Tommy Moody didn’t just dawn the garnet and black as a baseball player in the early 1970s. He was a South Carolina Gamecock through and through.
“At one of my birthday parties as a kid, Cocky showed up to my party on a motorcycle and stole the show,” Kasey Moody, Tommy’s daughter, told GamecockCentral. “If that doesn’t tell you how important the Gamecocks were to my dad or me growing up, I don’t know what does.”
This weekend, Tommy will be one of nine former University of South Carolina student-athletes inducted into this year’s USC Lettermen’s Association Hall of Fame as the Class of 2024. The eight other inductees joining Tommy in this year’s class include Pharoh Cooper (football), Dana Fulmer (softball), Melvin Ingram (football), Bob Kaczka (men’s track and field/cross country), Tiffany Mitchell (women’s basketball), Jocelyn Penn (women’s basketball), Jason Richardson (men’s track and field) and Shalonda Solomon (women’s track and field).
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“I just think he would be incredibly, incredibly honored,” said Kasey. “But, I also think he’d be a bit tickled to be around the other inductees that are going in (to)night. You think of Melvin Ingram, and you think of Pharoh Cooper and Tiffany Mitchell. Those are big-time people. So, to just have those same people be in the same room with him on Friday night, it’s just an honor.”
The group of nine will be officially inducted on Friday, Nov. 1, and will be recognized at the South Carolina-Texas A&M football game this weekend. An opponent that Kasey admitted has a significant meaning to her.
“The irony about this weekend is that the last time I attended a football game with my dad was two years ago when we played Texas A&M. He would walk from his house on Duncan Street all the way down because he didn’t want to deal with the traffic… It’s just something that I’ll always remember. My last memory of going to a game with him, it sure was fun. Especially because we got a win.”
Growing up as the daughter of Tommy Moody, Kasey thought it was normal to be surrounded by the likes of June Raines and attend almost every baseball game at the old Sarge Frye Field. She thought it was normal to hear your father on the radio. That was until she got older and realized that not everyone was like her dad, Tommy.
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“I was probably in middle school or high school. He used to do a newsletter called, ‘The Extra Point.’ It was a college football newsletter. That led him to get involved with radio on 107.5 The Game. Dad quit his sales job with General Mills to do radio and he loved doing it. Liz McMillan then reached out to him about an opening they had to do color commentary for the university. The next thing you know, he’s calling games for Gamecock baseball with Mike Morgan.”
But what some people don’t realize is that Tommy’s love for the game wasn’t just a cliche line being tossed around. Especially when he first began calling games for South Carolina.
“He did it for free the first few years. The only thing he got in return were some tickets for us as a family. Once they had enough money in the budget, he then started to get paid. That’s how much he truly loved doing what he did.”
From 2000 until his untimely passing in 2023, Tommy would hold that spot calling games on the radio for Gamecocks baseball. That included memorable moments such as being in the booth when South Carolina won back-to-back national championships in 2010-11. Now, that very press box that has his name on it. With his induction this weekend into USC Lettermen’s Association Hall of Fame, his legacy will only continue to grow.
“As his grandchildren Weston and Andy grow up, we’re going to be able to show them even more about all the cool things that their grandfather was able to do for the University of South Carolina. He was just such a friendly and kind guy who did things the right way. That’s what we want to show them and why he was honored.”
