Doctor Runs With Dad’s Tradition Of Athlete Care

Sports medicine has come a long way since Dr. John Plastino’s father was the team physician at Lewis and Clark High School in the 1940s and ‘50s.

Plastino, who took over his father’s role in 1968, recalls sitting inside Albi Stadium’s old locker room in 1951 while his dad performed the medical miracle that prolonged Plastino’s high school career.

“I had separated both my thigh muscles earlier in the season,” Plastino remembers. “I would go down there before the games, and my dad would shoot my legs full of Novocain so I couldn’t feel them.

“A lot of times, when the bus got back to the school, I couldn’t walk very well.”

Plastino now cringes at the memory of what was a then-accepted, if not common, remedy for injuries.

Like his father before him - also named John - the self-described “Doctor Emeritus” of Lewis and Clark football has become a fixture on the sidelines.

As someone who mixes gentleness and enthusiasm into his sideline manner, no one will remember Dr. John Plastino - junior - for needles or Novocain. They’ll remember him for candy and oranges.

When you mention his name to anybody involved with Tiger football, almost without exception you’ll hear about the halftime treats he’s been bringing players and staff for nearly 30 years.

“He’s cool,” said senior running back Josh Bankston. “He’s always telling us, ‘Go knock the snot out of the other guys.’ He’s not just the doctor; he’s like a fan.” Plastino’s involvement in sports medicine extends beyond LC. In the 1970s he was a team doctor for the Spokane Golden semipro football team and for Gonzaga University men’s basketball.

When Tommy Lasorda managed the AAA Spokane Indians, Plastino was in the dugout as team physician. He also was one of the founding fathers of Spokane Junior Football in 1972.

LC coach John Hook said Plastino has been “a great addition to our medical staff.” It is Plastino’s almost innate ability to sense just when something is bothering a player - an injury or another of those worries plaguing high schoolers today - that makes him so effective.

“My role is as family doctor to the team, for whatever things they need,” Plastino said. “I can see injuries about to happen.”

Well, not always.

LC physical therapist John Risse said that six years ago, while standing on the narrow sidelines at Albi Stadium, Plastino was blindsided by a charging running back.

“I didn’t even have time to yell,” Risse said.

Plastino suffered a torn ligament in his knee but acted as if nothing had happened, Risse said.

“I could tell right away he’d torn it, but he’s so tough, he just got up, walked away, and said, ‘I’m OK,”’ Risse said.