Tulane Mourns Loss Of Football Legend Tommy Mason
Jan 22, 2015 | Football
NEW ORLEANS - The Tulane Athletics family lost one of its all-time greats as former All-American and long-time NFL running back Tommy Mason died on Wednesday night at his home in Newport Beach, California. He was 75 years old.
A native of Lake Charles, La., Mason was a star on the Green Wave football team from 1958-60 before becoming the first-ever draft pick of the Minnesota Vikings. The 1961 Tulane graduate played 11 seasons at the professional level, earned three Pro Bowl invites and a pair of All-Pro honors. He was inducted into the Tulane Athletics Hall of Fame in 1978, the Greater New Orleans Sports Hall of Fame in 1979 and the Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame in 1981.
"We are saddened to hear of the passing of Tommy Mason and offer our heartfelt condolences to his family," Tulane Director of Athletics Rick Dickson said. "He established a wonderful legacy of athletic and academic excellence at Tulane that continued through his time here, to the NFL, through law school and his post-playing career. He will be forever remembered."
Following a stellar prep career at Lake Charles High School, Mason joined his brother, Claude "Boo" Mason, at Tulane in the fall of 1957 and went on to become a legend of the Green Wave gridiron. In his first year of college eligibility, Mason hauled in seven passes for 97 yards and ran nine times for 20 yards on offense, tallied an interception on defense, and returned four kickoffs for 93 yards on special teams as a sophomore in 1958.
His rushing numbers increased to 336 yards and a touchdown on 81 carries as a junior while hauling in five passes for 54 yards and a pair of scores, returning nine punts for 112 yards and bringing back eight kickoffs for 175 yards in 1959. Mason saved his best performance for his final season in a Green Wave uniform as he led the Southeastern Conference with 663 yards and eight touchdowns on 120 carries to go with 28 receptions for 376 yards and five scores, five kick returns for 314 yards and 14 punt returns for 99 yards to go with a pair of interceptions in 1960.
For his efforts as a senior, Mason was named first-team All-SEC by the league coaches and claimed first-team All-America honors from Time Magazine. He was selected to participate in the East-West Shrine Game, Hula Bowl, Coaches All-American Game and College All-Star Game.
Mason was selected twice during the 1961 Draft, going first overall to the then-expansion Minnesota Vikings of the NFL and with the No. 2 overall choice to the Boston Patriots of the now-defunct American Football League. He opted for the more proven league and went on to run for 4,203 yards and 32 yards on 1,040 carries, pull down 214 passes for 2,324 yards and 13 scores, and tallied an additional 1,550 yards as a punt and kickoff returner in stints with Vikings (1961-66), Los Angeles Rams (1967-70) and Washington Redskins (1971).
The bulk of his numbers came during his time in Minnesota where he posted 3,252 yards and 28 touchdowns over six-year stretch. Along the way, he was voted to the Pro Bowl from 1962-64 and became the team's first All-Pro Player in 1963. Mason claimed first-team All-NFL recognition from the Associated Press, Newspaper Enterprise Association, New York Daily News and United Press International in 1963 while garnering first-team all-conference honors from The Sporting News that same year and second-team All-NFL recognition from the NEA and UPI in 1964.
After injuries forced his retirement from the game, Mason attended law school and later served as a distributor for Coors Brewery in San Bernardino, Calif., for 17 years. From there, he became an Allison Transmission dealer and was the owner of United Transmission Exchange.
He is survived by his wife, Karen, his three sons, Buck, Ryan and Taylor, as well as several grandchildren, nieces and nephews.
