Photo courtesy of the UAB Media Relations
Drew Ferguson
Drew Ferguson, a Vestavia Hills resident well-known and beloved in sports medicine and athletic training throughout Alabama, died this week at the age of 73.
Ferguson, who is set to be inducted into the UAB Athletic Hall of Fame for athletic training and sports medicine on Nov. 1, passed away Tuesday as the result of health complications during a recent hospital stay.
“You could not find a better person than Drew Ferguson,” said longtime friend and former teacher Bill McDonald. “Drew was my first athletic training student at Clarkston High School in Clarkston, Georgia, in 1968. At that point in time, I considered him like a son to me, but then as we got older, he became like a brother, and was always my friend. Drew was very passionate about emphasizing youth safety in sports. It was that passion that carried him throughout his life, and he really championed and pioneered a lot of things that enhanced athletic training in not only Birmingham, but the state and even nationally for how a lot of the sports programs have been instituted.”
Ferguson received a bachelor’s degree in education and exercise physiology from the University of Georgia in 1974 and then moved to Birmingham and became an athletic trainer for the World Football League, where he worked with the Birmingham Americans and the Birmingham Vulcans.
“When I met Drew we just hit it off,” said Wayne Kendrick, a longtime friend and former head athletic trainer at Samford University. “ We would spend a lot of time telling stories and having a good time together, and we have remained friends over the years. When Drew first came to Birmingham, there were not really any athletic trainers in the area, and he was really instrumental in establishing athletic trainers at some of the high schools in the city of Birmingham. Whatever they needed, just about, he would find some way to get it for them so they could have accessible care for each athlete. He wanted everyone to be able to compete on a somewhat equal level. Drew was the type of person that would sacrifice just about anything for someone else.”
In 1975, Ferguson co-founded the Sports Medicine Institute of Alabama (now Children’s of Alabama Sports Medicine). He went on to receive a master’s degree in education with an emphasis in sports medicine and exercise physiology from UAB in 1976.
In 1979, Ferguson was the U.S. Olympic basketball athletic trainer at the U.S. Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, Colorado.
Joe Davidson, former associate athletic director at Samford University and current women’s golf head coach, first worked with Ferguson at UAB, when the two worked for Coach Gene Bartow in 1978.
“We both worked with the basketball program from the beginning,” Davidson said. “We were so limited at the time with staff and facilities compared to how things are now. But, during that time we all helped one another. I grew a fondness for Drew because he was one of the most selfless people I have ever been around. He would help anyone. If you ever needed something, he would work to make sure you got what you needed. And he did that consistently throughout his life.”
Ferguson served as the head athletic trainer at UAB for Coach Gene Bartow from 1975 until 1982.
Davidson said Ferguson, alongside Dr. Kurt Niemann, started the Sports Medicine Institute of Alabama, and he served as director of administration and athletic training.
“He always had the athlete in mind,” Davidson said. “He loved the human environment of sports, and Coach Bartow always used a phrase, ‘Find a way to get it done,’ and he embodied that in every way.”
Lasting legacy
Ferguson battled health issues throughout his life, most notably receiving two kidney transplants at the UAB Comprehensive Transplant Institute, one of which came from his wife, Diane.
While Ferguson’s health issues prevented him from fully excelling in the sports world as an athlete, he continued on with his love of sports in various capacities until the end of his life.
“I think Drew stayed working with sports because he ultimately loved it so much,” said Chris King, current chairman of the Alabama Board of Athletic Trainers. “Drew instilled in me that providing athletic health care to school-aged athletes is the top priority no matter what, and I have carried that since meeting Drew. He has been the driving force for what I now do for a living and inspired me in so many ways.”
Heloise Belarmino was hired by Ferguson in the 90s to work at UAB, where she was eventually the head women’s athletic trainer.
“Drew was so instrumental in what I would do in my professional career,” Belarmino said. “He really saw the potential in me, and I will forever be grateful to him for all of the doors he opened for me. He was not only a mentor, but a great friend. He was a true pioneer in Birmingham for sports medicine and just a wonderful person to know.”
Ferguson was the president of the CoachSafely Foundation, a nonprofit organization which seeks to limit youth sports-related injuries.
He also was largely involved in public health legislation, including concussion regulations passed in Alabama in 2011 and the 2018 Coach Safely Act. Ferguson served as the director of sports medicine for the COA Sports Medicine Clinic and The Concussion Clinic, where he remained the director since its inception in 1975.
Additional accolades he held included being the secretary/treasurer of the Alabama State Board of Athletic Trainers from 1994 to 1995; chairman of the Alabama State Board of Athletic Trainers from 1995 to 2008; member of the Alabama High School Athletic Association Medical Advisory Board beginning in 2010 and was chair of the Public Policy Committee of the Alabama Concussion Task Force beginning in 2010.
Ferguson was inducted into the Alabama Athletic Trainers’ Association Hall of Fame in 2002. He is survived by his wife, Diane.
“Drew was so instrumental in so many people’s lives throughout his own life,” Belarmino said. “He meant a lot to so many people.”
