From a longtime Yale family, “Es” Esselstyn won the university handball championship, in both singles and doubles, while a student in New Haven. He also was a member of the crew team for four years. After college, Esselstyn went to Case Western Reserve Medical School, earning his M.D. degree, and eventually practicing as a general surgeon. Esselstyn did his surgical training at the Cleveland Clinic but served as an Army surgeon in Vietnam, where he was awarded a Bronze Star. He joined the staff at the Cleveland Clinic in 1968, and later became known for his work in endocrine surgery, serving as President of the American Association of Endocrine Surgeons. In 2005 Esselstyn was the first recipient of the Benjamin Spock Award for Compassion in Medicine. He received the Distinguished Alumnus Award from the Cleveland Clinic Alumni Association in 2009, and in September 2010, received the Greater Cleveland Sports Hall of Fame Award.
United States