Few people in this room can claim to have been associated with Indiana State Athletics as long and as deeply as Tom Reck.
A native of Indianapolis, Reck moved to Dubois County, Indiana prior to the eighth grade. Following high school, he attended Indiana State, working at the time in the press room of the Terre Haute Star. Aided by the hours spent at the newspaper, Tom graduated in just three years, earning a degree in English in 1958. Over the next 10 years, he served as first an English and Journalism Teacher in Bloomfield, Indiana, worked at the base paper in Fort Dix, New Jersey, while serving a stint in the army, then moved on to the Bloomington Herald. Returning to Terre Haute in 1968 he went back to work for the Star, serving as Sports Editor beginning in 1968, then as Senior Sports Editor beginning in 1992.
And it was in these capacities that the people of the Wabash Valley were provided accounts of the greatest Athletes and Athletic Moments in Indiana State history. Consider a short list of events which he’s covered ... he and current ISU Hall of Fame member and then Associate Athletic Director Jerry Huntsman were on hand to witness the Sycamores’ men’s gymnastics team win the school's only NCAA team title in 1977 ... he followed the Sycamores’ run through the 1979 NCAA Men’s Basketball tournament ... he covered the heyday of wrestling during the late ‘70’s and early 80’s ... and he staffed the Sycamores when they went to the 1986 College Baseball World Series.
And the list of individuals is pretty impressive, as well. Larry Bird, Kurt Thomas, Zane Smith .. and on and on. Ask him to name the best Sycamore athlete he’s covered and his reply will be something along the lines of .. ‘Kurt Thomas was good. And Bruce Baumgartner, can’t forget him...but then there were several other awfully good wrestlers. And Holli Hyche and Aubrey Herring in track would have to be up there, too’. Known as ‘The Ramblin’ Reck” as much for his penchant at telling stories of the exploits he’s covered as it was for his writing style, Tom has also enjoyed his career covering motorsports, as well as the Sycamores.
And while he is now technically ‘retired’, Reck, whose career achievements have resulted in his being honored this past Spring with his induction into the Indiana Sportswriters and Sportscasters Association Hall of Fame, still travels the Midwest covering the Sycamores on a free-lance basis and continues to be a mainstay in both the Sycamores’ press box and press row.
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Senior Sports Editor – Terre Haute Tribune Star (1992-1999)
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Covered Indiana State Athletics for over 40 years
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Inducted into Indiana Sportswriters and Sportscasters Association Hall of Fame (2002)
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Inducted into Hall of Fame September 7, 2002
