Dr. Dudley Pfaff, Millennium Hall of Fame

Richard Dunn

With a hometown approach and an old fashioned flair, Dr. Dudley

Pfaff dedicated his career to sports medicine and youth athletics in the

Newport-Mesa School District.

Now a “full-time grandpa” with 15 grandchildren, Pfaff can still be

spotted in the bleachers or on the sidelines of a Junior All-American

football game or some other athletic event.

And, with each glimpse, there’s a reminder of how special the path

has been for today’s honoree in the Daily Pilot Sports Hall of Fame,

affectionately known throughout the area as “Doc Pfaff.”

Pfaff began his career as a family practitioner and delivered more

babies during America’s great baby boom “than anyone in the country.”

But, in 1960, then-Costa Mesa football coach Don Burns asked Pfaff to

be the team doctor and, unbeknownst to anyone, a local legend was born.

With his voluntary appointment as Mesa’s team doctor, Pfaff launched

his research into sports medicine and endocrinology to study the body’s

hormonal problems.

“The greatest change is in puberty for growth and development,” said

Pfaff, who was determined to understand the growing athlete and, today,

is viewed as a pioneer of sorts in sports medicine.

For nearly four decades, Pfaff served as the football team doctor at

Costa Mesa, Estancia and Corona del Mar high schools, as well as

volunteering his time, care and knowledge to Junior All-American football

and CdM basketball.

Pfaff, who retired as a 41-year physician in August 1996, opened his practice out of his Costa Mesa garage in 1955, then later moved to an

office across from Hoag Hospital, where he had been on staff for 39 years

and was the longest active staff member until his retirement.

Pfaff, who once accepted a fellowship at Children’s Hospital of Los

Angeles, practiced out of the Park Lido Building adjacent to Hoag for

several years, before moving his office to Westcliff Drive in Newport

Beach, then finally to Fashion Island.

Pfaff’s partner for 37 years, Dr. Walter Parsel, once said the affable

Pfaff was a generous doctor.

“He was pretty much like the old fashioned doctor,” Parsel said. “If

(patients) couldn’t afford to pay, he would never refuse to take care of

them.”

But volunteering on the gridiron became a passion for Pfaff, who

“considered myself like one of (the players’) many coaches in the game of

life. It was a special time for me to be with them.”

In the 1960s, Pfaff began limiting his practice to patients between 8

and 21, yet never turned away his original patients while making the

transition from family practice to youth-oriented sports medicine.

After his initial stint as Costa Mesa’s team doctor, Pfaff moved

across town to open another new high school, Estancia, in 1965. In 1973,

Pfaff became CdM’s team doctor and remained there until his retirement.

“I know many of the athletes and football players profiled in the

Daily Pilot Sports Hall of Fame (since the series began Jan. 1, 1999),”

Pfaff said.

“At the football banquets, you’re considered part of the team when

you’re the doctor, and (the coaches) always had great things to say about

the kids and I felt like they were all mine. Parents were there with only

one, but I felt all the kids were mine. I enjoyed all of them, and my

wife, Fran, enjoyed hearing great things about them, as well.”

Pfaff, whose role as team doctor was a community service, developed

numerous close relationships with athletes, especially football players,

through the years.

“Actually, it was my hobby,” Pfaff said. “I got talked into it by Don

Burns. It was essentially my golf or TV.”

Pfaff has seven children, including four stepsons, all of whom

graduated from Corona del Mar.

As Estancia’s team doctor in the Dan Princeotto era, Pfaff was on the

opposite sideline as his stepson, Ken, who played at CdM. Later, his

stepsons Bruce, Frank and Scott played for the Sea Kings while Pfaff was

team doctor, one of the many personal highlights for Pfaff, a longtime

CdM resident.

Pfaff also had two grown daughters, Di Anna and Dawn, and a son,

Donald, whom he remembers playing Junior All-American under Coach Al

Dies.

Last year, Pfaff’s grandson, Dain, was a standout for Newport Harbor’s

CIF Southern Section Division VI championship football team.

Though his family is first in his heart, Pfaff said he will always

remember the relationships with his patients and former football players.

Pfaff and Fran have been married 31 years.