Jack C. Hughston

Jack C. Hughston April 17, 1917 - September 6, 2004 CATAULA, GA - Jack C. Hughston, MD, orthopedist, founder of the Hughston Clinic and a pioneer in the field of sports medicine, died Monday, September 6, 2004, at his home in Cataula, Georgia. Dr. Hughston was born on April 17, 1917, in Florence, Alabama, the son of the late Madeline Chandler Hughston and Talmadge Hughston. He moved to Columbus, Georgia upon his mother's marriage to Edgar Cullen Mayo. Dr. Hughston was educated in the local public schools. He graduated from Auburn University and LSU University School of Medicine. Dr. Hughston served for 32 months as Captain with the U.S. Army. Then, he completed his residency in orthopedic surgery at Duke University Hospital and Shriner Crippled Children's Hospital in Greenville, South Carolina. Dr. Hughston returned to Columbus and established the Hughston Clinic in 1949. He went on to become one of the most respected practitioners of orthopedics and sports medicine in the country. In the early 1950's, Dr. Hughston become a leader in developing the Crippled Children's Clinics of the Public Health Department in Georgia. At the same time he developed an interest in the welfare of athletes in area high schools and Auburn University, and over the next several years, he became one of the pioneers of the specialty of sports medicine. He was chairman of Sports Medicine for the American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons from 1965 through 1975. He was one of the founders of the American Society for Sports Medicine and the International Society of the Knee and Honorary Founder of the National Athletic Trainers Association. He started the American Journal of Sports Medicine, a prestigious scientific journal of which he was editor from 1972 through 1989. In 1970, Dr. Hughston was appointed Clinical Professor in the training of Tulane orthopedic residents. He received an honorary doctor of science degree from Auburn University and was an adjunct professor at Auburn University School of Veterinary Medicine. Dr. Hughston devoted the greater part of his life to education and research in orthopedics and sports medicine. His concept of a foundation for teaching and research as a necessary part of the clinical practice of orthopedics became a reality when he established the Hughston Sports Medicine Foundation. Another result of his lifelong dedication to orthopedic sports medicine is the Hughston Sports Medicine Hospital, the first hospital of its kind, which was built by the Hospital Corporation of America in Columbus, Georgia in 1984. Physician, educator and author, Dr. Hughston wrote several books and numerous scientific articles that were published in peer-reviewed medical journals. He is well known for his work on treating knee injuries and for being the first to establish postdoctoral fellowships in sports medicine that allow physicians who have completed their formal medical training to increase their exposure to orthopedic sports medicine. He is survived by his wife, Sarah Hardaway Hughston; children, Louise Hughston O'Kelley, Edgar Mayo Hughston and his wife Ann, and Jack Chandler Hughston Jr.; and grandchildren, Sally Foley Hughston, Sarah O'Kelley Etheridge and Jack Mayo Hughston. A memorial service will be held at St. Paul United Methodist Church on Thursday, September 9, 2004, at 11:00 a.m., according to Striffler-Hamby Mortuary, Macon Road. Following the service, a reception in his honor will be from noon until 1:30 p.m. at the Hughston Sports Medicine Foundation, 6262 Veterans Parkway, 494-3290. In lieu, of flowers, donations may be made to the Hughston Sports Medicine Foundation.