Dr. Joseph Spracher Honored With Naming Of Pacific Athletic Training Facility

Jan. 5, 2011

Stockton, Calif. - University of the Pacific's Athletic Training Facility has been named for Dr. Joseph Spracher, an alumnus of University of the Pacific and a long-standing supporter of Pacific Athletics.

Joe was instrumental in developing and expanding groundbreaking sports medicine techniques and methods in the care, treatment and prevention of injuries for student-athletes. His dedication to educating coaches, athletes and parents in helping young athletes compete has demonstrably changed the way athletic training is managed in San Joaquin County. From the early 1970's, his pioneering methods in advancing how pre-season conditioning is approached to unique treatments of injury prevention forever changed the landscape of how sports injuries are managed at both the collegiate and high school level.

With his decade's long commitment to the mission and vision of Pacific, he was able to influence and begin the Pacific Athletic Foundation (PAF), to benefit student-athlete scholarships. With his neighbor and partner, Dr. Cedric Dempsey, former Athletic Director (1967-79) they both were responsible for the creation of the PAF (now known as the Pacific Tigers Athletics Association or PTAA).

A native of Idaho, Joe graduated from Stockton High School and joined the Navy where he began his lifetime career in medicine after being assigned as a medic. After his service, he entered College of the Pacific where he graduated in 1961 with a degree in Chemistry. Upon graduation he was accepted to Tulane Medical School where he earned his doctorate degree in 1964. He established a private practice in Stockton in 1965 where he continues to provide medical care to multiple generations of athletes and weekend warriors.

His professional accomplishments in the field of Sports Medicine are numerous. Beginning in the late 1960's he began his tenure as the team physician for Lincoln High School athletics. For over 16 years he assisted the coaches and players and helped transform the practice of sports medicine. He was responsible for changing the ways coaches treat injuries and how they approach conditioning. During his tenure at Lincoln High, his famous "Trojan Trauma Truck", a customize golf cart designed to assist athletes off the field at the time of an injury was considered "unsportsmanlike". Later, many football programs then adopted this same practice across the country. While his techniques at that time were considered controversial, today they are mainstream and are considered standard methods used by coaches and players alike. After leaving Lincoln, he joined the University of the Pacific as Team Physician for three years where he made equal contributions working in partnership with the Athletic Training program.

A portion of the funds received through the efforts of family and friends to name the Athletic Training Center will be used to create the Dr. Joseph Spracher Endowed Scholarship which will provide support each year to one Pacific student-athlete majoring in Sport Science.

If you are interested in contributing to the Dr. Joseph Spracher Endowed Scholarship please contact Tim Dickson, External Relations Director for Pacific Athletics at tdickson@pacific.edu or 209-946-3177.