where he has
remained ever since. Worden, who handled all sports until
1971, now serves as head athletic trainer for the
Commodore basketball team and assists with the football
team and with club sports.
Jerry Rhea entered the
athletic training profession in 1958 while a student at
Texas A&M. He was elected president of the NATA for
1986-87, and has served on many NATA committees. Jerry is
a frequently requested convention and clinic speaker and
has been head athletic trainer for the Atlanta Falcons
since 1968. Before that, he was an assistant athletic
trainer for the Los Angeles Rams. Jerry devoted the early
years of his career to the Odessa (Texas) Schools, where
he was head athletic trainer.
After receiving his bachelor's
and master's degrees from Georgia Tech, Henry "Buck" Andel
became the head athletic trainer for all sports at Georgia
Tech in 1948. The Georgia Tech football team went to 14
major bowl games during Buck's tenure as athletic trainer.
He also worked as an athletic trainer for the 1960 Olympic
Games and was a founder of the NATA, serving on the
original board of directors in 1950.
Since his days as an athletic
trainer for the old Brooklyn Dodgers Baseball
Organization, Eugene "Doc" Harvey has continuously
enhanced his skills as a dedicated rehabilitation
specialist. Before moving to Brooklyn, and later Los
Angeles when the Dodgers moved west, Doc served as an
athletic trainer in Pueblo, Colorado, and Montreal,
Canada. Known as a hard worker who keeps his players in
excellent condition, Doc currently supervises the athletic
training and rehabilitative facility at Grambling State
University - a facility ranked as one of the best in
Division I-AA.
Earnest "Doc" Harrington wears
many hats at his alma mater, the University of Southern
Mississippi, where he is head athletic trainer, equipment
manager and varsity tennis coach. Currently a full colonel
in the United States Army Reserve, he is a popular speaker
at many sports medicine and tennis seminars and workshops
and has had a number of articles published over the years.
Doc has been athletic trainer for many social events
during his career, including the Senior Bowl (since 1960)
and the Saudi Arabia Sports Medicine Symposium (1983). He
was also the first director and project coordinator for
the nationally approved Athletic Training Specialization
program at the University of Southern Mississippi.
Sandy Sandlin was head
athletic trainer at the University of Chattanooga from
1938 until 1975, during which time he also spent a year as
athletic trainer at Georgia Tech (1944-45). An All-Star
Athletic Trainer for the Southern Baseball League, Sandy
moved from the University of Chattanooga to The Baylor
School in 1975 to serve as head athletic trainer until
1979. Among his many honors, in 1973 Sandy was inducted
into the Tennessee Sports Hall of Fame. He was also
presented with a 25-Year Award from the National Athletic
Trainers Association in 1973.
Lindsy McLean began his
career as a student athletic trainer in 1956 at
Vanderbilt. By 1963 he had earned the position of Head
Athletic Trainer and Director of Physical Therapy at the
University of California. Lindsy served as head athletic
trainer and instructor at both San Jose University and
the University of Michigan. In 1979 he became the head
athletic trainer for the San Francisco 49'ers, where he
has serves until this day. He has been honored both as a
staff athletic trainer for the U. S. Olympic Committee
and as the College Trainer of the Year. Lindsy is best
remembered for his pioneering work in developing
examination and certification requirements for the NATA,
which he accomplished while serving on the Professional
Advancement Committee for the NATA. He also served as
the Chairman of the NATA Certification Committee. The
programs he has helped establish have advanced the
recognition and prestige of the athletic training
profession.
Charlie Martin received his
undergraduate and masters degrees from the University of
Oklahoma, after being discharged from the Army. He then
went on to the Head Athletic Trainer position at Baltimore
Junior College and then at Northeast Louisiana University,
where he worked for nearly 25 years. Charlie received the
25-year award from the NATA and was elected to the
Louisiana Athletic Trainers' Hall of Fame. He was a
founding father of the Louisiana Athletic Trainers
Association. Charlie is best known for his pioneering
research on the effects of heat and humidity in athletes.
His writings on the topic were published numerous times
throughout his career. Charlie was also an expert on the
topic of drug testing. He traveled extensively around the
nation and throughout the world lecturing on these topics,
sharing the benefits of his pioneering work. Charlie will
be remembered as an outstanding ambassador for the
athletic training profession and his work will be missed.
Chris Patrick began his career
as an athletic trainer while pursuing his under-graduate
degree at the University of Tennessee. After receiving his
masters degree at Eastern Kentucky, Chris went on to serve
as an athletic trainer at several major universities,
ultimately taking over the position of Head Athletic
Trainer at the University of Florida, where he is
currently working. Chris has enjoyed several professional
distinctions, including becoming a consultant for Bike,
Johnson & Johnson and Nike and receiving the Nutrament
College Trainer of the Year Award. Indicative of his
commitment to community involvement, Chris was elected
Volunteer of the Year by the Gainesville, Florida Boys
Club in 1977. Among many other positions with the NATA,
Chris served for five years as a member of the NATA Board
of Directors. Chris' work within the profession and in his
local community has helped to broaden and enhance the
image of athletic training.
Thomas "Tim" Kerin graduated
from Westinghouse Memorial High School in Wilmerding, PA
in 1965 and received his B.S. from Indiana University of
Pennsylvania in 1969. After graduation, Tim began his
professional career as the Head Athletic Trainer and a
math instructor at Penn Hills High School in Pittsburgh.
In 1972 Tim was awarded an M.S. in mathematics from
Indiana University of PA and became Head Athletic Trainer
and an associate professor at the University of
Pittsburgh. He received an M.Ed. in Physiology of Exercise
from that university in 1976. Tim became the Head Athletic
Trainer at the University of Tennessee in 1977 and helped
the football team achieve seven victories in 11
appearances before his death in 1992. Tim served on the
NATA's Program and Convention Committees from 1979 until
1991. He was chairman of the SEATA's Awards Committee from
1988 until 1992. In addition to serving on the athletic
training staffs of over two dozen local, regional and
national athletic events, Tim was extremely active in the
community. In 1986 he was a founding member of Knoxville's
Metropolitan Drug Commission and served as president of
that organization from 1987 to 1989. Tim received a
Chancellor's Citation from the University of Tennessee in
1990 and the Southeast Athletic Trainer's Association
Award of Merit in 1991. In 1992, Tim was named Trainer of
the Year by the Tennessee Athletic Trainer's Society.
A native of Morgan, Minnesota
and graduate of Indiana University, Dean Kleinschmidt
joined the New Orleans Saints as an assistant athletic
trainer in 1969 under Warren Arial and was promoted to
Head Athletic Trainer in 1971. He has served three terms
as President of the Professional Athletic Trainers'
Society and he has been a member of their Executive
Committee since 1982. He was named "Professional Athletic
Trainer of the Year" in 1986, and he and assistant Kevin
Mangum were honored as the "NFL Athletic Training Staff of
the Year" following the 1986 season. In 1991, he was the
local host of the annual NATA Clinical Symposium in New
Orleans. Dean served as Chairman of Medical Support for
the 1992 Olympic Track Trials, also held in New Orleans.
He was inducted into the Louisiana Athletic Trainers'
Association Hall of Fame in 1990. He received the NATA
25-Year Award in 1992. He currently serves on the NATA
Grants and Scholarship Committee.
Bobby Barton served as an
athletic trainer at the University of Kentucky, the
University of Florida and Florida International
University, prior to going to Eastern Kentucky University
as Head Athletic Trainer and Program Director in 1976. He
served as District IX Director and as NATA Vice President
prior to being NATA President from 1982 to 1986. He was a
member of the NATA Placement Committee, Public Relations
Committee, and the Research and Education Foundation Board
of Directors. He co-authored the Commonwealth of
Kentucky's athletic training certification law, and
continued to serve his state district, and national
organization in numerous professional endeavors. He
remained a practicing athletic trainer while earning
professional rank at Eastern Kentucky University and
served as head athletic trainer for USA Basketball's World
Championship Team at the 1995 World University Games.
Barton presently serves as Chair of the Research and
Education Foundation's nominating committee and is a
member of the committee planning the NATA's 50th
Anniversary Celebration and Convention.
A native of Marietta, Ohio,
Donald D. Lowe earned Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees
from Kent State University, where he also served as a
Graduate Assistant Athletic Trainer in 1965, Assistant
Athletic Trainer 1966-1969, and Head Athletic Trainer
from 1969-1975. Since 1975, Mr. Lowe has been the
Coordinator of Sports Medicine at Syracuse University.
Mr. Lowe has served the greater Syracuse community and
the Central New York region by creating the
organizational structure and becoming the Executive
Director of Onondaga Sports Medicine Clinics in 1986.
Mr. Lowe has a multitude of U.S.O.C. experience,
highlighted by his services as the Men’s Basketball
Athletic Trainer in the 1983 Pan American Games, and on
the U.S. Olympic Training Staff at the 1992 Summer
Olympic Games in Barcelona. Mr. Lowe has served the NATA
on various committees and was the Secretary of District
2 from 1982-1992. Mr. Lowe, along with other New York
State ATCs, was instrumental in forming the New York
State Athletic Trainers’ Association and served as
President of that association from 1984-1986; Empire
State Games host athletic trainer, as well as helping to
obtain professional regulation of athletic trainers in
New York State. Mr. Lowe has received many awards for
his outstanding service, highlighted by his 1983 Thomas
Sheehan Award for Most Outstanding Athletic Trainer in
New York State, National Collegiate Athletic Trainer of
the Year by the NATA in 1986, Eastern Athletic Trainers’
Association "Cramer’s Excellence Award" in 1991, NATA
Most Distinguished Athletic Trainer in 1995, and now his
selection to the NATA Hall of Fame Class of 1999.
James Douglas "Doug" May began
his career as a student athletic trainer working with Wes
Knight at the University of Mississippi in 1967. He has
served as a certified athletic trainer at Florida State
University, Tennessee Technological University,
Mississippi State University, Mississippi University of
Women, the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga and,
most recently, at the McCallie School. He has been honored
as an NATA Most Distinguished Athletic Trainer and as a
member of the Tennessee Athletic Trainers' Society Hall of
Fame. May has served as vice-president of the NATA and as
a District Nine Director. In addition, he is a former
District Nine president and secretary/treasurer. May is a
charter member of the Mississippi Athletic Trainers'
Association and served as its first president. He is a
co-author of the book "Signs and Symptoms of Athletic
Injuries," and was a member of the medical staff for the
1991 Pan American Games in Cuba and the 1991 World Winter
University Games in Japan.
James B. (Jim) Gallaspy, Jr.
is a native of Jackson, MS and was born on September 8,
1948. Jim began his athletic training career serving as a
student athletic trainer at Peeples Junior High School and
Provine High School. He went on to The University of
Southern Mississippi in 1966 to work under the NATA Hall
of Fame member Larry "Doc" Harrington. After graduation
from Southern Miss, Jim received employment at McArthur
High School in Hollywood, Florida as a teacher/athletic
trainer where he worked for three years and then in 1973
he enrolled at Indiana State University. After attending
Indiana State University, Jim worked at Moline Senior High
School as a teacher/athletic trainer and in 1074 he
returned to The University of Southern Mississippi where
he worked for 26 years. Jim has been President of the
Mississippi Athletic Trainers' Association, Southeast
Athletic Trainers' Association and served on the NATA
Board of Directors from 1994-1997. He received the Sayers
"Bud" Miller Distinguished Athletic Trainer Educator Award
in 1992 and the Most Distinguished Athletic Trainer Award
in 1995. He is a member of the University of Southern
Mississippi M-Club Alumni Hall of Fame and received the
All American Football Foundation Outstanding Athletic
Trainer award in March 2000. Jim is married to the former
Sue Barnett and they have two children Kim and Jay.
Jack Redgren was born in the
small town of Winnebago, Minnesota in 1942. He graduated
from the University of Montana in 1964 and served in the
United States Army from 1965-1967. After leaving the
armed services, Jack graduated from the Mayo Clinic
School of Physical Therapy in 1969. His first job as an
athletic trainer was working under fellow hall of famer
Lindsy McLean at the University of Michigan for two
years. From there, Jack moved south to Vanderbilt
University where he served for 10 years. Since 1981,
Jack has worked in the private sector treating varsity,
professional and recreational athletes.
A pioneer in the field of
athletic training education, Jack served the NATA
Professional Education Committee for 17 years and
enjoyed every minute of it.
Al Green has been serving
the Athletic Training Profession on the national,
district and state levels since attending his first NATA
convention in 1970 as a freshman college student. Al
received his BS degree from the University of Michigan
and his MEd from the University of Arizona. Highlights
of Mr. Green’s service includes: Chairperson for the
NATA public relations committee, member of the Board of
Certification and convention registration committee,
Chair Dist 9 public relations committee, President and
Vice President of the Kentucky Athletic Trainers
Society. Al started his career as an assistant athletic
trainer at the University of Michigan then spent 17
years as head athletic trainer at the University of
Kentucky. Al volunteered with the USOC and worked two
Olympic Sports Festivals and the 2003 Pan American
Games.
Mr. Green was the 2001
recipient of the NATA Most Distinguished Athletic
Trainer Award. Al served his community as Medical
Director of the Blue Grass State Games and as a
volunteer firefighter and EMT. He received the
Certificate of Valor in 1994 from the Kentucky
Department of Fire Prevention for saving two people from
their burning home. Al is married to fellow NATA Hall
of Fame recipient, Sue Stanley-Green. They are the
first husband and wife NATA members to be inducted into
the Hall of Fame.
Born in Carbon Hill,
Alabama, Bill attended the University of Alabama and
served as a student athletic trainer and manager for the
Crimson Tide. He was a high school athletic
trainer/coach in the Dekalb and Cobb County School
Systems in Georgia and the Director of Sports Medicine
for Georgia Tech (15 years) and the University of
Alabama (17 years). Bill was an athletic trainer
for the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta, Georgia. He
received the Athletic Trainer Service Award in 1996 and
the Most Distinguished Athletic Trainer Award in 2001
from the NATA. He has been a member of NATA since
1967.
Sue Stanley–Green received
her BS from The Ohio State University and her MS from
Purdue University. She served as Director of Intramural
Recreational Services at East Carolina University. While
at ECU, she met NATA Executive Secretary Mary Edgerly
when the national office was in Greenville, N.C.
It was through this introduction to the NATA that Sue
started her extensive service to the NATA and the
athletic training profession.
Her athletic training career included being the
Associate Head Athletic Trainer at the University of
Kentucky and the first women to work SEC Football,
Athletic Trainer-Physician Extender for Kentucky Sports
Medicine Clinic, Head Athletic Trainer at Centre College
and at the time of her induction into the Hall of Fame,
Program Director of the Athletic Training Education
Program at Florida Southern College.
Sue’s service to the profession includes serving as a
member of the NATA Board of Directors, a two time
Director on the Board of Certification, President of
District 9, Vice President of the Kentucky Athletic
Trainers Society, and Co-Medical Director of the
Bluegrass State Games. She traveled
internationally with USA Basketball Teams.
Ms Stanley – Green’s awards include the NATA Most
Distinguished Athletic Trainer Award, SEATA Award of
Merit, SEATA Backbone Award and was the recipient of the
2004 American Academy of Podiatric Sports Medicine
Excellence in Athletic Training.
She is married to fellow Hall of Fame recipient Al
Green. They are the first married couple inducted into
the Hall of Fame.
David Pursley has been involved
in athletic training from student trainer in high school to
reaching head trainer status with major league baseball.
His minor league years allowed time to be athletic trainer
at Evansville and Clemson colleges, during the off-season.
The 42 years spent in the major league with the
Milwaukee/Atlanta Braves were high-lighted by 5 World Series
appearances, 1 World Series Championship, 4 All Star games
and 1 All Star Tour in Japan. Dave played a pivotal role in
getting athletic trainer licensing requirements enacted into
law in Georgia. He is a charter member of PBATS.
Michael Ferrara has taken
athletic training to the global scene. He was the founding
president of the World Federation of Athletic Training &
Therapy, and in 2010 he earned distinction as a Fulbright
Scholar, teaching athletic training in Ireland. Ferrara has
also been active in providing care for Paralympic athletes
and the U.S. Disabled Sports Team. He is a professor and
program director at University of Georgia.
Brooklyn native Frank Walters
learned a key lesson from his first athletic training
mentor, Bill Chisolm: think big-picture. He has spent a
career doing exactly that – and challenging others to do the
same. He has impacted ethnic diversity in athletic training,
education, job improvement, athlete health care. Well known
for building the athletic training program in the District
of Columbia public schools, Walters now runs an outreach
program in Broward County, Fla.
Many athletic trainers have
fought for governmental recognition, but Keith Webster
stands out in the crowd. Early on, Webster saw the value of
legislative affairs and effectively lobbied NATA to make it
a priority. He led the Governmental Affairs Committee for a
decade and continues to push for legislative initiatives.
Webster is an assistant professor and head athletic trainer
at his alma mater, the University of Kentucky.
Chuck Kimmel was elected NATA
president in 2004 and helped the association grow despite
one of the nation’s worst recessions. Among his many
accomplishments, the Involve & Evolve! initiative to grow
young leaders launched during his tenure, and he helped
develop NATA’s Political Action Committee. Kimmel’s career
at Austin Peay State University lasted 25 years before he
accepted a position as Injury Clinic Director at Appalachian
State.
A graduate of East Tennessee
State, Jerry Robertson returned to ETSU and helped start the
state’s first graduate athletic training education program.
Robertson was elected president of the Southeast Athletic
Trainers’ Association in 1988 and served as three-year term
as district director from 1991-94. Robertson left ETSU in
2003 and helped organize a secondary school outreach program
at Watauga Orthopaedic in Johnson City, Tenn.
One of the youngest head ATs in
MLB history, Larry Starr was the first to be certified. He
worked for the Cincinnati Reds from 1972-1992 and was part
of four World Series championships. Starr is known for
revolutionizing the profession in pro baseball, becoming the
first to implement an extensive weight-training program. He
worked for the Marlin before becoming adjunct professor at
Nova Southeastern and President of Starr Athletic Solutions,
LLC.
Known as a determined leader
advocate for clinical athletic trainers late in his career,
Roy Don Wilson died in 1992 after battling Hodgkin’s
Lymphoma. Wilson worked in the high school setting before
stints at The Citadel, Florida State and Kentucky. He was
Head Athletic Trainer at Kentucky before moving to the
Sports Rehab Clinic in Houston in 1988. He was appointed by
the governors of Kentucky, Texas and Louisiana to speak on
behalf of the profession.
Chris Gillespie is director of athletic training education
at Samford University where he has worked for more than
three decades. Past president of the Southeast Athletic
Trainers’ Association and co-founder of its annual student
meeting, Gillespie also served on the NATA
College/University Athletic Trainers’ Committee. As one of
the first athletic trainers to support sickle cell trait
screening and be an advocate for athletes with this
condition, he was part of the NATA Inter-Association Task
Force on Sickle Cell Trait and the Athlete and has spoken
extensively and published on this topic. Gillespie’s work
with endurance athletes through TEAM 413 – GRACERUNNER
MINISTRIES, a non-profit ministry he founded in 2003, is of
significant importance.
Nick Pappas, known for his
legislative efforts, crafted the language for the Tennessee
Practice Act and the creation of the state’s Board of
Athletic Trainers. He served as the charter president of the
Georgia state association and president of the Tennessee
association. He was instrumental in the formation of the
Arena Football League Physicians and Athletic Trainers
Association and has been involved as a volunteer and leader
for many professional organizations and causes. Pappas works
for the Florida State University Department of Athletics and
teaches in the athletic training curriculum.
Jay
Shoop is known for his keen interest in the history of the
profession and reimbursement. As head athletic trainer at
the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta, he developed and
implemented an international medical poly-clinic model
within the Olympic Village and established a communication
process that has been utilized since at the Games. Shoop was
active with instituting Georgia’s favorable licensure bill
and is a member of the East Tennessee State University and
Georgia Athletic Trainers Association halls of fame.
Formerly head athletic trainer for the Buccaneers and the
Detroit Lions, Shoop is currently director of sports
medicine at the Georgia Institute of Technology.
