NATA Hall of Fame

Tom Healion began his athletic training career with the Toronto Argonauts in 1954. After athletic training stints at the University of Pittsburgh, Northwestern University and the University of Indiana, Healion was appointed head athletic trainer for the New England Patriots in 1972 and remained there until 1986. Healion is retired and lives in Colorado.

1920 - 1995

Affectionately known as “Rooster,” Don Fauls treated Florida State athletes from 1954-86. Fauls came to Florida State after serving as athletic trainer for professional baseball teams in North Carolina and Nebraska. He was an athletic trainer for the U.S. Pan American team and was a member of the Olympic Training Selection Committee.

1914 - 2000

O. William “Bill” Dayton began his at the University of Miami in 1938. After serving as athletic trainer at several various universities, Dayton became head athletic trainer at Yale University in 1956, staying there for 22 years. Dayton, a founding father of the NATA, gave more than 40 years of his life to the athletic training profession.

1934 - 2000

When he was named NATA's first Executive Director in 1971, Otho Davis had been in the profession for almost 20 years. He was a fixture with the Philadelphia Eagles, as head athletic trainer from 1973-95. Under his leadership, NATA secured professional liability insurance for athletic trainers, welcomed its first corporate sponsors and established a national office in Dallas.

1919 - 2007

Ed Pillings played football for Washington State University before World War II sent him to the South Pacific. Upon his return, Pillings became a student of Pinky Newell, who introduced him to the career that would become his lifelong pursuit. Pillings split his time between the classroom and the athletic training room, serving a 20-year stint at West Point.

Sayers “Bud” Miller made his greatest contribution in the form of scholarly advancement. He was a prolific author, a productive researcher and a national leader in athletic training education. He established an education framework through his program at Penn State University.

Bruce Melin joined the staff at Washington University (St. Louis) in 1949 as an athletic trainer and faculty member and worked there until his retirement in 1977; after that he worked there another 11 years on a part-time basis. Melin was a consultant for the St. Louis Football Cardinals.

1917 - 2006

Eddie Coppola has become part of the bedrock of Seton Hall University, where he served for more than 30 years. He was so well respected that he became the first athletic trainer inducted to the university's prestigious Athletic Hall of Fame. Seton Hall also honors his legacy by funding the “Edward A. Coppola Award” for an athlete who has overcome medical adversity.

1924 - 1999

Under head athletic trainer Jim Conboy's leadership, the U.S. Air Force Academy's athletic training program expanded to serve the Academy's 41 intercollegiate athletic teams and 17 intramural sports. Conboy, who was with the Academy when it opened its doors in 1955, retired in 1998.

1929 - 1984

Bobby Brown was one of the best-known athletic trainers on the Houston professional sports scene. Brown got his start as a student working with the Houston Oilers. As the sole support for his mother, he was forced to drop out of school and take a series of full-time jobs that eventually led him back to Houston, where built a legacy of tough love and success.