Team physician for NU football
STEPHEN R. REID | 1914-2009 | Earned Nobel nomination for work on head injuries
Dr. Stephen R. Reid could have played professional football; he was that good. But his desire to become a doctor won out over a career in the NFL.
Instead, he would go on to become an accomplished surgeon and teacher, but he managed to keep a connection to the sport he loved, serving as team physician for the Northwestern University Wildcats and doing research into football head injuries. He was nominated for a Nobel Prize for research involving head traumas.
Dr. Reid died Saturday at Alden Courts Assisted Living in Des Plaines, where he had resided for several years. He was 94.
Dr. Reid, the seventh son of Irish immigrants, was born and reared on the South Side. He played football at Leo Catholic High School and Northwestern University, where from 1934-36 he played guard for the Wildcats. He was captain and most valuable player for the 1936 Big Ten Champion team and also was selected first team All-American.
Interest from pro teams quickly followed graduation. He was drafted by the Brooklyn Dodgers but kept putting them off because of his desire to attend medical school. Eventually, the Dodgers traded his rights to the Chicago Cardinals, but he also turned them down.
"He never went pro," said his son Steve. "But he never completely gave up on football either."
His medical studies at Northwestern University Medical School were interrupted by World War II. He served in the Southwest Pacific in the U.S. Army Medical Corps. It was there he met his wife of 62 years, Grace, who was a nurse. They married in New Guinea, with a transformed parachute serving as her wedding dress.
After the war, Dr. Reid finished his studies in Northwestern's department of surgical research. He was an attending surgeon at Evanston Hospital and the Northwestern Wildcat team physician for more than 30 years.
Dr. Reid earned national recognition, including a Nobel Prize nomination, for his research on football helmets and head traumas.
"The AMA asked him to look into head and neck injuries suffered by football players," said his son. "And he spent more than 23 years doing just that in his spare time."
In 1961, Dr. Reid was named to Sports Illustrated's Silver Anniversary All-American Football Team. He was a charter member of Northwestern's Athletic Hall of Fame and was a 1985 inductee into the National College Football Hall of Fame.
In addition to his son, Dr. Reid is survived by two daughters, Pat Weber and Liddy Bartelstein; eight grandchildren and two great-grandchildren. His wife and another son, Mike, preceded him in death.
Visitation is 3-9 p.m. today at Oehler Funeral Home, 2099 Miner St., Des Plaines. Funeral mass is at 10 a.m. Tuesday at St. Stephen Church, 1280 Prospect Ave., Des Plaines. Burial will be at Calvary Cemetery in Evanston.