Tommy McDonald was a Hall of Fame football player.
More importantly, he was a Hall of Fame person.
The undersized wide receiver who starred for the 1960 Eagles championship team never let his somewhat diminutive status - at least as far as the NFL is concerned - never serve as an impediment.
Instead, he used it as motivation.
No matter how hard he got hit, McDonald would pop right up as if to say, "is that the best you've got."
Tommy McDonald, who grew up in New Mexico and went to school at the University of Oklahoma, brought that down-to-earth, folksy midwestern style with him to Philly.
A lot of times that is a turnoff to big-time, big city fans. Philadelphia is no exception. But Philly took Tommy McDonald to heart.
And he returned the love.
Tommy McDonald loved Philly - in particular its rabid fans. They cheered the way he played.
The NFL today is struggling mightily on ways to make the game safer. They are cracking down on hits to the head, including leading with the crown of the helmet.
Tommy McDonald played without a facemask. Think about that for a minute.
It was that toughness that connected McDonald with the Philly fans.
I had the extraordinary opportunity this summer to lead a question and answer session after a showing of "Tommy and Me" at the Media Theatre.
The play is the autobiographical story of my friend and Daily Times alum Ray Didinger's connection with the future Hall of Famer, how he first connected at Eagles training camp in Hershey, Pa. And how Ray pushed to get Tommy elected to the NFL Hall of Fame.
One of the best parts of the show are the interactions between Tommy and both the young and older Ray, including Didinger's effort to talk Tommy out of his planned celebration at the Hall of Fame induction ceremony in Canton.
It was pure Tommy McDonald.
A lot of things have changed about the NFL. Not all of them good.
Yesterday, it lost one of its best.
So did anyone who has ever cheered for our beloved "Iggles."
RIP, Tommy.
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