Note: This particular blog is longer, almost a newspaper-feature length. Rather than break it into several postings, I decided to go with one. JW
Players reported to Green Bay this week as the Packers, and the NFL, started training camp.
Ahhh...this has always been an optimistic sign. Which rookies look good? Which veterans are back and still have something in the tank.
Players riding kid bikes, keeping the tradition alive. A Family Night event, the 25th that, while once a bona fide scrimmage, is now no more than a practice. Yet nearly 60,000 fans pony up $12.42 a pop (with tax; add $5.16 for a parking pass) to come and enjoy the atmosphere.
Yet in Green Bay, there's something missing this training camp. Dr. Pat McKenzie is no long on the sidelines, or out checking on players, as he has for 35 years.
"It just feels odd, you know," McKenzie admitted. "I'm not there. I have nothing going on. It makes for a whole new experience, and I know it will take time to get used to..."
It's not so much that McKenzie had a long, stellar run with the Packers. It's more about HOW a kid born in Rice Lake, Wisconsin, pretty much grew up in Oshkosh and ended up there, in Green Bay.
We all have a road that we're on for our journey through life. Some roads are straight, some have twists and turns. Some uphill, some downhill. Some smooth as glass, some rough as the ocean in a hurricane. Some are deliberate, some surprisingly random.
Doesn't matter who you are, the road is there until we reach the end.
Sometimes it's an unusual road that our journey takes, as it did for Doctor Pat McKenzie. Still, he's just Pat to me, a three-sport athlete I covered while the beat man on Oshkosh Lourdes Academy back in my college days, as a stringer for the Oshkosh Daily Northwestern.
After his recent retirement, Pat and I renewed a friendship via telephone for a few lengthy catch-up chats -- and a lot of laughter. (I always thought it was a VERY good game if we didn't see him on the field, looking over an injured player, and told him so!)
Retirement will give more time for Pat and wife Anne (Williamson) McKenzie, to see children -- three are in the Twin Cities area, and another in New Jersey, as well as time with 14 grandchildren.
Fun fact: McKenzie followed Dr. Eugene Brusky, hired by Vince Lombardi in 1960 as the team physician. He held the post for 29 years, and Dr. Clarence Novotney bridged the gap for a couple of seasons before McKenzie started his 35-year run. It's now filled by Dr. Michael Ryan. Essentially, that's three team doctors in 66 years has to be some sort of record.
Just, exactly, how does one prepare for this career? Pat's dad was Dr. John Redmon McKenzie, mother Marilyn Cartwright McKenzie. Dr. John was a graduate of Marquette University of Medicine, which ended affiliation with the university in 1967, becoming the Medical College of Wisconsin in 1970.
"Dad and Mom started out in Milwaukee, and then Dad became a family practice doctor in Rice Lake, Wisconsin, where I was born," explained McKenzie, who is the middle of eight children. "I was probably in kindergarten, maybe five years old, when Dad decided he wanted to get into radiology and we returned to Milwaukee for his residency.
"I was eight when we moved from Milwaukee to Oshkosh, and I consider that my home. Attended Sacred Heart Grade School, then Lourdes Academy for high school."
It was at Lourdes where our paths crossed. As a college student working for the sports department of The Oshkosh Daily Northwestern, my beat, starting in 1972, was Lourdes, one of three city high schools at the time. In 1974, Lourdes was the WISAA state football champion. Pat was a senior defensive back on a team that reeled off eight straight wins to take the title. In basketball that season, he was first team All-Fox Valley Christian Conference, capping off a career as a three-year starter.
Off To College
"While growing up I watched my Dad all the time. When he joined the group in Oshkosh, on Saturdays I would go in and watch him work. I kinda thought about medicine at the time. When it came time to tour colleges, Dad asked if I wanted to road trip and check out schools.
"As one of eight kids, I thought this one-on-one time with Dad was a GREAT idea. We laid out a plan to visit five colleges and thought we would start at the farthest one and work our way back."
That turned out to be St. John's University, a small D-III college with between 1,500 and 1,600 students -- 1,400 undergraduates -- located, along with the College of St. Benedict, in College, MN.
"We walked around, met the people there. The place had a great atmosphere. The minute you walked onto campus, you were a Johnnie with everyone, treated that way by the upperclassmen.
"As we walked around, we ran into the head football coach, John Gagliardi (winningest coach in D-III history at 489-138-11). Turns out Dad played for him at Carroll College in Helena, Montana and had a blast catching up
"We never made it to the other four colleges for a tour. I settled on St. John's and had a great college experience. I was influenced there by Dad, Coach Jim Smith (basketball), my guys at basketball practice, Sal's -- the college bar where everybody knows you and there are no real cliques -- and the four guys in my house that I lived with -- friends forever."
Basketball Ties
Pat played for Coach Jim Smith, the winningest coach in Minnesota college hoops. As a 5-10 point guard, I recall him telling me during a break home from college that his job was "to just keep the big guys out of one another's way..."
He wasn't the only McKenzie to play at St. John's, as sons Patrick and Kevin both played for Coach Smith.
But it goes further.
"Patrick went on to be the analytics guy at UW-Green Bay for two seasons, then St. John's hired him as an assistant, a spot he held for nine seasons. Then he took over as head coach and he's been there 11 years, winning over 70% of his games -- and he graduates all his guys. They play a tough schedule, and this year have taken their lumps as he is heavy in freshmen and sophomore."
After St. John's, what next?
"I was probably halfway through college when I decided that I wanted to pursue medicine. I listed as a Biology Major so that would transition to medicine. I did a lot of classes that opened my eyes to the career. Physics, biology, every science class I could take.
"But I almost didn't graduate. When I looked at the Biology Major, one of the classes listed was botany. I thought 'well, that doesn't make any sense. My Dad never looked at plants..' And I just never took the class. I skipped on by it and it caused me some problems at graduation.
"Two weeks before graduation, I get called in and told I can't graduate because I didn't have a major. I didn't have the right courses that fit a major at St. John's. We thought about an Independent Major, but the priest in charge of that was a stickler. I was told he would never grant me an Independent..."
In steps fate.
"The priest gets called to the Vatican in Rome for something, and the one who steps in turns out to be a priest who was something of a Chaplin to the basketball team. He knew me and gave his approval.
"I graduated, got an early admission to Medical College of Wisconsin (indirectly his Dad's alma mater). Choose Milwaukee because I thought it was valuable to be close to home (Oshkosh). Knowing Dad went there and the stories he told helped."
From there, McKenzie completed his residency in orthopedic surgery at the Medical College of Wisconsin and fellowships in both arthroscopy and sports medicine at the American Sports Medicine Institute in Birmingham, AL under the direction and tutelage of Dr. James Andrews. He is certified by the American Board of Orthopedic Surgery
"I did seven years at the Andrews Institute working under Dr. James Andrews, probably the best ortho surgeon in the country. I moved on to join a group Bellin Health. I got to know some people in the Packer organization through Julie Uecker (her husband, Keith, was a guard/tackle with Green Bay 1984-85, 1987-88, 1990-91).
"Julie was a physical therapist and referred a lot of players to me. Then (General Manager) Bob Harlan called looking for another team doctor to come I board. I spent a year working alongside an orthopedic surgeon like me, and we did not get along. At the end of the year, he want to the draft combine but he had me stay in Green Bay. I learned from a friend later that he was bad-mouthing me at the combine.
"Bob called to talk about the future, I told him I didn't think things were working out and told him the reason. He said give me a minute, called back and said I had the job solo if I wanted it. That was 1991."
And 35 Years Later
"I actually had to give up my practice. Being the team doctor requires so much time. I knew I couldn't last forever in the position, but the hope is the next guy does 35 years as well. I recruited Mike Ryan to be my assistant in 2023, and the on-field show was his. He also comes from the Andrews Institute, so we see things pretty much the same.
"So I'm retired (now), after serving as a consultant until after the combine and draft in May. It's been a good run, a great experience that blended my life so well.
"I'll miss the good friends I've made of family, players, coaches. It's fun to run into players. When we were at the hotel in Chicago (before this year's wild card playoff game with the Bears), I was in the lobby looking for my family and ran into Earl Dotson (offensive tackle, 1993-2002). I hadn't talked with him in ages, but he grabbed me in a hug and picks me up off the ground. We had such a great time catching up."
What's Next?
"I've always sort of lived by the Bruce Springsteen quote 'Blind faith in your leaders, or in anything, will get you killed.' So I keep my eyes and ears open. Am I done working? Nah.,
"I consult on insurance policies. Got a call from Billy Turner (guard/tackle, 2019-2021) over in the Twin Cities. He has been telling me about CTM-Biologics injections, that's a matrix of tissue to allow the body to grow and heal itself.
"It's a brand new area that I'm learning about. When St. John's came down to play UW-Oshkosh early in the (2025-26) season, I used it with positive results on one of Patrick's guards."
Fitting for someone who has had a storied medical career, one that includes:
- the Bob Harlan Leadership Award from The Green Bay Packers Hall of Fame Inc. in 2022
- In 2011, he received the Jerry "Hawk" Rhea Award as the NFL's physician of the year in honor of his work during the 2010 season when the Packers had the longest injured-reserve list in the league.
- McKenzie has taught numerous classes in the athletic training program at UW-Oshkosh while also serving as the team physician for the Titans for over 25 years and has been a member of the WIAA Medical Advisory Committee.
Well, all in all it's not a bad 35 year career. And not a bad life for a guy who still thinks of Oshkosh, Wisconsin as home., no matter where he's settled.
