The image of an athletic trainer has evolved to be something very specific in modern sports. Training tables. Treatment. Trips to the field to check on injured players. Ice packs applied afterward. Over the course of sports history, athletic training has evolved to be what its name implies. At the highest levels, you’re a steward of players’ health.
In 1975, athletic training was much more. Ron Culp knew. As a Timbers original and the team’s first athletic trainer, Culp was one of many asked to fill in the gaps of an organization that was just getting started.
“He was not only the trainer,” Peter Withe, a member of the Timbers’ Ring of Honor, shared with the team.