Reginald Sayre

Reginald Sayre was a top shooter, competing at the 1908 and 1912 Olympics, while representing the Manhattan Rifle & Pistol Club, but he was best known as a renowned orthopaedic surgeon in the early years of that specialty. Sayre studied at Columbia College, graduating in 1881. He was on the track team at Columbia, winning the mile walk in the IC4A Championships in 1879-81 and also winning the 2-mile walk in 1879. He also was second in the 3-mile walk at the 1876 AAU Championships.

Sayre earned a medical degree from Columbia in 1884. He later practiced mostly at Bellevue and St. Vincent’s Hospitals, and became chairman of orthopaedic surgery at Bellevue. Sayre was a vice-president of the American Orthopaedic Association (AOA) in 1891-92, and was President of the AOA in 1904-05. He was a member of the New York Academy of Medicine for 42 years, serving as secretary, chairman, treasurer, and vice-president of that organization. During World War I Sayre was a lieutenant colonel and taught orthopaedics to medical officers at New York University. He later co-founded The Society of Alumni of Bellevue Hospital and served as its president between 1902 and 1910.