Tulane's
Tommy Mason was a great running back who performed well enough to go
play in pro football also. And Tommy Mason was all N'Awlins
who could feel relaxed around whoever you might be. I remember talking
to him
in the French quarter and became very comfortable swapping sports
stories back
then. I travel a lot now and never realized that he had passed. Death
seem so
unreal to me when it is someone we really know, or knew. Everyone seem
to like
Tommy Mason and so did I.
------------
http://www.nola.com/tulane/index.ssf/2015/01/tommy_mason.html
LSU legend Billy Cannon remembers former Tulane icon Tommy Mason
By
Tammy Nunez, NOLA.com | The Times-Picayune
Email the author | Follow on Twitter
on January 29, 2015 at 7:00 AM, updated January 29, 2015 at 7:38 AM
Seventy-seven year-old LSU legend Billy Cannon softly chuckled when he thought about the first few times he encountered former Tulane great Tommy Mason.
Cannon, who prepped at Istrouma, clearly remembers the two Mason brothers at Lake Charles High School. Claude "Boo" Mason was the older sibling but the younger brother Tommy was the physical phenomenon.
"I played against them in high school," Cannon said. "Both of them were great athletes. Of course, Tommy had more physical talent, was bigger than Boo but they were great, great competitors."
Mason, who died last week at age 75, rushed for more than 1,000 yards his senior season and led the state in scoring with 121 points. The Tulane community is still mourning his passing and recalling great moments in his career.
But it isn't just the Green Wave faithful with memories. Sometimes competitors know each other best.
LSU
great Billy Cannon was a contemporary of the legendary Tommy Mason,
having both played high school and college football in the state.G. ANDREW BOYD / THE TIMES-PICAY
Cannon and Mason went on parallel tracks the rest of their careers.
Cannon streaked to LSU, where he led LSU to the national championship in
1958.
Mason followed his brother to Tulane and the duo met again in college.
Cannon, who was the biggest and fastest athlete on the Tigers team, saw a plucky, physical opponent in Mason – a player who seemed to drive the whole team.
"While they were out-numbered physically with better players, these two guys, Tommy and Boo, never let up one step. You got their full effort every play. In a lot of games we saw on films, it was because of Tommy's efforts that even kept them in the ball game. He was just an outstanding athlete, which he continued to prove with his outstanding play at Minnesota," Cannon said.
Cannon became the first overall pick in the 1960 NFL draft. But Mason was next.
The Minnesota Vikings took Mason with the first overall pick in the 1961 NFL draft. That began 11-year professional career that included three Pro Bowl selections and 1,040 carries for 4,203 rushing yards.
"Anytime you have somebody achieve to what he did in his time and beyond, you like to see him be validated by being the first pick in the draft. Not many schools or programs can say that," Tulane athletic director Rick Dickson said on Wednesday on a break from fundraising in the Northeast.
"When you start talking history with Tulane, you talk him," Dickson added.
LSU's defense during the Billy Cannon years was the Tigers' calling card. Mason was just about the only athlete who could make a dent in it.
"Those were some excellent ball games. I guess Tommy was in the last group before Tulane started fading into the sunset," Cannon said. "The ability to recruit was really cut into by LSU's recruiting but that was basically a (physical team). They played on one of the last really physical Tulane teams."
But what Cannon remembers most fondly was the time away from the field. The time he ran into Cannon during Mardi Gras at Serio's Deli in New Orleans on St. Charles when playing days evaporated into glory days.
The hoopla outside the deli doors melted away as the two former football stars from the Pelican State traded gridiron memories and all the other moments in between.
"He and I laughed and swapped stories for three parades," Cannon said. "Everybody used to go to Mitchell Serio's Deli. Mitchell Serio owned it and everybody loved Mitchell. Mitchell was an LSU fan.... He was a character in his own right and everybody would go there, like myself, when they were in town they would stop by Serio's for lunch."
It was the best Mardi Gras Cannon experience -- and he's a little glad there was no one else there to record the experience.
"Some of (the stories) you wouldn't have been able to write about," Cannon said. "But off the field he was a pleasure. He was a great athlete and a wonderful person."
Cannon, who prepped at Istrouma, clearly remembers the two Mason brothers at Lake Charles High School. Claude "Boo" Mason was the older sibling but the younger brother Tommy was the physical phenomenon.
"I played against them in high school," Cannon said. "Both of them were great athletes. Of course, Tommy had more physical talent, was bigger than Boo but they were great, great competitors."
Mason, who died last week at age 75, rushed for more than 1,000 yards his senior season and led the state in scoring with 121 points. The Tulane community is still mourning his passing and recalling great moments in his career.
But it isn't just the Green Wave faithful with memories. Sometimes competitors know each other best.
LSU
great Billy Cannon was a contemporary of the legendary Tommy Mason,
having both played high school and college football in the state.G. ANDREW BOYD / THE TIMES-PICAY Mason followed his brother to Tulane and the duo met again in college.
Cannon, who was the biggest and fastest athlete on the Tigers team, saw a plucky, physical opponent in Mason – a player who seemed to drive the whole team.
"While they were out-numbered physically with better players, these two guys, Tommy and Boo, never let up one step. You got their full effort every play. In a lot of games we saw on films, it was because of Tommy's efforts that even kept them in the ball game. He was just an outstanding athlete, which he continued to prove with his outstanding play at Minnesota," Cannon said.
Cannon became the first overall pick in the 1960 NFL draft. But Mason was next.
The Minnesota Vikings took Mason with the first overall pick in the 1961 NFL draft. That began 11-year professional career that included three Pro Bowl selections and 1,040 carries for 4,203 rushing yards.
"Anytime you have somebody achieve to what he did in his time and beyond, you like to see him be validated by being the first pick in the draft. Not many schools or programs can say that," Tulane athletic director Rick Dickson said on Wednesday on a break from fundraising in the Northeast.
"When you start talking history with Tulane, you talk him," Dickson added.
LSU's defense during the Billy Cannon years was the Tigers' calling card. Mason was just about the only athlete who could make a dent in it.
"Those were some excellent ball games. I guess Tommy was in the last group before Tulane started fading into the sunset," Cannon said. "The ability to recruit was really cut into by LSU's recruiting but that was basically a (physical team). They played on one of the last really physical Tulane teams."
But what Cannon remembers most fondly was the time away from the field. The time he ran into Cannon during Mardi Gras at Serio's Deli in New Orleans on St. Charles when playing days evaporated into glory days.
The hoopla outside the deli doors melted away as the two former football stars from the Pelican State traded gridiron memories and all the other moments in between.
"He and I laughed and swapped stories for three parades," Cannon said. "Everybody used to go to Mitchell Serio's Deli. Mitchell Serio owned it and everybody loved Mitchell. Mitchell was an LSU fan.... He was a character in his own right and everybody would go there, like myself, when they were in town they would stop by Serio's for lunch."
It was the best Mardi Gras Cannon experience -- and he's a little glad there was no one else there to record the experience.
"Some of (the stories) you wouldn't have been able to write about," Cannon said. "But off the field he was a pleasure. He was a great athlete and a wonderful person."
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