From the Bench: Bittersweet 30-Year Anniversary of Dan McNamee's Accident that's Buffered By Blessings
By Jeff Toquinto on September 07, 2025 from Sports Blog
When Sept. 1 hit this past week, the one thing that came to my mind, and I am betting it is the same for plenty of others, was that it was Labor Day and I had a day away from most of the grind that comes with work.
For others, Sept. 1, or the entire Labor Day weekend, means something else. It is often the start of the college football season with a full slate of games that feature a lot of high-end non-conference contests.
I have a few friends that do not leave the house on the opening weekend of college football. One of those friends is about 230 miles away in Pikeville, Kentucky – Dan McNamee.
When Labor Day weekend rolls around, the first thing that McNamee is doing is getting ready for the action. And his wife Nikki knows it too and usually prepares quite the game day feast.
This past Sept. 1, however, one might think something else was at the forefront of McNamee’s mind. It was last Monday that marked the 30th anniversary of McNamee’s accident in 1995 as a sophomore on Bridgeport High School’s football team that left him paralyzed and in a wheelchair from that day forward.
Three decades. Think about that.
Dan pointed out that he has now been in a wheelchair two times as long as he has last walked. He has long since given worry about the situation. In fact, as noted above, even the anniversary of that game many years ago against Magnolia on a field in New Martinsville, does 
not trump the start of the college football season.
not trump the start of the college football season.
“It actually hit me last week that it had been 30 years, but it came about because I was talking to someone about the Labor Day weekend and it hit me that it had been 30 years since the accident,” said McNamee. “The date still comes up in my mind, but usually the big ones like this one. Honestly, the main reason I remember is that the date signals the start of college football and it’s a holiday. I don’t know if it were another date if I would give it too much thought.”
There is a reason the 1998 Bridgeport High School graduate does not dwell on the past. His present is good. His future looks solid as well.
The 45-year-old McNamee is currently serving as the executive director of revenue at the Pikeville Medical Center. He is putting to use those double majors – management information systems and business management – he earned years ago at Marshall University.
McNamee’s days are as normal as most. The only difference is that he is in his wheelchair, which is as normal for him as it is for those standing upright.
“I know it is hard for people to understand this, but it is an afterthought. I was talking to a guy I have worked with for 25 years and I realized I’ve been in a wheelchair for 30 years; longer than we’ve known each other,” said McNamee. “That’s how he knows me, and most people
know me. I came to terms with that a long time ago.”
know me. I came to terms with that a long time ago.”
There are a few other things that have changed since the injury beyond the college education and decades of success in the workforce. McNamee is happily married to the person, along with family and the folks here in West Virginia, who has gotten him to the point of where he is today.
“I couldn’t do anything without my wife, family, and Bridgeport. I talked about this back when I was fortunate to be inducted into the (Bridgeport High School Alumni & Friends) Hall of Fame,” said McNamee. “I talked about how I was blessed to have her by my side in this journey, and how she stepped in and did things my family had done because 
without my family and my wife I couldn’t function.
without my family and my wife I couldn’t function.
“As for Bridgeport, I was 15 when I got hurt and didn’t know better for a lot of things. I didn’t realize that my family and the entire community were the ones who refused to let me fail,” McNamee said. “They got me back to live my life like nothing happened even though it did. It allowed me to move ahead and be productive and do things I love.”
Few things Dan McNamee loves more than turning into Uncle Dan.
“I love being an uncle. I think Nikki loves being an aunt even more and I think they may like her even more,” McNamee joked about their love affair with 20 nieces and nephews. “We do spoil them, and they love the wheelchair, and they love taking a ride.
“One of my favorite things to do is every Sunday after church going to the dollar store with four of the little ones,” he continued. “They all want to take a ride. I can get three in max, but we all have a good time, and I love my time with them.”
He does not even mind if it interrupts a bit of Sunday football action. Despite the injury, he loves the game at all levels. McNamee still follows the Indians, he said, through Connect-Bridgeport, and watched the 2024 championship game live where his alma mater toppled Herbert Hoover for the crown.
“Last year was one of the most dominant teams I’ve ever seen. That Herbert Hoover quarterback is from Mingo County and played Little 
League and middle school ball with one of my nephews … so I had a bit of a connection,” he said. “I knew going in Bridgeport was going to win.”
League and middle school ball with one of my nephews … so I had a bit of a connection,” he said. “I knew going in Bridgeport was going to win.”
McNamee, who still spends time regularly with his father Jerry (now 83) and his flock of brothers, says the accident has provided blessings as opposed to a life of pitfalls. And he is quick to point it out.
“There have been a lot of blessings because I don’t know what would have happened with my life had I not been hurt. I had so much guidance, and I also knew people that took a path that was disastrous, and maybe that could have been me,” he said. “Do I meet my wife if I’m not injured? That’s a possibility. Heck, I don’t even know if I would have moved back here where my wife, who is my greatest blessing, and I make the most out of every day. I learned a long time ago not to look back.”
McNamee has learned plenty of lessons in the last 30 years. The main one is to live life to its fullest no matter the hand you are given. It is lesson we could all stand to learn from.
Editor's Note: Top photo shows, from left, brothers Pat and Joe, followed by Dan, father Jerry and Chris. Second image is of Dan talking with the late Coach Wayne Jamison several years ago during a news story on Dan done by a Kentucky television station. Third image is of Dan in this early 1990s photo as a member of the BMS basketball team (Dan is back row middle, under the "A" in Braves). In the fourth photo, Dan and his wife Nikki with a handful of his nieces and nephews at the beach, while the bottom image shows Dan getting an assist from one of his nieces.
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