Bud Gouveia

By John Doolan

Continuing with our contribution to earlier newsletters, we are highlighting another alumni member to present their career and contributions to the group.        

In baseball a great trivia question is “who played first base after Lou Gehrig?” In our group it might be answered as Bud Gouveia when asked who replaced HOF member Tommy Woodcock as trainer of the Whalers in 1990.  Bud had big shoes to fill when he took over the head trainer duties that season. He went on to spend seven seasons before the team relocated to Carolina. Though invited to make the relocation move to Carolina, Bud and his family decided it was not the right move for them and he knew he would have many opportunities in Connecticut to continue his career.

Prior to joining the Whale, Bud honed his trade with the “Winged Beavers” of the prestigious New England Avon Old Farms School, being their Head Trainer from 1980 to 1990.  Where he also taught Algebra 1, and then settled into teaching biology.

After making the decision not to move with the Whalers, Bud went on to become Director of Fitness and Wellness at St. Francis Hospital, located in Hartford, until 2021.

During his career he has garnered a number of awards and distinctions.  He was inducted into the Connecticut Athletic Trainers Association in April of 2021 and followed that up by having the training room at Gordon Fieldhouse on the campus of Avon Old Farms, dedicated in his name several months later.  He has also been appointed to the Advisory Board, Depat of Applied Exercise Science at Springfield College.

Bud lists Dr. John Fulerson, and our own alum, Skip Cunningham and Tom Woodcock as mentors during his career.  His love of sports and medicine led him to his life time career in sports medicine.

During his time in the NHL he listed the most memorable moment as Game 7, a double overtime playoff game against Montreal in 1992.  His favorite and least favorite memories, like many of us, was travel. When asked about advancements in his field, he said the introduction and improvements in modalities topped his list.

When employed, Bud enjoyed spending time at the beach with his family, to the extent that he and his wife relocated to Cape Cod after retiring and unlike a mailman taking a walk on his day off, he still shares his skills while assisting with the training staff of the Brewster White Caps of the Cape Cod Baseball League.

Though Bud only spent seven seasons with PHATS he was a respected and active member and contributor to the growth of the group.

We will have another record number of alums in attendance at the upcoming meetings. Including eight HOF members. We strongly encourage you to start up a conversation and get to know them better along with our other alum guests.