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RICHIE BANCELLS INDUCTED INTO MARYLAND ATHLETIC TRAINERS ASSOCIATION H.O.F.
Longtime Orioles head Athletic Trainer RICHIE BANCELLS was inducted into the Maryland Athletic Trainers Association (MATA) Hall of Fame at a ceremony held at the Community College of Baltimore County at Catonsville last night.
To be considered for the MATA Hall of Fame, nominees must have been a member of MATA for at least 10 years, practiced Athletic Training or a related profession for at least 25 years and contributed significantly to the profession of athletic training through education (including oral presentations and written publications), community service, or service to the NATA or MATA.
Bancells is the 9th Athletic Trainer enshrined and the second Orioles head Athletic trainer. His predecessor, the late RALPH SALVON, was posthumously inducted in 2005.
Bancells is in his 21st season as the Orioles' head Athletic Trainer, his 25th year with the big league club and his 32nd in the Orioles organization. He is only the third head Athletic Trainer in 54 completed seasons since the Orioles moved from St. Louis in 1954. He has served longer on the Orioles Athletic Training staff and as an Athletic Trainer in the organization than anyone, and this year will surpass the tenure of Salvon as head Athletic Trainer for the major league team.
In December 2007 Bancells was elected to a two-year term as president of the Professional Baseball Athletic Trainers Society (PBATS). He previously served as a board member and treasurer for the organization, as well as secretary of PBATS' Executive Committee. He also currently sits on Major League Baseball's Medical Advisory Committee, is certified by the National Athletic Trainers Association (NATA) and is a member of the American College of Sports Medicine.
Bancells has also been selected as the Athletic Trainer for the American League team in two All-Star games. In November 2002, he served as Athletic Trainer for the Major League Baseball All-Stars' post-season exhibition tour in Japan. In the winter of '96, he was invited to Japan to speak to a group of Japanese athletic trainers and physicians.
In 2005, the Orioles created the Ralph Salvon-Richie Bancells Award for Excellence in the Field of Emergency Medical Service, to be given to local area medical professionals who think and act quickly and demonstrate excellence in the wake of an emergency medical situation.
A native of Key West, FL, Bancells graduated from Miami's Biscayne College (now St. Thomas University) in 1978. He earned an M.S. degree in physical education from Eastern Kentucky University in Richmond, KY, in 1981. Richie and his wife Carol have three children and live in Parkton, MD.
