'Shoe Guy' steered son to sports medicine

By ERNEST HOOPER, Times Staff Writer
Published September 7, 2007

When Tampa Bay Buccaneers cornerback Brian Kelly returns to action Sunday, he will attribute his comeback from a season-ending injury to hard work, perseverance and a shoe salesman from Flint, Mich.

Well, sort of.

For years, Paul T. Shaker sold athletic shoes and equipment in Flint. High school coaches and athletes knew him as "the Shoe Guy" - a man with a kind and gentle spirit. Shaker, who died in 2004, was himself an all-state football standout in high school and played on the 1953 Michigan State Rose Bowl team.

He loved sports.

I mean loved them.

"A game was always on in the background," Richard Shaker said of his childhood home. "It was the ambient music of our household."

So began Richard's love of sports. He adopted his father's passion and blossomed into a multisport athlete who earned nine varsity letters at Flint Powers Catholic High. He came to Tampa on a baseball scholarship and began to turn his attention toward medicine. Eventually, he chose to become a chiropractic surgeon.

"I specialized in sports medicine because that's what I knew," said Shaker, who earned his degree from Life University in Atlanta and has six postgraduate certificates.

Now Dr. Shaker has a Tampa office lined with photographs of the professional athletes he's treated over the years, including Kelly, Jets running back Thomas Jones and former Bucs and Bears defensive lineman Tyrone Keys. Keys says Shaker's work involves treating all joints, like knees and shoulders, not just the back.

"I've known Doc for 20 years," Keys said. "He's always trying to stay on the cutting edge, and I've seen him do some tremendous things."

Keys said Shaker's heart is as impressive as his handiwork. He often helps high school athletes who are part of Key's All-Sports Community Service outreach program, athletes who otherwise couldn't afford a chiropractor.

"The thing that separates him is that he's such a passionate guy," Keys said. "He cares about his patients beyond the fact they come to see him. He looks at the holistic portion of the person."

Shaker's willingness to help comes from his own experiences as an athlete. He's all too familiar with how "manipulation" can make joints work better. After he sprained his ankle in a high school football game, specialists offered painkillers and crutches. But he couldn't play until he saw a chiropractor.

That opened his eyes to the future.

Although the doctor has made a name for himself helping athletes, he wants to assist more people from other walks of life.

"There are a lot of people suffering aches and pains, and they're in a system where they're not getting relief," Shaker said. "If there's someone in a household having that much of a health challenge, it negatively effects the entire family."

I think the talk about helping families is sincere. After all, along with all those photos of high-priced athletes on his office wall is one of Shaker's MVP: his dad Paul.

That's all I'm saying.

[Last modified September 6, 2007, 22:48:08]