Richard Lehman (surgeon)


Richard C. Lehman, M.D., is an American orthopedic surgeon based in St. Louis, Missouri. He’s the founder and medical director of the U.S. Center for Sports Medicine in Kirkwood, Missouri.

Early life and education

Lehman completed his undergraduate degree from the University of Minnesota earning a B.A. in Psychology with a minor in Chemistry. He then graduated from the Washington University School of Medicine with an M.D.
He further completed a fellowship in sports medicine at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia. In 1990, Lehman did a postgraduate internship at Barnes-Jewish Hospital in St. Louis, Missouri.

Business and career

Sports medicine career

Lehman started his career as a sports medicine practitioner treating track and field athletes and other professional sports players his focus being; the rehabilitation of knee, shoulder and elbow injuries. He was based in Missouri and then California. Over the years, the sports physician has worked with professional football, hockey and baseball players as well as Olympic athletes that include Jackie Joyner-Kersee.
He previously served as the team physician for the Florida Panthers, Tampa Bay Lightning and St. Louis Blues and has been a consulting physician for UCLA Track & Field; covering four Olympic Games, as well as seven Track and Field World Championships.
Lehman came to the St. Louis Blues with the former head coach and general manager Mike Keenan who was fired mid-season in 1997 and Lehman was dismissed as the team doctor at the end of the season.

Business and punditry

In early 1998, Lehman and his business partners, backed by a local hospital chain, made an official offer of $1.2 million a year for the contract to make the U.S. Center for Sports Medicine, the Cardinals official medical provider. He was a part-owner of the National Hockey League’s Florida Panthers, but later sold his stake in September 2013.
Outside of the operating room, Lehman works as a medical pundit for KTVI Fox2 as well as KMOX. He also hosts a weekly radio show about medicine and sports injuries on KFNS.