Walter Ernst Badenhausen, Jr. M.D.

Born on August 5, 1929, in Staten Island, New York to the late Walter, Sr. and Dorothea (Stirn) Badenhausen, he was a proud grandson of German immigrants who had owned P. Ballantine and Sons Ale Company. He lived a life marked by dedication, service and love for his community and family.

Dr. Badenhausen and his three younger siblings were educated at Staten Island Academy, and both of his brothers followed him to Hamilton College (A.B., Clinton, NY) where he was a proud member of Theta Delta Chi. He received his medical degree in 1952 from Hahnemann (Drexel) University in Philadelphia, PA followed by an Internship at Lenox Hill Hospital in New York City. In 1954 he entered the United States Air Force and was commissioned as a flight surgeon where he served at Randolph AFB (San Antonio, TX) and Lockbourne AFB (Columbus, OH). After serving his country, he entered the Orthopaedic Surgery Residency Program at Indiana University and its associated hospitals. Upon completion of that program, he was recruited by Dr. Harold Kleinert for a Fellowship at the University of Louisville in Hand Surgery under Drs. Kleinert and Kutz. He joined the Orthopaedic practice of Drs. Harry Goldberg and Rudy J. Ellis, in Louisville, KY in 1969.

Over time, Dr. Badenhausen (affectionately known as “Dr. B”), and his partner, Dr. Rudy Ellis became leading specialists in sports medicine serving as team physicians for many athletic programs. He developed special interests in total joint replacement and children’s orthopaedics. He served as a senior staff member for nearly every hospital in the Louisville metro area, with his longstanding appointment being as clinical professor to the University of Louisville Department of Orthopaedic Surgery.

Serving as a principal with Ellis & Badenhausen Orthopaedics, he served many high school, college and pro athletic organizations. Most notably, he committed over 55 years as the team physician for the University of Louisville and Bellarmine University athletics. He provided long stints as team physician and orthopaedic consultant with the Louisville Bats (Triple A baseball affiliate of the Cincinnati Reds), Central High School, Kentucky Colonels (ABA), Mason-Dixon Games and the Derby Festival Basketball All-Star Classic.

His leadership created the Athletic Committee of the Greater Louisville Medical Society. He served as medical director of Cerebral Palsy of Greater Louisville, the KIDs Center for Pediatric Therapies and the Morton Center along with being a former member of the Kentucky Board of Medical Licensure for Athletic Training.

He was honored as Kentucky Athletic Trainers Society Sports Medicine Person of the Year and was inducted into the Mason-Dixon Athletic Hall of Fame and the Bellarmine University Athletic Hall of Fame. He is the namesake of honorary athletic training rooms at Bellarmine University and Louisville Slugger Field. He established the Badenhausen Family Endowment for Sports Medicine Fellowship at the University of Louisville.

For more than fifty years, he has been a season ticket holder of the University of Louisville basketball and football programs. He was also a member for over fifty years at the Louisville Boat Club, where he loved to play tennis, the Pendennis Club and his beloved Elka Park Club, in Elka Park, NY.

Besides his parents, he was preceded in death by his wife of over fifty years, Gerri (Schmidt) Badenhausen, son Walter E. “Jay” Badenhausen, III, brothers Michael David Badenhausen and Otto Peter Badenhausen, and sister Dr. Dorothea Susan Badenhausen. He is survived by his loving daughter H. Traci Badenhausen, sister-in-law LaThoriel Badenhausen, brother-in-law C. Edward Schmidt, many cousins and his dedicated helpers, Sherrlyn Gray and Benny Trowell and caregiver Scotty Brooks.

The family would like to thank Drs. Al and Ali, and the Nurses and Staff of Norton Women’s and Children’s Hospital ICU and PCU along with Dr. Chris McClellan. Your care and kindness to my father and our family was amazing.

A graveside service will be held at 10:00 am, Saturday, September 6, 2025, at Cave Hill Cemetery where friends may gather at the main Broadway entrance before 9:50am. A visitation will be held 3:00-6:00pm, Friday, September 5, 2025, at Arch L. Heady, 7410 Westport Rd., Louisville, KY 40222.

Memorial gifts or expression of sympathy may be made to The KIDs Center for Pediatric Therapies, 982 Eastern Pkwy., Louisville, KY 40217; The Morton Center, 1028 Barret Ave., Louisville, KY 40204; Bellarmine University Athletics Department, 2001 Newburg Rd., Louisville, KY 40205; and the University of Louisville Athletics Department, 2100 S. Floyd St., Louisville, KY 40208.