John D. Reese

Welsh born American baseball trainer (1855–1931)

John D. "Bonesetter" Reese (May 6, 1855 – November 29, 1931) was a Welsh born American athletic trainer in early 20th century Major League Baseball who was known for his ability to get injured athletes "back in the game". Although he gained wide visibility as the nation's "baseball doctor", Reese reportedly "drew no line between rich and poor patients". During his long career, the Welsh born Reese delivered therapy to clients including industrial workers, celebrity athletes, and heads of state. At the time of his death, Reese was regarded as a national figure, and his death was marked by The New York Times, which printed a detailed obituary.

Reese was born in Rhymney, Wales, to a coal miner who died while Reese was an infant. He was orphaned by the death of his mother a decade later and went to work at the Welsh ironworks. Reese was taken in by an ironworker named Tom Jones, who taught him the trade of "bonesetting", a term the Welsh used for treatment of strains of muscle and tendon, not the setting of broken bones. Jones trained Reese until Reese left for the United States in January 1887. Reese became a coal miner and then roller's helper at Jones & Laughlin Steel in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. He later moved to Youngstown, Ohio, where he took a job at the Brown Bonnell Mills. Within a few years, he assumed the skilled position of "roller" at the Mahoning Valley Iron Company. Reese attended Case University (now Case Western Reserve University) in Cleveland for three weeks before discontinuing his formal studies in medicine. Despite his lack of formal credentials, Reese's practice continued to grow.

Reese's viewed his involvement with baseball players as a sideline. He preferred baseball players but worked with other athletes. The primary focus of his practice was treating his one time colleagues, the mill workers of Youngstown. His eclectic group of patients included baseball players Cy Young, Ty Cobb, Rogers Hornsby, Walter Johnson, and John McGraw. But Reese also treated international leaders such as fellow Welshman Lloyd George. A respected figure within the Welsh American community, Reese became the recipient of the highest honor bestowed by the American Gorsedd.