Don Sparks, the Jazz’s longtime athletic trainer who taped Pete Maravich’s ankles in New Orleans and decades later tended to Hall of Famers John Stockton and Karl Malone in Salt Lake City, has died at the age of 90. He passed away on June 2 of causes related to age.
Sparky, as he was known to everyone within the organization, was the team’s first trainer, joining the franchise in 1974. Over the next 20 years, Sparks worked each of the 1,886 games the Jazz played — 151 preseason exhibitions, 1,640 regular-season contests and 95 playoff matchups.
“He was a classic, old-school NBA trainer,” said former Jazz trainer Gary Briggs.