1901 - 1967
Allan Sawdy worked with high school, college and professional teams during his 38-year career, mostly at Bowling Green State University. In addition to his athletic training duties, Sawdy taught courses in first aid and prevention of athletic injuries.
1904 - 1978
James “Doc” Littlejohn was key to the success of the athletic training program at St. Lawrence University. Littlejohn, who joined St. Lawrence in 1926, was named to the prestigious list of Who's Who in American Education in 1964. The athletic training room at St. Lawrence is named in Littlejohn's honor.
1903-1999
The longtime University of Michigan head athletic trainer, Hunt designed the fiberglass “Michigan Heel Cup,” which has since been duplicated by various manufacturers. He also helped develop facemasks for hockey goalies and was an early proponent of the safety device, pushing for goalies to wear facemasks as early as 1951.
1898-1970
Charles “Smokey” Harper graduated from Mercer College in 1923 - still carrying the nickname he earned in high school when he set his baseball uniform on fire by hiding a lit cigar in the back pocket. Beginning his career in 1926 at Clemson, Harper worked at Vanderbilt, Florida and UCLA before teaming with Paul “Bear” Bryant and eventually retiring in 1964 from Texas A&M.
1903-1983
Jay Colville tended to what he called “the acres of athletes” at Miami University, starting as an undergraduate student in 1922 and not stopping until his retirement in 1969. Colville, a founding member of NATA, served a term as board chair and was an athletic trainer for the 1956 U.S. Olympic Team in Australia.
1902 - 1969
Edward G. Zanfrini's fame reached beyond Princeton University, where he began his career in 1933. Described as “the conscience of Princeton football,” Zanfrini was a member of the U.S. Olympic athletic training staff four times. In 1970, the Edward Zanfrini Memorial Room was dedicated to house trophies and awards given to the Tiger athletic trainer.
1911 - 1967
A founding member of NATA, Eddie Wojecki was active in the profession for more than 50 years. His longest stint as head athletic trainer was at Rice University, 1945-67. An author of several magazine articles on athletic training techniques, Wojecki was the head athletic trainer for the 1952 U.S. Olympic Team in Helsinki. He chaired the committee that instituted a Hall of Fame.
1907-1987
Lloyd “Snapper” Stein worked with every great University of Minnesota football player from Bronco Nagurski to Carl Eller. Stein spent virtually all of his life at MU, arriving on campus in 1928 as an undergraduate student and retiring in 1975 as head athletic trainer. Stein was served as the president of the first NATA in 1940.
1908-1992
Jules Reichel joined the Syracuse athletic training department in 1931. After a four-year hiatus for World War II, during which he sometimes taught athletic training techniques to soldiers, Reichel returned in 1947 to become head athletic trainer. Reichel helped design a custom-built mouthpiece for football players.
1915 - 1985
A founding member of NATA, Frank Medina served on the first Board of Directors. He was the head athletic trainer for the University of Texas from 1945-78. In addition to being twice named “Trainer of the Year” by the Rockne Club Foundation, Medina served on the Texas Governor's Commission on Physical Fitness and as consultant for the President's Counsel on Physical Fitness in 1964.