STARKVILLE — Tom Goode left a positive lasting memory on everyone he met.
The former West Point High School and Mississippi State football player passed away Thursday at the age of 76.
“He was just a big ole gentle giant,” Starkville Academy defensive line coach Bubba Davis said. “He was very caring. He was just a great man.”
After graduating from West Point High, Goode went to MSU, where he made a name for himself on the 1957 freshman squad. He earned a starting spot at center and linebacker the following season on the varsity team. He was an All-Southeastern Conference selection twice, and was named the first Kodak All-American in school history during the 1960 campaign.
After the 1960 season, he played in the Blue-Gray All-Star Classic, Coaches All-America game and the Senior Bowl. The Houston Oilers selected him in the second round of the 1961 American Football League draft. The Detroit Lions selected him in the 17th round of the 1961 National Football League draft.
Goode played four seasons (1962-65) at center and linebacker for the Oilers, including an appearance in the 1962 championship game. He then went to the NFL and played for the Miami Dolphins from 1966-69. He played in every game for the Dolphins and was voted the squad’s MVP in 1967. He earned a Pro Bowl appearance after the 1969 season.
“You think about everything he did, he was always successful and he lived a great life,” Starkville Academy offensive line coach Tony Stanford said. “He was just the type of person you would want your son to play for.”
Stanford coached at Louisville High, Columbus High School and Oak Hill Academy in West Point, among other places, so he knew Goode very well.
Goode joined the Baltimore Colts in 1970 and started his road to fame in professional football. Baltimore faced the Dallas Cowboys in Super Bowl V. With 10 seconds remaining and the game tied at 13, Goode stepped on the field as the long snapper for a field goal try.
Jim O’Brien nailed a 32-yard field goal and the Colts won the Super Bowl. Goode was the first Bulldog to win a Super Bowl ring.
“He was so revered in West Point because he was one of the great athletes to come out of West Point,” said Jim Ellis, the radio voice of the Bulldogs, who was raised in West Point. “He was a person who always loved his roots. Loved who he was.
“He was a very gracious person, a good football coach, and a good people person. He’ll missed by everybody in this Golden Triangle Area that knew him.”
Goode played in 113 games in his nine-year career (55 starts), but he was far from done with football. He then embarked on a 33-year coaching career in which he imparted his wisdom to countless players coaches, including Davis.
“I always felt like when I was around him, it was like talking to my daddy,” Davis said. “He was that kind of guy because he was so caring about everybody. He was always giving you a few pointers, trying to help you.”
Davis coached his alma mater, West Point High, in the 1980s. He coached Walker High in Jasper, Alabama, before coming back to Mississippi and taking over the Petal High program. He also coached New Albany High, Columbus High, and Columbus Christian before joining the Starkville Academy staff as an assistant coach.
Goode coached at MSU three times. He was the offensive line coach from 1972-75 and from 1986-88. He was the offensive coordinator from 1984-85.
During his 1986-88 stint, he coached with former Bulldog player Rockey Felker, who had just taken over the program.
“He was the same every day,” Felker said. “He was a great coach and had great knowledge. He was the kind of coach that players loved playing for. He worked them hard, he got the most out of them, but also he was the kind that cared for them. He really wanted them to grow as a person.”
Goode also had coaching stints with the Canadian Football League’s Calgary Stampeders and in college at Vanderbilt, Ole Miss, and Alabama.
Goode was elected to the Mississippi Sports Hall of Fame in 1976 and to the Mississippi Sports Hall of Fame in 1990.
“A lot of times wins and losses don’t determine that you’re a successful coach,” Stanford. “It’s the other things. It’s how you treat your players, it’s how your players become better citizens, how they live life and take care of their family once they’re out of football, and he taught all that to them.”
Goode most recently served as athletic director and football coach at East Mississippi Community College in Scooba from 1991-2003.
EMCC Vice President and Director of Athletics Mickey Stokes echoed all of the thoughts about Goode.
“When I was around him and some of his players, it was just obvious that they really cared for him,” Stokes said. “They thought a lot of him and respected him. I think he was well liked by all the coaches throughout the state as well.”
Goode had been sick for sometime and Davis went to see him a few months ago. He knew it wasn’t going to be long before Goode passed away.
But the news was still hard for Davis, who teared up talking about Goode.
“He’s in a better place,” Davis said. “He’s not in any pain anymore.”
Follow Dispatch sports writer Ben Wait on Twitter @bcwait
Ben Wait reports on Mississippi State University sports for The Dispatch.
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