Legendary Coach Dick Tomey '60 Enters Hall of Fame Today

July 20, 2009

July 20, 2009, Greencastle, Ind. — "The older you get, the more meaningful these things get," says Dick Tomey, who will be inducted today into the new Michigan City High School Football Hall of Fame. Tomey, the head football coach at San Jose State University and 1960 graduate of DePauw University, tells the Michigan City News-Dispatch, "I was quite surprised. I'm sorry I can't be there." Tomey's team begins its fall practices today.

The inaugural induction class of the Hall of Fame also includes the late Abe Gibron, Donnie Thomas, Tom Nowatzke and Tony Cline.

Of Tomey, Nick Dettmann writes, "He's coached football for more than 30 years at some of the top programs in the country, and even spent time in the NFL. As a college head coach, he's 181-135-7. Actively, only Joe Paterno, Bobby Bowden and Mack Brown have more victories. He coached Hawaii from 1977 to 1986, then Arizona from 1987 to 2000 and San Jose State since 2005. After Arizona and before San Jose State, Tomey was an assistant with the San Francisco 49ers, and later an assistant with the Texas Longhorns. At Arizona, he coached five future first-round NFL draft picks, 20 All-Americans and 43 First Team All-Pac 10 players. In 1981, he was the Western Athletic Conference Coach of the Year, and in 1992, he was the Pac-10 Coach of the Year."

The newspaper adds, "In 1994, Tomey was inducted into the DePauw University Athletic Hall of Fame. He earned three varsity letters as a catcher prior to his 1960 graduation. Earlier this year, Tomey was named the president of the American Football Coaches Association."

"I've lived such an enormously blessed life," Tomey says. "I couldn't have possibly been able to guess that any of this was going to happen."

You'll find the story at the News-Dispatch's Web site.

Learn more about Dick Tomey in this previous article.

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