Tom Throckmorton passed away this week at age 75. There is an article in the Richmond Times Dispatch today.
Tom Throckmorton
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Tom Throckmorton, a Richmond native who was a college football fixture for three decades as an assistant coach in the state of Virginia and elsewhere in the region, died Wednesday in Saluda, where he lived. Mr. Throckmorton, 75, had battled cancer.
Mr. Throckmorton graduated from John Marshall High School in 1960 and went on to play football for Ferrum’s junior college program, and then at Randolph-Macon College, from which he graduated in 1965. He was the football coach at Richmond’s George Wythe High School 1967-69.
Mr. Throckmorton was a well-known and well-respected recruiter of Richmond-area football talent while an assistant coach at R-MC (1972), UR (1973-79, 1997), William & Mary (1998-99), Virginia Tech (1985-86), VMI (1980-82, 1994-95), Wake Forest (1987-89), Boston College (1996), East Carolina (1983-84) and North Carolina State (1971).
Jeff Hanson, James Madison’s defensive line coach, and Mr. Throckmorton were together on the Richmond staff during the 1970s.
“He was one of the best football coaches I’ve ever been around. He was very thorough in everything he did,” said Hanson, who’s been in the profession since 1971. “The players loved him. He worked them hard, yet he cared about them, and that’s the big thing about college coaching. He touched a lot of lives.”
At VMI in 1995, Mr. Throckmorton was part of a staff with Mike Tomlin, now the Pittsburgh Steelers coach, and Dan Quinn, now the Atlanta Falcons coach. Mr. Throckmorton was also on the VMI staff in 1981, when the Keydets won at Virginia Tech and at Army during a 6-3-1 season. VMI hasn’t posted a winning record since that year.
In 2014, The Richmond Touchdown Club honored Mr. Throckmorton by presenting him with the Ray Tate Memorial Award, which annually goes to a notable contributor to football in Virginia.
Mr. Throckmorton later in his career maintained his presence in college football as a scout for the Houston Texans and Tampa Bay Buccaneers. “He was a tremendous evaluator of talent, both at the collegiate level and the pro level,” Hanson said.
Don Wiggins, a Richmond resident who was a Spiders assistant football coach during the early-1980s under head coach Dal Shealy and in the early 1990s under Jim Marshall, died May 27 after a two-year struggle with cancer. Mr. Wiggins played quarterback at Clemson and was a high school coach before beginning his career as a college assistant.
joconnor@timesdispatch.com
Mr. Throckmorton graduated from John Marshall High School in 1960 and went on to play football for Ferrum’s junior college program, and then at Randolph-Macon College, from which he graduated in 1965. He was the football coach at Richmond’s George Wythe High School 1967-69.
Mr. Throckmorton was a well-known and well-respected recruiter of Richmond-area football talent while an assistant coach at R-MC (1972), UR (1973-79, 1997), William & Mary (1998-99), Virginia Tech (1985-86), VMI (1980-82, 1994-95), Wake Forest (1987-89), Boston College (1996), East Carolina (1983-84) and North Carolina State (1971).
Jeff Hanson, James Madison’s defensive line coach, and Mr. Throckmorton were together on the Richmond staff during the 1970s.
“He was one of the best football coaches I’ve ever been around. He was very thorough in everything he did,” said Hanson, who’s been in the profession since 1971. “The players loved him. He worked them hard, yet he cared about them, and that’s the big thing about college coaching. He touched a lot of lives.”
At VMI in 1995, Mr. Throckmorton was part of a staff with Mike Tomlin, now the Pittsburgh Steelers coach, and Dan Quinn, now the Atlanta Falcons coach. Mr. Throckmorton was also on the VMI staff in 1981, when the Keydets won at Virginia Tech and at Army during a 6-3-1 season. VMI hasn’t posted a winning record since that year.
In 2014, The Richmond Touchdown Club honored Mr. Throckmorton by presenting him with the Ray Tate Memorial Award, which annually goes to a notable contributor to football in Virginia.
Mr. Throckmorton later in his career maintained his presence in college football as a scout for the Houston Texans and Tampa Bay Buccaneers. “He was a tremendous evaluator of talent, both at the collegiate level and the pro level,” Hanson said.
Don Wiggins, a Richmond resident who was a Spiders assistant football coach during the early-1980s under head coach Dal Shealy and in the early 1990s under Jim Marshall, died May 27 after a two-year struggle with cancer. Mr. Wiggins played quarterback at Clemson and was a high school coach before beginning his career as a college assistant.
joconnor@timesdispatch.com
In our schools Hall of Fame. Played at Ferrum when we were a juggernaut Junior College along with other former Spiders James McGinnis and Bruce Gossett. RIP from the Black Hat (and Spider) Nation.
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