Tommy Woods was one of the greatest basketball players to ever wear the Blue and Gold of ETSU – particularly as a defender and rebounder. But there was much more to his story.
Woods, who became the program’s first African-American player in 1963 under ETSU’s legendary men’s basketball coach, Madison Brooks, could have simply let the color of his skin define his career as a Buccaneer. Instead, he set about rewriting the basketball record books at ETSU and creating a legacy that would be equally balanced by his outstanding accomplishments on the hardwood, his character in the face of hate and bigotry, his determination to earn a college degree and his accomplishments in the professional world once he left the hills of Northeast Tennessee.
Woods was faced with the challenge of changing culture and championing the process of integration, while also excelling at the game he loved. And though he faced opposition in those early years at ETSU and throughout the South as he traveled with his teammates, the subsequent four years witnessed Woods overcome those obstacles to become a team captain and a fan favorite, as well as become a source of hope and pride for those who followed the Buccaneers’ program.
Indeed, Woods’ popularity grew to the point that when the senior captain was introduced for his final home game in Feb. of 1967, Johnson City Press-Chronicle writer Jimmy Smyth described the standing ovation as the loudest and longest he had ever personally witnessed.
Woods finished his career at ETSU with the record for most rebounds all-time (1,034) and rebounds per game (16.2 rpg). His rebounds per game average of 16.2 is a full 4.3 rebounds better than any other ETSU player since that time, and he also set the single-game record with a remarkable 38 rebounds against Middle Tennessee State University during the 1964-65 season. All of those marks still stand today.
In 1967, Woods traveled to South America to play semi pro ball. Following a year in South America, he returned home to play for the Kentucky Colonels. Woods would go on to serve two years in the Army where he rose in the ranks as an E-5 Sergeant. Later, he was employed as a juvenile probation officer, and in 1974, he joined the Louisville City Police Department where he served as a police officer for 28 years in various units including Narcotics, Homicide and Special Detail. Woods retired from the police department in 1997. He would go on to provide security for the Mayor for six years and coach at Lincoln Elementary Community School.