Harold “Doc” Younker was a trainer in amateur and professional baseball for more than 50 years. A former U.S. army private, Younker’s first job as a trainer was with the Vancouver Capilanos in 1954. He would serve in a similar capacity with the Seattle Rainiers the following year, before returning to Vancouver to work with the Pacific Coast League Mounties in 1956. He landed his first big league gig as a relief trainer with the expansion Los Angeles Angels in 1961 and would later serve as the head trainer with the San Diego Padres from 1976 to 1985.
At the amateur level, Younker has dedicated countless hours to Canada’s national teams, tending to athletes at the Olympics, Pan-Am Games, Commonwealth Games, World Championships and Intercontinental Cups. He had also worked for the National Baseball Institute and the University of British Columbia.
Outside of baseball, he was a trainer for the World Basketball Association’s Los Angeles Jets in 1962 and for the Langley Lords, a Junior A hockey team, from 1970 to 1972. He had also served as a multi-sport trainer at various Arizona high schools, teaching classes in first aid and physiotherapy. Many of his students are now practicing physiotherapists. Doc passed away on February 13, 2016.
