Thank you, Tommy

Thoughts on a mentor, friend, and Gamecock legend gone too soon

I got the news, like many Tuesday night, after embarking upon a few minutes of mindless social media scrolling before lights out. A Twitter (X) post from Jay Phillips of Columbia’s 107.5 The Game broke the horrible, unbelievable news. Tommy Moody had passed.

I had spoken with Tommy just four days prior, when he graciously invited me to chat with him on his long-running 107.5 program, “The Tommy Moody Show,” where we talked about the greatest Gamecock running backs of all time. He was vibrant and energetic and consumed in the conversation. Just Monday Tommy had texted me photos and a video of him presenting a commemorative plaque to former Gamecock baseball coach Bobby Richardson at last week’s University of South Carolina Athletics Hall of Fame ceremony.

I lay there in disbelief and profound sadness. What a loss, what a man.

Tommy possessed a boyish enthusiasm, a radiant intellect, and was a walking encyclopedia of Gamecock history. His love of all things garnet & black was incandescent, and his loss to the Gamecock community is immense.

Aside from delighting listeners with tales of Gamecock history on his radio show, Tommy was a Carolina baseball letterman, playing second base for Coach Richardson in the early 1970’s. He has served as the color analyst for Gamecock baseball broadcasts since 2000, was a past president of the USC Letterman’s Association, and since 1998 has served as the Chairman of the University of South Carolina Athletics Hall of Fame. He was known by all to be a true gentleman, friendly and giving and supportive.

A mutual friend, Lee Pitts, kindly introduced me to Tommy several years ago as I was researching my book covering USC’s twenty years between the ACC and SEC. He not only took the time to talk with me about his time at Carolina, but introduced me in turn to Coach Richardson, whose interview added incalculably to the book.

When fall arrived and publication date approached, Tommy invited me to appear on an episode of his show to discuss the book, and stories from Carolina’s “wilderness years” of independent status. That one show turned into four, and then, sort of a bonus episode, that final conversation last Friday. We talked about plans for future shows during basketball and baseball season. There were so many stories to tell, so much ground to cover.

Like Tom Price and Don Barton before him, Tommy was the authority on Gamecock history. He was so willing to share, so happy to talk, so giving of his time. I always just assumed there would be ample opportunity to cover everything I wanted to ask him.

Beyond the sense of loss though, I guess what I feel more than anything is a profound sense of gratitude for having known Tommy. For the opportunity to have learned from him and for the conversations we shared. And though we never met in person, I’m thankful for the opportunity to have counted Tommy as a friend.

Gamecock Nation lost a great one yesterday, and it hurts. It's the unexpected losses that are often the most painful, and that is certainly the case here.

But how fortunate we are that Tommy Moody graced our lives in so many ways. So very fortunate, indeed.

Godspeed, Tommy, and thank you, my friend.