Dr. Thomas Yates Cooper 

Thomas Y. Cooper, M.D. was the Aggies' football team physician for approximately four decades (1948-86), working close to 450 UC Davis games. In that time span, Dr. Cooper only missed one game. He was Director at the Cowell Health Center for 30 years and was considered a pioneer in sports medicine. On October 6, 1967, Dr. Cooper was named Player of the Game after he, and UC Davis trainer Dick Lewis, saved the lives of UC Davis defensive back Jerry Attaway and game official Jack Maugher within a span of 30 minutes. In front of a crowd of 6500, on a cold night in October in a game against Chico State, in two separate incidents, both individuals suffered cardiac arrest at Toomey Field. One of the first ever defibrillator units on campus sat for nearly a year at Cowell Health Center, never having been used. Criticized for having this unit on campus at a cost of $20,000, the Health Center and Dr. Cooper maintained that it was a wise investment. That October 6th it saved two lives.

Dr. Cooper was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1987, the year after he retired. He was the fifth person to be enshrined as a non-participant (non student-athlete). 

Dr. Cooper's family established a UC Davis football scholarship in his name to honor and preserve his memory.