Ray Ulinski made his home in State College
for more than fifty years, but that was not entirely on purpose. At Ambridge High School, Ray was an honorable
mention All Stater and made first team All State as a senior. Ohio
State and legendary coach Paul Brown was his choice for college, but
a funny thing happened: Ray
made a visit to Penn State to see a friend but wasn’t allowed to
leave after a school-wide
quarantine was imposed. Ray began taking
classes there and became quite a football player. His college
career was interrupted by a three year stint in the service during
World War II, but Ray returned to help Penn State to an undefeated
season and a berth in the 1948 Cotton Bowl. Later that year, Ray had
a tryout with the Pittsburgh Steelers but was the final cut from
that roster and returned to assist with the Penn State freshman
team. One year later, he began his long career as a trainer.
Originally, Ray worked with athletes in five different sports, but
that eventually evolved to where Ray was working with
student-athletes in 28 varsity sports at Penn State. All in all,
Ray spent 35 years as a trainer at the college. In 1984 Ray retired
and was inducted into the National Athletic Trainers Hall of Fame, one of seven inductees from among 12,000 trainers nationwide.
Ray Ulinski made his home in State College
for more than fifty years, but that was not entirely on purpose. At Ambridge High School, Ray was an honorable
mention All Stater and made first team All State as a senior. Ohio
State and legendary coach Paul Brown was his choice for college, but
a funny thing happened: Ray
made a visit to Penn State to see a friend but wasn’t allowed to
leave after a school-wide
quarantine was imposed. Ray began taking
classes there and became quite a football player. His college
career was interrupted by a three year stint in the service during
World War II, but Ray returned to help Penn State to an undefeated
season and a berth in the 1948 Cotton Bowl. Later that year, Ray had
a tryout with the Pittsburgh Steelers but was the final cut from
that roster and returned to assist with the Penn State freshman
team. One year later, he began his long career as a trainer.
Originally, Ray worked with athletes in five different sports, but
that eventually evolved to where Ray was working with
student-athletes in 28 varsity sports at Penn State. All in all,
Ray spent 35 years as a trainer at the college. In 1984 Ray retired
and was inducted into the National Athletic Trainers Hall of Fame, one of seven inductees from among 12,000 trainers nationwide.