I was making good money on the highway and going to college. You'll now receive the top Broncos Wire stories each day directly in your inbox. Running back could be a sneaky priority need for the Denver Broncos. A fellow trainer at Fort Hays was Jim Gillen, who later became the head athletic trainer for the Denver Nuggets. @Broncos celebrating head trainer Steve "Greek" Antonopulos tonight. pic.twitter.com/QngbUDNhEI. They required him to go there for a physical. Denver Broncos laud retiring trainer Steve Antonopulos, 72, 'a fixture This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Here are his assistants at Super Bowl 50 in February: Congrats to @broncos and the athletic training staff. Now hes walking away for good as hes going to retire where he grew up on the eastern plains. The team announced the long-time athletic trainer's retirement on Monday. Notifications can be turned off anytime in the browser settings. View Steve Antonopulos's business profile as Head AT at Denver Broncos. "Steve has been an institution with the Broncos for the last 45 years and became one of the most respected athletic training professionals in all of sports," said team President and CEO Joe Ellis. The weather was awful. I love caring for people. There is no verbal banter of windy platitudes to stoke quixotic fantasies of either management or players. Antonopulos became head trainer in 1979 making him what is believed to be the longest-tenured trainer in NFL history. It is their livelihood, and it hurts to see them be injured and not be able to perform. Denver Broncos headlines, game previews and interviews with our 9NEWS insider Mike Klis. He embodies the principles of the Fain-Cain Award, and he continues to impact all of those who have been around him. Broncos long time trainer Steve Greek Antonopulos retires, Horse Tracks: Potential Broncos Cap Casualties in 2023, 3 players the Broncos should consider cutting to make more cap room for the 2023 free agent class. Vince Garcia. 2023 NFL Scouting Combine results: Defensive linemen and linebackers. We were taxing to take off and he just went nuts and jumped out of his seat and was screaming and the pilot pulled up, opened the door and let him get a breath. (Coach) Dan Reeves made the decision to have him drive to San Diego for the game. During an interview with The Denver Post, retiring Broncos director of sports medicine Steve Greek Antonopulos was asked for his favorite memories since joining the team in 1976: In October 1977, the Broncos traveled to face the defending Super Bowl champion Oakland Raiders, who had won 17 consecutive games dating back to the previous season. You have the passion to do it. From there, we went to Cheers bar and ran into some Denver people and had a couple cold ones. That poor guy. It didnt matter if they were a Hall of Famer or an undrafted rookiehis standard never changed. The fans are incredible and it was the first of the modern stadiums in the old days. Greek has four assistants and many intern athletic trainers. I use the time to work out and do administrative tasks. The Denver Broncos head trainer Steve "Greek" Antonopulos has retired from the NFL after 45 years with the team. We sincerely thank his wife Susan and the entire Antonopulos family for sharing Greek with us for so many years.. Or does the salary serve as a salve to those wounds? Denver Broncos: Vic Fangio's funny take on Steve Antonopulos retiring He treated 983 players who've appeared in at least one playoff and regular-season game for the Denver Broncos. We had a few of those guys, but he was to the hilt. How did Antonopulos survive so many regime changes? He was very straight forward, he was very honest and he was a really good communicator in that he has a good bedside manner in a position where that is obviously required.. We thought it would be (quick). Antonopulos started with the Broncos as an assistant athletic trainer in 1976, became the team's director of rehabilitation in 1979 and was hired as Denver's head athletic trainer in 1980. Register now! * A guy we think can get better and better. An interesting couple days and we had a great time.. He has been recognized by the Associated Press Sports Editors seven times for his work. Six of Pat Bowlen's children and presenter Steve Antonopulos at the longtime Broncos owner's inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2019. The elation and what historically happened there for the Broncos was unbelievable., The old Kingdome in Seattle was a great place because of the crowd noise and it was a good place to travel. As he would watch games with his father and neighbors, he would say to himself, Someday, somehow, someway, Im going to work for the Denver Broncos.. Greek also saidthat Elway was one of the best players at injury recovery. The livelihood of their families depend on the high body performance. Steve Antonopulos, known as "Greek," has retired from his position as athletic trainer for the Denver Broncos after 45 years with the team. 1 draft pick, Report: Derek Carr wants $35 million per year, The Raiders are the betting favorites to land Aaron Rodgers, Mike McCarthy: Kellen Moore wants to light the scoreboard up, I want to run the damn ball, Arrest warrant issued for Jalen Carter for reckless driving, racing, ESPN reiterates report that Lamar Jackson wants a fully-guaranteed deal, Aaron Rodgers says hell make a decision soon enough, Competition Committee begins to explore the quarterback push play, Players say Chiefs discourage them from reporting injuries, have NFLs worst training staff, Bryce Young is just over 5-10 and 204 pounds. If youre doing something you love, you dont watch the clock or think about it, he said. Could they look to sign a veteran? Broncos trainer Steve 'Greek' Antonopulos retires after 45 seasons with And then Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City has always been one of my favorites. Steve Antonopulos has been the head trainer for the Broncos ever since. Our organization wishes him the very best in his retirement. Antonopulos graduated from the University of Northern Colorado. From Left to Right: Dustin Little, Josh Hartman, Steve Antonopulos, Michael Sundeen, and Billy-Joe Voltaire. Awesome was Antonopulos longevity in the often-unstable world of the NFL. Antonopulos forged strong relationships with coaches and players alike and had a particularly close bond with late owner Pat Bowlen, who bought the Broncos in 1984. San Diego: Head Athletic Trainer Steve Antonopulos glances at the Vince Lombardi Trophy in the locker during the post-game celebration. It paid $25 a week plus room and board, he said with a laugh. That poor guy. All other NFL-related trademarks are trademarks of the National Football League. In all those years, I never tried to figure out how many hours I worked.. Allen called me the first week of July. He was a fixture on our sidelines for the greatest moments in team history, the first person running on the field to care for an injured player and the one who supported them through every step of their recovery. We went a day early and went to see the Celtics play the Bulls. As the only person in the history of the Broncos to be part of all eight Super Bowls, Greek made a profound impact on this organization. The doctor that gave him the physical was Arthur Pappas, one of the Red Sox owners, and he took us over to Fenway Park and I still have the picture of John and myself at home plate. The Broncos will honor Antonopulos at a home game this season and the team will rename their training room after the longtime trainer. ENGLEWOOD, Colo. After treating nearly 1,000 different players during the past 45 years, Steve Greek Antonopulos has retired as Broncos trainer. The Broncos will name their training room after Antonopulos. It didn't matter if they were a Hall of Famer or an undrafted rookie -- his standard never changed. The Denver Broncos have leaned toward acquiring injured players during the offseason.Three of the top five draft picks had injuries that prevent them for full athletic participation in the rookie mini camp on May 6-8. Over that time, Antonopulos worked all eight Super Bowls that the Broncos have appeared in. "Greek" is in his 41st year with the #Broncos! He served as President of PFATS from 2003 to 2008. Steve Antonopulos - Head Athletic Trainer - Denver Broncos - LinkedIn Their bones, cartilage, and ligaments bear theburden of these familial expectations. "No one cared more about the players than Greek," Broncos president/CEO Joe Ellis said in a statement. However, Anthopoulos served as an advance scout for the Greek National Baseball Team for the . Another option for Fire TV is to have the app delivered directly to your Fire TV through Amazon. Interior linebackers Brandon Marshall and Danny Trevathan had uncertain futures going into the 2015 season. He took a year off from football, resuming play without an ACL for the remainder of his career. He is one of the richest baseball managers in Canada. June 9, 2021 6:00 am MT. Instead of cutting the tackle, Denver traded him and gaineda future fifth-round draft pick. We sincerely thank his wife Susan and the entire Antonopulos family for sharing Greek with us for so many years.". After the 1980 season, he was elevated to head trainer and split his old salary in half to hire two assistants. FILE - Denver Broncos trainer Steve Antonopulos, center, talks with staff members during drills at the team's NFL football training camp in Englewood, Colo., in this July 19, 2019, file photo. But according to those who know him well, Greeks domain also contains a rare element in the Not For Long professional football league: an endless supply of unsentimental, deep compassion. Like Antonopulos, Garcia got his bachelors degree from Northern Colorado. After the 1980 season, he was elevated to head trainer and split his old salary in half to hire two assistants. Greek was there to give head coach Mike Shanahan continual updates as he worked to treat TDs migraine. We went a day early and went to see the Celtics play the Bulls. Tedious repetitions of arm pulls and leg lifts.