Rather respecting them in their most important roles as sons, brothers, fathers, and husbands. After becoming head athletic trainer for the South Metro Fire Rescue in Centennial from 2014-15, Garcia rejoined the Broncos training staff as Antonopulos top assistant in 2016. His 43 years with the Broncos is believed to be the longest tenure by an athletic trainer with one NFL team. Yet behind closed doors they respond to the ordinary, commonplace maladies of bruises, lacerations, soft tissue tears, and broken bones. After Greeks retirement was announced, team president/CEO Joe Ellis released the following statement: Steve has been an institution with the Broncos for the last 45 years and became one of the most respected athletic training professionals in all of sports. For 45 years, athletic trainer Steve Greek Antonopulos has been the epitome of what the Denver Broncos are all about.Greek, there arent words to describe the impact youve had on our organization, and we wish you nothing but the very best in retirement!#ThankYouGreek pic.twitter.com/HAKN6t7S7P. You'll now receive the top Broncos Wire stories each day directly in your inbox. He closed the door and he went nuts again. The fans are incredible and it was the first of the modern stadiums in the old days. By 1987 he received the NFL/Professional Football Athletic Trainers Society (PFATS) award for Training Staff of the Year. He was Bowlen's presenter when Bowlen was enshrined in the Pro Football Hall of Fame's Class of 2019. He had the fingernail on his thumb totally torn off and was bleeding all over the place. When I committed to come back for this past season, I told John [Elway], This is it. There is another player meeting from 3 to 4 p.m. Post practice treatments follow until we are done at approximately 6 p.m. On game day, Greek arrives very early as well. Once I get up to Denver and visit with the team doctors, they can check out my knee and do all of that, and then we can go from there. The livelihood of their families depend on the high body performance. @Broncos celebrating head trainer Steve "Greek" Antonopulos tonight. Antonopulos graduated from Northern Colorado with bachelors and masters degrees and was working as the head trainer and a physical education teacher at Fort Hays (Kan.) State in 1976 when a Johnson & Johnson representative told him about an opening to be Hursts only assistant. We went a day early and went to see the Celtics play the Bulls. but it can also be stressful. "No one cared more about the players than Greek. Then in 1996 he received National Athletic Trainers Association (NATA) Athletic Trainer Service Award, and in 2006 Greek was given the NATA Most Distinguished Athletic Trainer Award. pic.twitter.com/N8K1CSmUdg, Kami Carmann (@KamiCarmann) August 4, 2016. According to the organization, Antonopulos' 45-year tenure is believed to be the longest ever spent with a single NFL team. We allowed the soft tissues to heal and put him on a strengthening program and he played in about 10 days. Athletic trainers are the first on the field when an NFL player is injured, and in the case of a serious injury, they have to use quick decision-making to treat the player immediately. From Left to Right: Dustin Little, Josh Hartman, Steve Antonopulos, Michael Sundeen, and Billy-Joe Voltaire. Athletic trainers often work more than 12 hours a day and are required to travel with the team for away games and/or training camp. No one cared more about the players than Greek. I always thought that might zing me one day.. Broncos trainer Steve "Greek" Antonopulos retires after 45 seasons with franchise - The Denver Post Sports NFL Denver Broncos News News Based on facts, either observed and verified directly by. April 12, 2017 at 10:38 a.m. June 9, 2021 6:00 am MT. We congratulate Greek and thank him for a truly remarkable, special run with the Denver Broncos. Gambling problem? Five hours later, John went through everything you could imagine and he ended up vomiting all over the place. But according to those who know him well, Greeks domain also contains a rare element in the Not For Long professional football league: an endless supply of unsentimental, deep compassion. There is no verbal banter of windy platitudes to stoke quixotic fantasies of either management or players. > Above video: Steve Antonopulos introduces Pat Bowlen at NFL Hall of Fame induction ceremony. During John Elway's 16-year playing career and his decade leading the Broncos' front office, he was able to rely on Director of Sports Medicine Steve "Greek" Antonopulos for a lot. John Elways pro football career had bookends of torn up body parts. Enjoying Sportskeeda's coverage? Their grandparents often move better in that instant. During the season, Antonopulos would often arrive at the facility around 4 a.m. and stay as late as required. Since the former Fort Hays head athletic trainer launched his NFL career, a lot has changed in the sport and in the world of athletic training, but Antonopulos' career had such remarkable longevity because he constantly worked to keep up with updating practices and help shape the evolving field. Here's a look. Coach Gary Kubiaks unflappable reaction to the season-ending knee injury of starting defensive end Vance Walker on Tuesday was based on his confidence of the Denver Broncos reserve depth at the position. "No one cared more about the players than Greek," Broncos president/CEO Joe Ellis said in a statement. ENGLEWOOD, Colo. -- After a career that spanned 45 years with the Denver Broncos, director of sports medicine Steve Antonopulos has retired. 2023 NFL Enterprises LLC. He was a fixture on our sidelines for the greatest moments in team history, the first person running on the field to care for an injured player and the one who supported them through every step of their recovery. Sign up for the Broncos Wire newsletter to get our top stories in your inbox every morning. (Coach) Dan Reeves made the decision to have him drive to San Diego for the game. Antonopulos, who called Bowlen the ultimate owner, was selected by the Bowlen family in 2019 to present Pat at the Pro Football Hall of Fame induction. Antonopulos joined the Broncos as assistant athletic trainer in 1976 . The Broncos will name their training room after Antonopulos. So I called him. Kentucky's Will Levis, a likely top-10 pick in the 2023 NFL Draft, spoke Friday at the NFL Scouting Combine and -- in under 15 minutes -- presented himself as arguably the most self-assured QB in this year's class. I loved the job, loved the place and there would be only one position I would leave there for the Denver Broncos.. His Bronco days started in 1976. How did Antonopulos survive so many regime changes? Applauding him as "an institution with the Broncos for the last 45 years," Denver bid farewell Monday to director of sports medicine Steve Antonopulos, who retired at 72 years old. View Steve Antonopulos's record in Limon, CO including current phone number, address, relatives, background check report, and property record with Whitepages. Steve "Greek" Antonopulos, the Broncos' director of sports medicine, is entering his 44th season with the team. What a run. His influence on this franchise, the athletic training profession and throughout sports is far-reaching, mentoring countless interns and staff who went on to accomplish great things. Forty-five years is a long time. Antonopulos called working for the Broncos a lifes dream., A lot of people say that, but it was the reality for me, he said. When I committed to come back for this past season, I told John (Elway), This is it. Fangio also added that "I have hard time believing that Greek is really retired. Repeated selections of injured players shows the teams confidence in Greeks abilityto assess and treat injured players. "Steve Antonopulos is what the Denver Broncos are all about," John Elway aptly summed up on the Broncos' website. The doctor that gave him the physical was Arthur Pappas, one of the Red Sox owners, and he took us over to Fenway Park and I still have the picture of John and myself at home plate. When the Broncos open training camp next month, Antonopulos wont be on the sidelines for the first time since 1975. It paid $25 a week plus room and board, he said with a laugh. Antonopulos started with the Broncos as an assistant athletic trainer in 1976, became the team's director of rehabilitation in 1979 and was hired as Denver's head athletic trainer in 1980. Please logout and login again. We congratulate Greek and thank him for a truly remarkable, special run with the Denver Broncos. From there, we went to Cheers bar and ran into some Denver people and had a couple cold ones. The Broncos announced Wednesday that longtime trainer Steve "Greek" Antonopulos has been promoted to the team's director of sports medicine, where he will oversee all. View Steve Antonopulos's business profile as Head AT at Denver Broncos. In announcing the retirement of the man everyone called Greek, the Broncos said he treated 980 different players in the regular season and playoffs. Discussing his knee rehabilitation, Gotsis at the time said. His first chance came in the summer of 1969 when trainer Allen Hurst offered him an internship. In all those years, I never tried to figure out how many hours I worked.. Whether movers in Fort Collins are helping you Broncos trainer Steve Greek Antonopulos, Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window), Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window), Click to share on Reddit (Opens in new window), Broncos trainer Steve Greek Antonopulos retires after 45 seasons with franchise, As Broncos wrap up stay at NFL Combine, busy offseason of change churns toward free agency, draft, Broncos check in No. Its just a cool place., Oh boy, a couple of those. Ryan OHalloran covered the Broncos for The Post from 2018-22 and has covered the NFL since 2004. When the Broncos open training camp next month, Antonopulos wont be on the sidelines for the first time since 1975. Steve Antonopulos announced his retirement on Monday. Steve (Greek) Antonopulos was the first one. The weather was awful. @Grindin_59 never saw this happening: https://t.co/62EHR6aweP pic.twitter.com/2ns3HQOWc3. That was a tremendous victory in Broncos history. "It didn't matter if they were a Hall of Famer or an undrafted rookie -- his standard never changed. Terms at draftkings.com/sportsbook. Please check your email for a confirmation. He was the team's head trainer for 37 seasons and spent the past four seasons as the director of sports medicine. If you do not acknowledge the unique importance of Greek, then you chronically underestimate the Broncos. Greek was there to give head coach Mike Shanahan continual updates as he worked to treat TDs migraine. Elway mentioned Greeks help in his Hall of Fame induction speech in 2004. My wife deserves this and we need to move on, Antonopulos said in a phone interview Sunday with The Denver Post. Like Antonopulos, Garcia got his bachelors degree from Northern Colorado. He closed the door and he went nuts again. His physical was first thing in the morning. Antonopulos joined the Broncos as an assistant trainer in 1976, became head athletic trainer in 1981 and was promoted to the role of director of sports medicine in 2016. It was one of the hardest decisions I ever had to make. Tonight, we celebrated head athletic trainer Steve Antonopulos. He was very straight forward, he was very honest and he was a really good communicator in that he has a good bedside manner in a position where that is obviously required.. We just really hit it off and it was an opportunity that I had always dreamed about.. Another option for Fire TV is to have the app delivered directly to your Fire TV through Amazon. What is your favorite memory of the Broncos long-time head trainer? After the 1980 season, he was elevated to head trainer and split his old salary in half to hire two assistants. Former Broncos coach Gary Kubiak, who arrived to the Broncos as a rookie quarterback in 1983 and spent well over two decades with the franchise himself, has joked that Antonopulos was with the Broncos before the orange and blue in the uniforms. My wife deserves this and we need to move on,' Antonopulos told Ryan OHalloran of the Denver Post. Antonopulos, 72, started working for the Broncos on St. Patricks Day 1976 as an assistant trainer, was promoted to director of rehabilitation in 80, to head athletic trainer in 81 and was director of sports medicine since 2016. NFL.com keeps you up to date with all of the latest league news from around the NFL. It was pretty much a no-brainer when somebody puts in that amount of time, Ellis said. AZ, CO, CT, IL, IN, IA, KS, LA, (select parishes), MD, MI, NH, NJ, NY, OH, OR, PA, TN, VA, WV, WY, CA-ONT only.Eligibility restrictions apply. His salary is around $10 million and his main source of income is from his career as a business executive. Russell Wilson's salary cap and dead money totals for the next six seasons. In honor of his impact & dedication these last 45 years, were naming the training room after Steve Greek Antonopulos. Anthopoulos successful career has earned him some luxurious lifestyles and some fancy cars. He is believed to be the longest-tenured trainer with one team in NFL history, and Greek is the only person to be a part of all eight Broncos Super Bowl appearances. A native of North Dakota and graduate of Kansas State, OHalloran previously covered the Washington Redskins for eight years, primarily at The Washington Times, and the Jacksonville Jaguars for six years at The Florida Times-Union. He researched the previous seasons hamstring injury sustained by running back Otis Armstrong and put together a treatment/rehabilitation plan to present to Hurst. In July 2016, Antonopulos began the road to retirement when he took on a new role and Vince Garcia was promoted to head athletic trainer. Steve Antonopulos assists injured QB John Elway at Rich Stadium in Orchard Park, N.Y. on Sunday Jan.12, 1992. You must be logged in to leave a comment. Aftersigning his $24.5 million contract with the Chicago Bears during the offseason,the NFL tweeted this about Trevathan: Knee injury.Knee injury.Knee injury.Big contract? Their athletic body movements express their identity. His influence on this franchise, the athletic training profession and throughout sports is far-reaching, mentoring countless interns and staff who went on to accomplish great things. Register now! I always thought that might zing me one day.. It was phenomenal. His career with the team began in 1976 and spanned all eight of the teams Super Bowl appearances, 10 general managers, and three and a half team owners. In Antonopulos' second season, the Broncos reached their first Super Bowl, a loss to the Dallas Cowboys. Broncos Athletic Trainer Steve Greek Antonopulos is retiring after 45 seasons with the team. And then Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City has always been one of my favorites. He got $26.4 million without playing a down for the Colts last year 32 percent more than his first-year salary with the Broncos. He depended on him for help recovering from injuries, advice on health concerns when evaluating players and, often, simply the friendship that they cultivated over . Or does the salary serve as a salve to those wounds? We sincerely thank his wife Susan and the entire Antonopulos family for sharing Greek with us for so many years. In fact over his NFL career Elway ran for3,407 yards and 33 touchdowns. The elation and what historically happened there for the Broncos was unbelievable., The old Kingdome in Seattle was a great place because of the crowd noise and it was a good place to travel. By choosing I Accept, you consent to our use of cookies and other tracking technologies. 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