Tommy Moody a wonderful person, big sports fan and always optimistic about Gamecocks

—— Tommy Moody, 72, died on Tuesday. Jay Phillips, Moody’s co-host at 107.5 FM The Game, wrote this letter for The State in remembrance of Moody. ——

Before I ever met Tommy Moody he was already a local celebrity to me. “Tommy’s Extra Point” football newsletter could be found in businesses all across the Columbia area for years, and it was something I looked forward to picking up and reading each week during the season. To have him be a regular guest on my talk show in 2002 was a thrill, because the energy and enthusiasm he brought were so genuine.

Flash forward to 2007, when Brent Johnson tapped Tommy, Benji Norton and Bob Shields to be our first morning show team at 107.5 The Game. “The Early Game” was a mix of stats, stories and laughs, and Tommy was often the perfect balance between Benji’s humor and Bob’s professional sports anchor style. The show was a hit with listeners for years.

Not long after my friend and 11-year radio partner Michael Haney moved to Nashville, Tommy became my co-host on “The Halftime Show.” It was in those six-plus years that my appreciation and fondness for him grew in an almost immeasurable way.

While he was about 20 years older than me, we shared so many things as lifelong residents of Columbia. The homes we each grew up in were less than a mile apart. We both had stories of riding our bikes with friends to the old Richland Mall, stopping at Woolworth’s to buy baseball cards and grab a grilled cheese sandwich at the lunch counter, or maybe a milkshake at the Eckerd drug store, and of course getting cones and more at Zesto on Forest Drive.

We both, like thousands of kids, played little league baseball on the campus of the Carolina Children’s Home. We ultimately made our way to the University of South Carolina, although Tommy’s baseball abilities allowed him to play for the Gamecocks as I enjoyed my college days in the stands at Sarge Frye Field.

Our families each spent summers at Garden City Beach, fishing off the pier and playing pinball and SkeeBall at the Funland Arcade. Coincidentally, after his daughter Jamie moved to Asheville, he and I struck up a shared love for that city and the mountains, where I had spent several years of my youth.

Our conversations during commercial breaks would often involve our both being “girl dads” and what that was like as big sports fans — we both raised them to be sports fans, too — or the trials of each of us having a young child in intensive care. We talked the minutiae of baseball that we knew our audience wouldn’t want to hear, or simply what we might both put on the grill that coming weekend.

Beyond the station, we texted routinely about any number of things. He was always quick to hit me with a stat that popped in his head, a congratulatory message after a big Braves win, or a “hang in there” when they didn’t. We’d talk music, too. I once sent him a version of the Grateful Dead singing “It’s All Over Now,” and he loved it. The man was always ready to try new things, even if he was admittedly a guy who appreciated the good old days.

I was always touched by Tommy’s amazing optimism around Gamecock athletics, despite the often trying times we all experience as fans. In our line of work, hard truth becomes a necessity, yet Tommy had a way of making every hard landing a little softer. When it came to his beloved Carolina baseball program, he won and lost with them. He cheered and hurt with them, and, yes, he experienced the long bus rides with them all across the Southeast, never once complaining but instead appreciative of the opportunity he’d been given to work the broadcasts.

I always loved hearing the stories of Tommy playing for his idol Bobby Richardson, a man he truly revered, especially when, with a wink, he’d remind me that Bill Wilhelm had offered him some scholarship money to play at Clemson; an offer he said he simply couldn’t accept. His work with Tom Price, Mike Morgan, Andy Demetra and Derek Scott has included some of Carolina’s best moments, and I assure you he was as grateful last season in his first to be part of that program on a daily basis.

Mostly though, Tommy was simply a wonderful human being. Caring, nurturing, diligent and respectful are just some of the words I could use to describe him. He adored his daughters Kasey and Jamie, and the pride and joy he felt at being Weston and Andy’s grandpa was beyond words. He’d send me lots of photos with the little guys, and he was always beaming. It’s those last things that I will remember most about him.

Tommy never saw himself as famous. I’m not even sure if it crossed his mind. Yet, it is clear to see how many lives he touched. It was a true honor to work with him, and even more to call him my friend. He was someone we can all hope to be.

I will miss him dearly.

Tommy Moody celebration of life

According to Temples-Halloran Funeral Home: “A Celebration of Life will be held at Founders Park on Monday, October 23, at 2 p.m. The Celebration of Life will be open to the public. Guests wishing to attend are asked to park in Lot 1, which is located on the corner of Wheat Street and Williams Street behind centerfield. Gate 1 of Founders Park will open at 1 p.m.”