William E. "Pinky" Newell |
William Eugene Newell was born in Enid, Oklahoma, on June 22, 1920, and grew up in Stafford, Kansas. His father died when he was six years old. Newell excelled in football in high school and accepted a football scholarship at Purdue, where he played center from 1941-43. It was at Purdue where he picked up the nickname "Pinky."
Newell joined the U.S. Marine Corps in 1943. Lieutenant Newell participated in battles in the Pacific, including Okinawa. After the World War II, he entered physical therapy school at Stanford. His first athletic training job was in 1948 at Washington State.
In 1949, he was hired by Purdue as their athletic trainer. In 1950, Newell attended the first meeting of the NATA. He was on his honeymoon. Newell served as the Executive Secretary of the NATA from 1956 to 1968. During that time, the NATA started a journal, adopted a code of ethics, established educational standards and laid the groundwork for certification. He would be succeeded as Executive Secretary by Jack Rockwell.
In short, Newell led athletic training from an occupation to being a profession and every athletic trainer is in his debt.
Newell will remain the head athletic trainer at Purdue until 1978. After retiring as the atheltic trainer, he remained at Purdue as the Chief Physical Therapist at the University Hospital until July 1984.
Newell will be elected into the NATA Hall of Fame in 1972.
Death: At age 64, on October 13, 1984.
1984 NATA Journal articles on Newell.
From the First Aider, January 1949:
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