Luke Thompson

lthompson@gannett.com

This is one of a Louisiana Sports Writers Association series of stories featuring the 11 members of the Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame’s 2016 induction class. They will be enshrined Saturday in Natchitoches, capping three days of activities. The banquet is nearing a sellout. For a full schedule or to buy tickets, visit LaSportsHall.com or call (318) 238-4255.

Legendary retired powerlifting coach Billy Jack Talton remembers Julian Bailes never shied away from smashing his head against opponents when asked as a high school sophomore guard and linebacker for Natchitoches Academy.

Some 30 years later, Bailes found himself at the forefront of a push to make football safer and raise awareness of its dangerous concussion risks. The former Natchitoches Academy All-State linebacker turned neurosurgeon ended his playing career after a neck injury at Northwestern State, but his passion for the game never waned.

“I think football has a responsibility to answer these questions and find a successful conclusion or answer to the problem we’re dealing with,” said Talton, who left Natchitoches after one season as a head coach and coached Louisiana Tech to 22 national powerlifting titles. “We’ve gone through an evolution.”

He remembers conversations with Bailes about how the powerful forces of even relatively benign football collisions could damage the human brain, long before it became a national health concern. The LSU medical school graduate began his contributions early when the Pittsburgh Steelers made him one of the first neurosurgeons to work as an NFL team doctor at every game from 1988-1998.

Bailes enjoying newfound celebrity from ‘Concussion’

That position helped convince Bailes to take a job as a neurosurgeon at Allegheny General Hospital after completing a fellowship at the Barrow Neurological Institute in Phoenix under world renowned neurosurgeon Robert Spetzler. He calls Bailes one of his favorite graduates and said Bailes put in most of the work on a number of critical articles they co-authored for medical journals.

“He’s talented,” said Spetzler, who also co-edited a book titled Microsurgical Carotid Endarterectomy with Bailes. “He’s got a terrific personality and I think he’s really good for sports because he’s focused on minimizing repetitive head trauma.”

He took over as Professor and Chair of the Department of Neurosurgery at West Virginia University, where he also worked with the Rockefeller Neuroscience Institute and served as head doctor for the school’s athletic department, focusing primarily on football. It was during that time he performed the research eventually chronicled in the 2015 feature film, "Concussion.''

Those efforts began when Bailes – portrayed by Alec Baldwin in the movie – called Bennett Omalu, the Nigerian-American forensic pathologist (played by Will Smith) who first discovered Chronic-Traumatic Encephalopathy (CTE) in the brain of deceased Steelers center Mike Webster. The two doctors raised serious and important questions about the dangers of football, challenging the NFL to acknowledge its players faced severe long-term mental health risks and drawing the ire of fans averse to changing the game.

Bailes spoke to NFL officials at the league’s first concussion summit in June 2007 and played a key role in the implementation of return-to-play protocol in all 50 states and internationally. The NCAA and NFL have both prioritized constantly evolving new rules and concussion policies based on the research of Bailes and others.

He serves as a football consultant at all levels, from longtime positions as Chairman of the Medical Advisory Committee for Pop Warner football to neurosurgical consultant for the NCAA and the NFL Players Association. Talton said he’s unsure of what the sport’s future should look like, but his opinion would be significantly influenced by Bailes’ judgment.

“I love football,” said Bailes, who won a state championship his senior year at Natchitoches Academy. “It was never about trying to end football or diminish football. It was about bringing what we knew was the truth and making reforms to keep players safe.”

That research continues today, along with the debate over the NFL’s responsibilities to protect its players and help those already affected by long, grueling careers. He regularly speaks with major news organizations about effects of concussions in all sports.

Local concussion expert inspired NCAA guidelines

Lifelong friend Billy West, a Natchitoches attorney, is part-owner of a business called Taumark dedicated to achieve FDA approval for diagnosis of CTE on a living brain, since it can currently only be identified after death. As the company’s medical advisor, Bailes expects to reach that goal within five years.

Bailes’ relentless passion for studying the effects of the game and speaking out for its participants earned him the prestigious 2016 Dave Dixon Louisiana Sports Leadership Award, presented annually to an individual from the state who has played a decisive role as a sports leader or administrator. The honor, named for Hall of Fame sports entrepreneur Dave Dixon, also gives Bailes a spot in the Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame.

Bailes will be among the 11-member Class of 2016 enshrined in the Hall on Saturday in his hometown.

Talton said an impressive work ethic and maturity well beyond his age made Bailes stand out even as a sophomore, when an innate leadership ability earned him respect from his teammates. He built a strong relationship with Talton through dedication to weight training, still a relatively radical concept for football at the time.

Bailes said many of the traits that led to his success came from his father, Julian Sr., a judge in Louisiana for 50 years, making him the longest serving judge in Louisiana at all levels from City and District court to the Supreme Court. The two shared a strong passion for their chosen profession, and Talton always saw an impressive desire to learn and improve.

“He has a certain serious look of concentration when you’re talking to him about something he needs to understand,” said Talton. “Attentive and pensive. That’s a real special trait that’s not really that common.”

In high school, Bailes decided he wanted to be a doctor, and his focus turned to the brain a few years later at the LSU School of Medicine in New Orleans. He graduated in 1982 and went on to an internship and a residency at the acclaimed Northwestern University Medical Center in Chicago along with a surgical internship at Northwestern University Medical Center.

David Kline, a retired neurosurgeon and Chairman Emeritus of the Department of Neurosurgery at LSU School of Medicine in New Orleans, became one of Bailes’ most important mentors at LSU while he rotated as a student into their service at Charity Hospital and did work in the organization’s neurosurgery labs. After Bailes left New Orleans, he initiated work on a peripheral nerve publication that Kline helped review.

Renowned neurosurgeon says football still safe for kids

“He is a splendid surgeon and talented administrator,” Kline said. “A very talented individual who has an especially soft spot for the Chicago Cubs and their iconic field.“

That time spent in Chicago and love for the city helped persuade Bailes to move back in 2011, when he took over as Chair of the Department of Neurosurgery and co-director of the NorthShore Neurological Institute. He also teaches as a clinical professor of neurosurgery at the University of Chicago’s Pritzker School of Medicine.

Spetzler said Bailes provides an ideal role model for aspiring doctors, as someone whose actions exemplify the ideal characteristics for the profession. He regularly speaks at symposiums or other events, including those at Barrow Neurological Institute.

Brain surgery frequently requires quick actions in high-pressure situations, leaving little room for error or hesitation. Bailes’ passion for his work often shined through in conversations with Talton, who recalled Bailes saying he takes comfort in knowing what he does often saves and extends the lives of others.

U.S. News & World Report ranked Bailes in the top 1 percent of neurosurgeons thanks to his achievements and expertise in cerebrovascular, epilepsy surgery and brain tumor surgery. The Chicago Magazine has listed him as a Chicago Top Neurosurgeon since 2014.

He has had more than 300 manuscripts published in peer-reviewed journals and authored six books concerning neurological surgery. During his career, he has received more than $27 million in research funding.

West said Bailes also frequently travels to Washington D.C. and testifies to Congress regarding head injuries. Those responsibilities extend beyond sports and into the realm of head trauma suffered by American soldiers.

LSU inducted Bailes into its Hall of Distinction in 2011, and he’s a founding member and director of the Brain Injury Research Institute. The organization focuses on the study of CTE, traumatic brain injuries and their prevention.

Louisiana remains special to the Natchitoches native, who said he returns to his home state at every opportunity. Talton said when that happens, he’ll almost always receive an invitation to catch up with his longtime friend.

That same loyalty holds true for Bailes’ family, which includes his wife Colleen and their five children. Spetzler expressed admiration in Bailes’ ability to find time for his family, and West said the same holds true for close friends.

“Julian has an incredible ability to manage his professional and personal life and maintain his contacts with his high school and college friends,” West said.

Thanks to his enshrinement in the Hall of Fame, no matter where Bailes, he’s always going to be a fixture in his hometown.