Otho Davis Otho L . Davis ( February 8 , 1934 – May 2 , 2000 ) was an football athletic trainer . He was the head athletic trainer for Kent State University from 1957 - 65 . In 1965 , he moved to Duke University for six seasons . In 1971 , O joined the Baltimore Colts for two seasons , his first foray in the NFL . It was in Philadelphia , however , that Otho Davis became a premiere athletic trainer . Hired by the Philadelphia Eagles in 1973 , Davis served as head athletic trainer for the club until his retirement after the 1995 season . He was named Athletic Trainer of the Year five times . For eighteen years ( 1971 to 1989 ) , Davis served as the executive director of the National Athletic Trainers ' Association ( NATA ) . The NATA headquarters in Dallas , Texas was renamed in his honor . In 1981 , Davis was inducted into the National Athletic Trainers ' Hall of Fame . One of the highest honors for an athletic trainer to receive . On May 1 , 1993 Davis was also enshrined into the Pennsylvania Sports Hall of Fame - Philadelphia Chapter . In 1982 , he received the Distinguished Service Award for Sports Medicine from the American Orthopedics Society for Sports Medicine . His other honors include having been inducted into the Southwest Athletic Trainers ' Association ( Texas and Arkansas ) Hall of Fame in 1987 and being a member of " Who ' s Who in the East . " He is also a member of the Kent State University Hall of Fame and an Honorary member of the Kent State Varsity " K " . Davis also held memberships in various professional organizations , including the International Narcotic Enforcement Officers Association . Davis was also nominated in April , 1993 by the Professional Football Writers Association ( PFWA ) for the Horrigan Award . This honor is bestowed upon the league or club official or player for his qualities and professional style in helping pro football writers do his or her job . Davis served as the charter president of the Pennsylvania Athletic Trainers ' Society . Davis was a member of the Board of Advisors of the Ed Block Courage Award which honors a player from all 32 NFL teams each season who , in the eyes of their teammates , best displays courage . Davis worked with Ed Block as an Associate Athletic Trainer during his tenure with the Baltimore Colts . He also was a member of the Board of Governors of the Maxwell Football Club and was a past member of the executive committee of the Professional Football Athletic Trainers ' Society . A native of Elgin , TX , Davis , 61 ( 2 / 8 / 34 ) , attended South Park High in Beaumont ( TX ) and later earned a B . S . degree in physical education from Lamar University in 1957 and an M . A . degree in 1964 from Kent State , where he was head athletic trainer from 1957 - 1965 . Prior to that , he served in the U . S . Army Medical Service Corp from 1954 - 56 with the United States Command and General Staff College at Fort Leavenworth , Kansas and was athletic trainer for the Beaumont ( TX ) " Exporter " baseball club in 1956 . In 1999 , John Madden named Davis to his All Madden Team as the all time athletic trainer . The same year he was named to the Eagles Honor Roll . On May 2 , 2000 , Davis passes away after a long battle with pancreatic cancer . In 2009 , Otho Davis was nominated as the first athletic trainer for induction into the Pro Football Hall of Fame . He finished 6th in the fans voting at Fans Choice in his first year of eligibility . He is the father of four sons : Mark , Harry , Richard , and Tom .