May/June 2020 - 12

Braces & Support
Highlighting the transformation of braces in
athletic rehabilitation through the years
By Wesley Sykes
Managing Editor
O
..n the second level of the Pro Football Hall of Fame
..museum, just a few steps below the research and
..preservation observation deck, resides the Lamar
Hunt Super Bowl gallery - home to relics from gridiron
greats on the game's biggest stage.
Encased in glass and standing at a bent 45-degree
angle sits the mostly leather knee brace that Hall of Fame
quarterback Joe Namath wore as he guided the New York
Jets to an infamously improbable victory over the Baltimore
Colts in Super Bowl III in 1968.
As the story goes, Namath had been plagued by a
right knee injury dating back to his time at the University
12 | Training & Conditioning | May/June 2020
of Alabama. Just days after signing a then-NFL record
$427,000 contract as the first pick in the 1965 AFL
draft, the dual-threat quarterback met with Jets team
orthopedist James Nicholas to fix the injury he suffered
during his senior season with the Crimson Tide. Nicholas
fashioned the special brace, with the help of Lenox Hill
Hospital's brace shop, to protect Namath's knee.
At the time, Nicholas told Namath that he might be able
to only play four years in the league.
Thirteen years - and one iconic Super Bowl moment -
later, Namath had pieced together a Hall of Fame-worthy
career, although his knee problems would eventually

May/June 2020

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of May/June 2020

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https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/Training-and-Conditioning/august-september-2024
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https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/Training-and-Conditioning/august-september
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/Training-and-Conditioning/2023-video-playbook
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/Training-and-Conditioning/june-july
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/Training-and-Conditioning/tc-april-may
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/Training-and-Conditioning/february-2023
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/Training-and-Conditioning/october-november
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/Training-and-Conditioning/august-september-2022
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/Training-and-Conditioning/june-july-2022
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/Training-and-Conditioning/training-conditioning-video-playbook-2022
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/Training-and-Conditioning/april-may-2022
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/Training-and-Conditioning/february-2022
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/Training-and-Conditioning/october-november-2021
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/Training-and-Conditioning/august-september-2021
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/Training-and-Conditioning/june-july-2021
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/Training-and-Conditioning/may-2021
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/Training-and-Conditioning/april-2021
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/Training-and-Conditioning/april-may-2021
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/Training-and-Conditioning/february-2021
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/Training-and-Conditioning/october-november-2020
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/Training-and-Conditioning/august-september-2020
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/Training-and-Conditioning/may-june-2020
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/Training-and-Conditioning/april-2020
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/Training-and-Conditioning/march-april-2020
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/Training-and-Conditioning/february-2020
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/Training-and-Conditioning/october-november-2019
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/Training-and-Conditioning/august-september-2019
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