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James R. Andrews, Internationally Recognized Orthopaedic Surgeon and Sports Medicine Specialist, to Receive 2022 Horatio Alger Award 

Horatio Alger Association names 16 outstanding individuals, each of whom has overcome adversity to achieve professional and personal success, to its Member Class of 2022 

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Horatio Alger Association of Distinguished Americans, Inc., a nonprofit educational organization honoring the achievements of outstanding individuals and encouraging youth to pursue their dreams through higher education, today announced that James R. Andrews, internationally recognized orthopaedic surgeon and sports medicine specialist, has been selected for membership in this prestigious organization. Dr. Andrews joins 15 other exceptional business, civic and cultural leaders from across North America in receiving 2022 honors. For more than 70 years, the Horatio Alger Award has been annually bestowed upon esteemed individuals who have succeeded despite facing adversities, and who have remained committed to higher education and charitable efforts in their communities. 

Dr. Andrews comes from humble and challenging beginnings. His father served overseas during World War II, so he was raised by his mother and grandparents in Homer, Louisiana. After returning home, his father suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder, which added extra obstacles to an already difficult upbringing. To support his family, Dr. Andrews worked long hours, picking cotton and at a dry-cleaning shop, learning the importance of hard work at a young age. A strong student, in 1963, he enrolled in Louisiana State University, where he studied science and was an SEC Champion pole vaulter on the track team. After he graduated, he continued his education at the university’s medical school and completed his orthopaedic residency at the Tulane School of Medicine as well as fellowships in sports medicine at the University of Virginia and University of Lyon in France. 

Dr. Andrews began his surgical career in Columbus, Georgia at the clinic of Dr. Jack C. Hughston in 1973. Years later, he founded an orthopaedic clinic in Birmingham, Alabama, which would later become the Andrews Sports Medicine & Orthopaedic Center. In addition, Dr. Andrews co-founded the American Sports Medicine Institute in Birmingham, which is devoted to research and education in sports medicine. In 2007, Baptist Health Care, under the leadership and reputation Dr. Andrews, opened Andrews Institute, a second center in Gulf Breeze, Florida. In 2017 he opened a third location – the Andrews Institute at Children’s Health in Dallas, Texas. Today, Dr. Andrews currently serves as the medical director of The Andrews Institute and chairman of the board of the Andrews Research & Education Foundation in Gulf Breeze, Florida. 

Dr. Andrews currently has an affiliation with the following athletic teams: 

• Medical Director and orthopaedic surgeon for Auburn University Intercollegiate Athletics. 
• Senior orthopaedic surgeon for the University of Alabama. 
• Senior orthopaedic consultant for the Washington Redskins. 
• Orthopaedic surgeon for the Ladies Professional Golf Association. 

Dr. Andrews is renowned for his scientific and clinic contributions to orthopaedic surgery and has operated on legendary athletes including Jack Nicklaus, Roger Clemens, Drew Breeze, Charles Barkley and John Smoltz. 

“In addition to being a skilled surgeon, Dr. Andrews is an extraordinarily generous philanthropist and lifelong teacher,” said Terrence J. Giroux, executive director, Horatio Alger Association. “Throughout the course of his career, he has mentored more than 450 orthopaedic fellows and has been passionately dedicated to helping less fortunate high school athletes, ensuring they have adequate care. His induction into the Horatio Alger Association will serve as an inspiration to our thousands of Scholars, many of whom wish to pursue a career in medicine.” 

Dr. Andrews is a professor of orthopaedic surgery and sports medicine at multiple prestigious medical schools including the University of Virginia, The University of South Alabama, the University of South Carolina, the University of Arkansas, University of Alabama Birmingham and Tulane University. He has lectured all over the world on sports medicine and injury prevention. He serves as chairman of the board for the American Sports Medicine Institute and has given generously in support of industry associations including the American Orthopaedic Society for Sports Medicine and the National Athletic Trainers Association. Dr. Andrews has previously served on the Sports Committee of the National Collegiate Athletic Association and on the boards of Little League Baseball and the United States Olympic Sports Medicine Committee. 

“It is truly an honor to be selected for membership in this prestigious organization,” said Dr. Andrews. “When I was first introduced to the Horatio Alger Association by my friend Bill Doré, I was immediately drawn to its mission of supporting promising young students as they seek to achieve their dreams. I’ve dedicated much of my career to building up the next generation, and I look forward to doing the same for Horatio Alger Scholars.”

Thanks to the generosity of its Members, the Association awards need-based scholarships to outstanding high school students who are committed to pursuing higher education and giving back to their communities. The Association also educates young people about the limitless opportunities afforded to them by the free-enterprise system through hard work, honesty and determination. Like Association Members, Horatio Alger Scholars have faced significant adversities, but have also displayed unmatched resilience in overcoming their challenges. Since the scholarship program was established in 1984, the Horatio Alger Association has provided more than $235 million to 35,000 students in need, all of which has been funded solely through the generosity of Association Members and friends. 

Dr. Andrews and the Member Class of 2022 will be formally inducted into the Association on April 7-9, 2022, during the Association’s 75th Horatio Alger Award Induction Ceremonies in Washington, D.C. The annual three-day event honors the achievements of both Members and National Scholars, affording both groups the opportunity to meet and interact as well as exchange stories of hardships and triumphs.  

For more information about Horatio Alger Association and its Member Class of 2022, please visit www.horatioalger.org and follow the organization on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. 

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About Horatio Alger Association of Distinguished Americans:  

Founded in 1947, the Horatio Alger Association of Distinguished Americans, Inc. is dedicated to the simple but powerful belief that hard work, honesty and determination can conquer all obstacles. The Association honors the achievements of outstanding leaders who have accomplished remarkable successes in spite of adversity by bestowing upon them the Horatio Alger Award and inducting them as lifetime Members. Horatio Alger Members support promising young people with the resources and confidence needed to overcome adversity in pursuit of their dreams through higher education. Through the generosity of its Members and friends, in 2020, the Association awarded more than $21 million in undergraduate and graduate need-based scholarships to 2,500 students across the United States and Canada and provided college support and mentoring services to its Scholars. Since 1984, the Association has awarded more than $235 million in undergraduate, graduate, military veteran and career and technical education scholarships to more than 35,000 deserving students. For more information, please visit www.horatioalger.org.