Article reposted from oanow.com
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Kenny Howard, a longtime athletic trainer for Auburn University and city councilman, as well as a former United States Olympic trainer, passed away in his sleep on Monday at the age of 90, according to Auburn University Athletics.
Howard, an athletic trainer during Ralph “Shug” Jordan’s coaching tenure from 1951-1975, also served as an assistant athletic director at Auburn University through 1980, overseeing Olympic sports.
“Kenny Howard was defined by his human touch for all who knew him and all who came under his influence,” Director of Athletics Jay Jacobs said in a story released by the university. “As a trainer who worked with every Auburn student-athlete for more than four decades, Kenny’s impact on the lives of those who competed here is impossible to measure. He was a great Auburn man who lived his life by the values expressed in our Creed.
“Kenny was also a key member of the leadership team during the Jordan-Beard Era, one of the most important times in the history of Auburn Athletics. The program we have today was built on the shoulders of men like Coach Jordan, Mr. Beard and unsung heroes like Kenny Howard. I offer my condolences and sincere appreciation to Kenny’s family, the only thing he loved more than Auburn.”
His athletic training background served numerous Auburn athletes throughout the years, but his skills were not kept solely on the Plains. Howard served as the trainer for the United State Olympic Track team at Helsinki in 1952 and the trainer for the Olympic Swim team at Montreal in 1976. He also served as head trainer for the World University Games on two occasions. He also was the trainer for the Blue-Gray game for 10 years and the trainer for the Senior Bowl for two years.
Howard, the only athletic trainer to be inducted into the Alabama Sports Hall of Fame, was a 1948 graduate of Auburn. He was a member of the National Athletic Trainers Hall of Fame, the Alabama Trainers Association Hall of Fame, the Hughston Society, the Auburn A-Club and Auburn Lettermen Club, and the City of Auburn Tiger Trail. He served the City of Auburn as a member of the City Council from 1984 through 1987.