In the Game:
T E M P L E
Temple Alumni Leaders in Sports Medicine
on the mezzanine of the Tioga Street garage. And the kids called it the ‘sports med garage’ for the longest time. I love Temple,” he says. “There’s less ego and more practicing excellent orthopaedics.” Another former student of Dr. Lachman is Glenn Perry, MD ’78, team physician for the Charlotte Bobcats (NBA) and Sting (WNBA). Dr. Perry has practiced orthopaedics in the Charlotte, NC, area for 20 years, and like Dr. Torg, helped found the first sports medicine clinic in his region. He also helped establish the first sports medicine fellowship program in the Charlotte area. A past President of the NBA Team Physicians Society, Dr. Perry was the head team physician for the Charlotte Hornets, served as team physician for the USA Men’s World Championship basketball team in 1998, and worked with the USA Basketball Pre-Olympic Tournament of the Americas team in 1999. The following year, he served as team physician for the gold medal USA Men’s Senior National Basketball team in the Olympic Games in Sydney, Australia.
Joe Torg, MD ’61, Professor of orthopaedic surgery
Sports medicine, one of the most popular fields of modern medicine, owes a great deal to Temple. In addition to the fact that we opened the nation’s first university-based sports medicine clinic in 1974, many of the world’s athletic trainers, medical advisors, and team doctors trained at Temple. Temple Owls are in collegiate and professional locker rooms everywhere.
“Before the MRI, before people understood the significance of a torn ACL, Lach taught us this simple test—and it is 98 percent accurate,” says Joe Torg, MD ’61, Professor of Orthopedic Surgery at Temple. Dr. Torg also found widelycelebrated success in treating sports-related injuries and is a former team physician for the Philadelphia Flyers, Eagles, and 76ers.
Before there was sports medicine there was John Lachman, MD ’43. Dr. Lachman came to Temple University as an undergraduate in 1936, stayed for both medical school and residency in orthopaedics, then joined the faculty under the late John Royal Moore, MD, an acclaimed orthopaedic surgeon who originated the techniques of delayed reduction of fractures. Dr. Lachman, or “Lach,” as he was affectionately called, ultimately succeeded Dr. Moore as Chair of Orthopaedics and earned the respect of legions of trainees and fellow faculty. He also became a household name in orthopaedics as founder of the Lachman Test, commonly considered the most reliable clinical test for diagnosing rupture of the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL).
“Few in sports medicine have had the impact of Joseph Torg,” said William Clancy, former President of the American Orthopaedic Society for Sports.
John Lachman, MD ’43, former Chair of Orthopaedics at Temple— and a great sport
12
■ F E A T U R E
S T O R Y
In the 1960s, Dr. Torg pioneered the changes from the old style of football cleat to the present soccer-type of shoe, saving many athletes from serious knee injury. He and the late Temple athletic trainer Ted Quedenfeld were also responsible for the rule change to ban “ramming” or “spearing” in both high school and collegiate football, saving innumerable athletes from cervical spine injuries. And perhaps most significantly for Temple, he and Ted Quendenfeld co-founded the country’s first outreach sports medicine clinic in 1974. “We opened the clinic to serve the community’s athletes,” Dr. Torg recalls. “It was originally located
“With Dr. Perry directing our program, we know our players are under excellent supervision and guidance,” said Ed Tapscott, Bobcats and Sting Chief Operating Officer. “He is nationally recognized as one of the top.” “Being a team doctor is thrilling and challenging, with substantial pressure riding on the athletepatients I treat,” says Dr. Perry. “My training at Temple, as both a medical student and a resident, prepared me well for this career.” Joel Boyd, MD ’94, concurs. He’s a Twin Cities orthopaedic surgeon who is one of the head physicians for the Minnesota Lynx (WNBA) and the Minnesota Wild (NHL). Joel Boyd, MD ’94
Dr. Boyd didn’t know much about hockey when he first joined a Minnesota sports medicine practice in 1989, but the sport’s huge regional following offered him ample opportunity to learn. He started working with young teams during junior tournaments and quickly built a reputation. Soon, officials
M E D I C I N E
Sports mD s
S U M M E R
2 0 0 6
Among the many alumni and faculty with connections to professional sports teams are: Craig Aronchick, MD ’78 • Philadelphia Flyers Alfred Bove, MD ’66, PhD ’70 • Philadelphia 76ers Michael Clancy, MD (former chair, orthopaedics) • Philadelphia 76ers Mitchell E. Cooper, MD ’93 • Miami Heat Edward Decter, MD-Res ’76 • NY/NJ MetroStars William De Long, Jr., MD ’78 • Philadelphia Phantoms and Philadelphia Flyers Nicholas A. DiNubile, MD ’77 • Philadelphia 76ers and the Pennsylvania Ballet Harris Gellman MD ’79 • Florida Panthers (NHL) John B. Jeffers, MD (faculty, ophthalmology) • Philadelphia Eagles, Philadelphia Flyers and Philadelphia 76ers Paul Marchetto, MD-Res ’85 (faculty, orthopaedics) • Philadelphia Eagles, Philadelphia Flyers, Philadelphia Phantoms Richard Mason, MD ’87 • Philadelphia Eagles, Philadelphia Flyers, and Philadelphia Kixx John M. McShane MD ’87 • Philadelphia Eagles, Philadelphia Phillies Robert H. Mills, Jr., MD ’88 • Miami Dolphins and Florida Marlins Alexander Sapega, MD ’80 • consultant to NFL John H. Wolf, MD ’62 • Philadelphia Flyers and Philadelphia 76ers Do you belong on this list? Contact the Alumni Office at medalum@temple.edu or 800-331-2839
from USA Hockey, the sport’s governing body, asked him to get more involved to help broaden the sport’s appeal. Dr. Boyd’s reputation in hockey circles flourished. In 1998, he was asked to serve as a team physician for the USA Olympic hockey team in Nagano, Japan. He was also team physician for the 2004 World Hockey Cup team. When professional hockey returned to Minnesota with the debut of the Minnesota Lynx in 1997, Dr. Boyd was already known as the area’s
F E A T U R E
S T O R Y
■
13