Oct 22, 2020Longtime Atlanta Braves Athletic Trainer Dies
Dave Pursley, the former athletic trainer of the Atlanta Braves, died on Sunday, according to FOX-5 Atlanta and other outlets.
He is a member of the Braves Hall of Fame, joining the organization when the club played in Milwaukee and came to Atlanta with the club in 1966. He stayed with Atlanta until retiring in 2002 and also served as the athletic trainer for Clemson University and the Atlanta Chiefs Soccer team. Additionally, he’s part of the Georgia and Indiana Sports Hall of Fames.
On top of being part of the Braves Hall of Fame since 2014, Pursley is a member of the National Athletic Trainers Association (NATA), Professional Baseball Athletic Trainer Society (PBATS), Southeastern Athletic Trainers Association, and the Georgia Athletic Trainers Association.
Pursley’s time at the Braves had him selected to work four All-Star Games in his career – the latest being in 2000. In 1995, he was named the Athletic Trainer of the Year. Nine years later, he was awarded the National Athletic Trainers Association Most Distinguished Athletic Trainer Award.
His tenure with Atlanta brought him around baseball greats like Hank Aaron, Greg Maddux, Chipper Jones, and Tom Glavine.
Pursley started his career as a teenager working as an athletic training student at Central Evansville High School in Indiana. While still in school, he worked summers with the Evansville Braves, who played just a few blocks from his house, according to the Georgia Athletic Trainers’ Association.
After graduating, Pursley started working as an athletic trainer at colleges like Evansville and Clemson while still working for the Braves farm club during the summers. Eventually, he moved his way to the major league team while it was still in Milwaukee and followed it to Atlanta when the Braves moved here in 1969.
To read the full story on Pursley’s passing from FOX-5 Atlanta, click here.
