Run Tommy – Run! … (a tribute to an Auburn national championship running back)

There were no organized little leagues when Tommy was a child. He grew up playing sandlot football in the streets and fields around Bessemer, Alabama. Even at an early age it was apparent he was a gifted athlete. So much so that he was often invited to play ball with older teenagers when he was still in elementary school.

That’s where Tommy learned to run and he would often show up his older opponents with his speed and elusiveness. A fact that would cause the older boys to chase him home. I know it sounds like a line from a movie but Tommy would often hear his pursuers yell, “Run Tommy, run!”

Tommy would later used his gift of running to lead Bessemer to a state football championship and get himself nationally recognized as a bona fide football prospect. If the recruiting services that we have today were active in his day, there’s little doubt he would have been rated a 5-star blue chipper.

A natural athlete, he could have signed with any school in the country including Notre Dame. Although he wanted to play for Georgia Tech, his father wanted him to stay in state. So he signed to play for Shug Jordan at Auburn University. Tommy Lorino would say later it was the best thing to ever happen to him.

He started in his first year of eligibility and made All-SEC. As a sophomore, he started at safety and half back. But he also was kickoff returner, punt returner, punter, and holder for extra points.

He played on the 1957 National Championship team and the undefeated 1958 team. He led the team in rushing all three years he played at Auburn and finished with a 8.44-yard rushing average.

In addition, Lorino played outfield for Auburn’s 1958 SEC Championship Baseball team. Anyone that ever seem him in a game came away saying, “Tommy could run.”

He could fly around the base paths just like he could fly down the football field. Which is exactly what he did when he ran an interception back for an 80 yard touchdown on the first play of  the ’57 iron Bowl.

While he could deliver a lick, his gift was elusiveness. He was part of a running back tandem that included former Tiger great, Bobby Hoppe. He and Hoppe were both on the cover of Life Magazine as the nation’s top two backs in the 1958 NFL Draft.

Tommy was drafted by the San Francisco Giants, but opted instead to play Canadian football. That was because Edmonton promised him a $7,000 dollar contract with a $2,500 signing bonus.

Depending on the conversion table one uses, that amount would be worth between $200,000.00 and $500,000.00 in today’s dollars. He played one year and decided for a career in the business world and later was a respected SEC football ref for 25 years.

One thing that never changed for Tommy over the years was a love for the game and an enduring love for his alma mater.

He had many great moments in sports. He won high school and SEC Championships, and a national championship. And he refereed every major college bowl game, including five that involved national championships. Yet nothing could ever compare to the camaraderie he had with the his teammates at Auburn. He often spoke fondly of Red Phillips, Jerry Wilson, Zeke Smith, Hoppe and others.

Tommy passed away Sunday night at his home in Panama City, Florida. And I believe he’s now running again – running with some of his old teammates.

His old running back partner, Bobby Hoppe passed away in 2008. I can almost see the two of them young and strong again, passing the ball back and forth, laughing and having a good time, and … running – just like they did in the days of their youth.

“Run Tommy, Run!”

Editor’s note:
Our thoughts and prayers go out to his family an friends.

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