Alfred J. "Duke" Wyre was an American athletic trainer

Athletic trainer

An athletic trainer is a certified, health care professional who practices in the field of sports medicine. Athletic training has been recognized by the American Medical Association as an allied health care profession since 1990....

 and coach. He invented the Duke Wyre Shoulder Vest, a protective device for football players against shoulder dislocations

Dislocated shoulder

A dislocated shoulder occurs when the humerus separates from the scapula at the glenohumeral joint. The shoulder joint has the greatest range of motion of any joint in the body and as a result is particularly susceptible to dislocation and subluxation. Approximately half of major joint...

 and separations

Separated shoulder

A separated shoulder , is a common injury to the acromioclavicular joint. This is not the same as a shoulder dislocation as that involves a dislocation of the glenohumeral joint...

. Wyre was an athletic trainer at the College of the Holy Cross

College of the Holy Cross

The College of the Holy Cross is an undergraduate Roman Catholic liberal arts college located in Worcester, Massachusetts, USA...

 for one year and at Yale University

Yale University

Yale University is a private, Ivy League university located in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701 in the Colony of Connecticut, the university is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States...

 for 15 years. From 1947 to 1967, he was the head trainer at the University of Maryland

University of Maryland, College Park

The University of Maryland, College Park is a top-ranked public research university located in the city of College Park in Prince George's County, Maryland, just outside Washington, D.C...

. He was a trainer for the United States Naval Academy

United States Naval Academy

The United States Naval Academy is a four-year coeducational federal service academy located in Annapolis, Maryland, United States...

 team during the 1960 Summer Olympics

1960 Summer Olympics

The 1960 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XVII Olympiad, was an international multi-sport event held from August 25 to September 11, 1960 in Rome, Italy...

 held in Rome

Rome

Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...

.

Wyre was hospitalized in Prince George's County Hospital in Hyattsville, Maryland

Hyattsville, Maryland

Hyattsville is a city in Prince George's County, Maryland, United States. The population was 17,557 at the 2000 census.- History :The city was named for its founder, Christopher Clark Hyatt. He purchased his first parcel of land in the area in March 1845...

 for a stomach illness in March 1968. While there, he suffered a fatal heart attack on April 1, 1968 at the age of 61. Wyre was inducted into the Helms Athletic Foundation

Helms Athletic Foundation

The Helms Athletic Foundation was an athletic foundation based in Los Angeles, founded in 1936 by Bill Schroeder and Paul Helms. It put together a panel of experts to select National Champion teams and make All-America team selections in a number of college sports including football and basketball...

 Hall of Fame in 1961, the National Athletic Trainers' Association

National Athletic Trainers' Association

The National Athletic Trainers' Association is a professional membership association serving certified athletic trainers and others who support the athletic training profession in the United States...

 Hall of Fame in 1966, and the University of Maryland Athletic Hall of Fame

University of Maryland Athletic Hall of Fame

The University of Maryland Athletic Hall of Fame was established in 1982 by the M Club Foundation to honor student-athletes, coaches, and administrators who made significant contributions to athletics at the University of Maryland...

in 1994.