One of the most beloved sports figures on the Millersville athletics landscape, Dr. F. Wendle McLaughlin enjoyed a long and distinguished tenure--36 years--as the Marauders' team physician.
"Doc" was a constant and reassuring presence at Millersville athletic events home and away during his lengthy and distinguished tenure (1947 to 1983), and was a friend and confidant to generations of student-athletes, coaches, faculty and staff.
For 15 years, from 1968 until his retirement in 1983, Dr. McLaughlin was the University's full-time health services director. Prior to 1968, he served in a part-time role while he maintained a private family practice in Millersville borough.
A member of the American Medical Association and the American Academy of Family Physicians, Dr. McLaughlin was actively involved with the Pennsylvania Academy of Family Physicians and served on its board of directors and also was a secretary, treasurer, and vice president.
In addition, Dr. McLaughlin served on the boards of the following organizations: West End Ambulance Association, American Heart Association, Hearing Center/Deaf Services, and Penn Manor School District. He was an honorary member of MU's Phi Sigma Pi fraternity.
Dr. McLaughlin earned his undergraduate degree from Franklin & Marshall College in 1940 and his doctoral degree from Thomas Jefferson Medical School in January, 1944. During World War II, he was a doctor in the U.S. Army for two years while stationed in California.
"Doc" and his wife, Thelma Grace "Gracie" Sauder McLaughlin, were married 50 years and parents of two children, Robert W. McLaughlin and Nancy Louise McLaughlin Warner. Dr. McLaughlin passed away in 1995 at age 77.
