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Tashiro: Athletic director of athletic medicineearned his black belt.“I had a Harvard Club of Cincinnati scholarship, with a proviso that I play football,” recalled Tashiro of the under-the-table arrangement. “I thought I had blown it when I started teaching judo, but somehow I kept the scholarship.”just taking care of injuries. I like to take care of the individual athlete as a person.“I’m very close to these kids. I feel they’re all the same—they are all my babies,” said Tashiro, who has eight children of his own. ‘‘I remember them all—the Karl Chandlers, the Snickenbergers . . . But I’ll also remember the guys who have it all in the heart.”Senior basketball forward Barnes Hauptfuhrer pointed out that ‘‘he is part of every team—an indispensable part. He really communicates with the players and knows their problems. He’s another good guy on the team.”‘Member of the team’‘‘It makes me very proud to be accepted,” said Tashiro. ‘‘I want to be accepted as a doctor, but to be accepted as one of them, as a member of the team, is what makes me proudest.”Hauptfuhrer recalled at least four instances when Tashiro had to stitch up players during games. Two years ago, when guard Mickey Steuerer suffered a forehead gash against Fordham, Tashiro sewed him up at halftime. Back in the game, Steuerer scored 15 points in the Tiger victory.‘‘It’s a real labor of love,” said the stocky doctor of his dedication to the teams. ‘‘I get a kick out of doing it. It has given me the opportunity to work with young people— both male and female.‘‘Above all, it has given me the chance to continue to be part of the common fraternity of athletics. All the fun I’ve had over my whole lifetime is due to athletics. Maybe athletics keeps you younger; I know it has kept me younger.‘More of a thrill9‘‘I’ve done a seven-hour pneumonectomy (removal of a lung), but that didn’t give me much of a thrill,” he said. ‘‘I hit three home runs after tjiat which gave me much more of a thrill.”Tashiro denied, however, that he is a fanatic about athletics. ‘‘There is a dif-By Lance KnobelDr. Kiyo Tashiro, Princeton’s director of athletic medicine, played his last football game in the late ’60s. Nothing would be remarkable about that, if it wasn’t for the fact that at the time Tashiro was 51 years old.That game, played for the Newark Bears of the Atlantic Coast League, ended more than 42 years of organized football for Tashiro. At the age of nine, the Cincinnati native began playing in the midget football leagues. In his teens, he won four letters each in football, baseball and track at Hughes High School, earning all-state honors at halfback three times.After graduating from Hughes, Tashiro entered Harvard. But he played football for the Crimson only during his freshman year, because he was declared a professional athlete for teaching judo. He had justTashiro has said he will resign his post as of July 1 because of “irreconcilable philosophical differences” with Health Services director Dr. Willard Dairymple.“There has been constant arguing as to what are my primary responsibilities as director of athletic medicine,” said Tashiro. “The question is, am I primarily responsible for the health of the athletes and secondarily expected to help out at the (infirmary) clinic, or am I a university physician helping out here (Caldwell Field House) when the infirmary administrators will let me?11Bill Allen—PrincetonianFormer football star Tashiroference between being a fanatic and being one who appreciates the benefits,” he explained. “If it’s not fun, I’m not going to do it. There is no better medicine than athletics to blow off agression—it’s therapeutic.” Tashiro’s total involvement has troubled him at times, as the ups and downs of Princeton teams have occasionally affected him. ‘‘I take a lot of these defeats hard because of what they do to the coaches,” he said. ‘‘The kids survive, but the coaches have a really hard time. Sometimes I wonder if it’s worth getting so emotionally involved, but I wouldn’t want it to be any other way.‘‘I equate the group down here with Princeton. This is the Princeton I love: the cheerleaders, the band, the grounds crew— all of them. I have a deep love for these people. I have a love for the kids and they return it. That makes it all worthwhile. That’s the reward I get.”Unable to play college football, Tashiro began to play semi-pro ball. He continued his participation through his tenure at the University of Cincinnati Medical School, and while serving in the Asiatic-Pacific theater during World War II he made the Fifth Army all-star team. After he returned to the U.S., he once more took up semi-pro football.‘‘There were a few times where I ended up playing both ways (on both offense and defense),” said Tashiro. ‘‘I enjoyed playing both ways more. I never liked sitting on the bench and cooling down.”The 59-year-old physician took his present job at Princeton in 1973, after nine years of clinical research. Tashiro is adamant in his belief that his athletic background is essential to his position.“Being a practicing athlete, I understand athletes and athletics better than those who aren’t,” explained the former thoracic and general surgeon. “I will not stand still forTashiro: ‘They are all my babies’
Newspaper Details
Princeton Daily Princetonian
Princeton, New Jersey, US
Tue, Mar 16, 1976
Page 8
Full Page
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USA 02 Jul 2020
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