1. Who’s Who in Sports Medicine History
Casey Christy, MA, ATC, CSCS

2. Henry Gray
 Authored Gray’s Anatomy
Text
 He published the first edition
at the age of 31 in 1858
 Still widely regarded as most
comprehensive Anatomy text
 Died of smallpox at the young
age of 34
 Lived most of his life in London

3. Jacques Lisfranc de St. Martin
 Pioneering French surgeon
(and gynecologist!)
 The Lisfranc joint and Lisfranc
injury are named after him.
 First described the Lisfranc
Injury in 1815 after the War of
the Sixth Coalition.
 Lived from 1790-1847

4. James Robinson
 Recognized as first athletic
trainer in United States
 Had veterinary background –
born in England
 First worked at Harvard in 1881,
later Princeton & Yale
 Known to rush onto field with
water bucket & sponge to
“freshen up” tired player
 1885-86 Princeton annual salary
was $750, half paid by alumni

5. Samuel Bilik
 Wrote first “Athletic Training” book
in 1917, sold for $.75
 Book later titled the “Trainers Bible”
 Russia-born, worked as Assistant
Athletic Trainer, University of Illinois
 Later became a doctor
 Help form & fund the EATA

6. Cramer Brothers
 Chuck and Frank Cramer founded Cramer Products in 1918
 Began selling homemade “athletic liniment” made in mom’s
kitchen to coaches
 Supported first NATA meeting in 1950

7. John Lachman
 Graduated from Temple
University and Temple
School of Medicine
 Discovered ACL integrity
was more easily determined
with the knee closer to
extension than in the
position used in the classic
anterior drawer test

8. Stanley Hoppenfeld
 A pioneer in the field of spine surgery
 Founding Director of Scoliosis Associates in New York.
 Authored the classic text Physical Examination of the Spine
and the Extremities

9. Daniel Arnheim
 Authored classic text Principles
of Athletic Training used by
probably anyone who is in the
field of athletic training

10. Gabe Mirkin
 First to coin the phrase “RICE,” rest,
ice, compression, elevation for the
acute care of athletic injuries in The
Sports Medicine Book written in 1978.
 Harvard University Graduate
 Board-certified in 4 specialties:
sportsmedicine, allergy and
immunology, pediatrics and pediatric
immunology

11. Joe Torg
 Graduated from Temple University School of Medicine
 Ground-breaking research on cervical spine axial
loading during head down tackle lead to football rule
change in 1976 outlawing spearing
 His research lead to a significant decrease in football
related catastrophic cervical spine injuries

12. “Pinky” Newell
 “The Father of Modern Athletic Training”
 Founding member of NATA
 Served as NATA executive secretary
from 1955-1968
 Served as athletic trainer at Purdue
University
 EATA has annual “Pinky Newell Address”
 1920-1984

13. Gail Weldon
 First female inducted into the NATA Hall of
Fame (posthumously 1995)
 First female athletic trainer hired by US
Olympic committee
 First female chief athletic trainer for US
Olympic Team 1980
 2nd woman to join NATA; one of first 10
women ever certified
 1951-1991

14. Bobby Gunn
 First elected president in NATA history
1970
 Head athletic trainer at Lamar University
before working with the Washington
Redskins and Houston Oilers

15. Marsha Grant-Ford
 First certified female African-American
 Rowan University Athletic Training
Program Director 1996-2001
 Instrumental in Rowan’s CAAHEP
accreditation 2001
 Widely published in publications such as
Athletic Therapy Today, Journal of
Athletic Training and the American
Journal of Sportsmedicine

16. Chuck Whedon
 Head Athletic Trainer Glassboro State
College/Rowan University 1986-2011
 Inspired, instructed and mentored
numerous athletic training students
 Served in several positions for the Athletic
Trainers’ Society of NJ including president
and governmental relations committee
chair
 Instrumental in passage of NJ Athletic
Training Licensure Act and subsequent
revision removing site restriction and
allowing athletic trainers to work in any
setting in NJ
 Volunteer AT for United States Olympic
Committee

17. Otho Davis
 Served as NATA executive director from 1971
to 1989
 Served as Philadelphia Eagles athletic trainer
from 1973-1995
 Named to All Madden Team as athletic
trainer in 1999
 First athletic trainer to be nominated to Pro
Football Hall of Fame in 2009
 NATA headquarters named in his honor
 1934-2000

18. Richard Malacrea
 A founding member of the ATSNJ 1975
 Spent 20 years as head athletic trainer at
Princeton University
 Appointed by the governor to the chair the
Legislative Committee of Advisors to the
Board of Medical Examiners
 Instrumental in ATSNJ, scholarship named in
his honor
 Inducted into the NATA Hall of Fame 1992

19. Eve Becker-Doyle
 First female NATA executive director 1992
 Wrote Leadership Isn’t Rocket Science: 6
Ways To Boost Your Leadership IQ

20. Other Female Firsts
 Dorothy “Dot” Cohen, a graduate student,
become the first woman to join the NATA in
1966
 Sherry Bagagian is the first woman to sit for
the NATA certification exam in 1972
 Janice Daniels is the first woman elected to
the NATA Board in 1984
 Julie Max is the first woman elected as NATA
president in 2000
Julie Max

21. Sue Falsone
 First female head athletic
trainer in Major League
Baseball (LA Dodgers 2012)
 First female head athletic
trainer in any of the four major
professional sports (baseball,
football, basketball, hockey)
 She received her bachelor’s degree in physical therapy
from Daemen College In Amherst, NY, and her Master’s
from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
 She also is a certified athletic trainer and a certified
strength and conditioning specialist.

22. Matt Webber
 Athletic Training historian who has
brought AT history to life via his book
Dropping the Bucket and Sponge
 High School Athletic Trainer for over
30 years
 Served as president of the Arizona
Athletic Trainers’ Association and
helped implement state AT licensure
laws
 Served on the NATA Board of
Directors; NATA Hall of Fame member
www.athletictraininghistory.com