Tom Pierson, who was inducted into the National Wrestling Hall of Fame in 2017, and is also in the Sahuaro High School Hall of Fame and Pima County Sports Hall of Fame, has passed away due to health reasons at the age of 77.
Pierson was lauded by local coaches because of his self-effacing ways.
“Tom Pierson is one of the finest teachers, coaches and human beings I’ve ever had the pleasure to know,” longtime local coach Bob Vielledent told the Arizona Daily Star in 2014.
Vielledent coached with Pierson at Sahuaro at the outset of their careers.
“If he’s coaching your son, you are in good hands,” Vielledent said.
Pierson coached the likes of Rodney Peete, Skip Peete, Sam Khalifa and Jay Dobyns, and many others.
This has been an emotional year for Sahuaro. Don Bacon, a longtime softball assistant coach, mentor for all students, and volunteer at the school, passed away in May.
Pierson, a Chicago native, came to Tucson to wrestle for Arizona when it had a wrestling program. He first wrestled at Joliet (Ill.) Junior College, where he became an All-American, and at UTEP before joining the Wildcats before their program was dropped.
He earned a degree at Arizona in Health Studies/Physical Education. He later earned his masters degree in Education from the University of Phoenix.
Pierson taught PE for three years at Apollo Junior High School, where he coached the freshman football and wrestling teams. In 1976, he moved to Sahuaro, where he stayed for 26 years. He taught PE, health and drivers education. He was the freshman football coach and the head wrestling coach.
He then moved to Rincon/University for the last five years before retiring as a teacher. While at Rincon/University, he taught the same classes he taught at Sahuaro and was also the freshman football and wrestling coach.
In 2007, he returned to Sahuaro to coach the freshman football team and help with the wrestling program. He later volunteered his time with the football and wrestling programs at Sahuaro.
As a freshman football coach, Pierson accumulated more than 200 wins. His career record as a wrestling coach was 226-40.
As a head wrestling coach, his teams won more than 100 dual meets and many tournaments, including the Flowing Wells, William Bell, Douglas, Mountain View, and many regional tournaments. He had many wrestlers place at the regional and state levels.
He served as athletic director at Sahuaro in 1990.
Pierson also helped Al Sye organize the Pima County Sports Hall of Fame in 1989.
In 2008, he was inducted into the Sahuaro’s Athletic Hall of Fame.
This is a message written by Levi Koenen, an assistant at Mica Mountain, about Pierson.
This morning we lost one of the most incredible men on this earth. My hero, my mentor, my friend and my second father, Tom Pierson passed away early this morning. His wife Donna and son Jason held his hand as he passed.
I spent every Sunday night, for many years, on the back porch of his house eating steak and shrimp, drinking a couple beers and talking about football, life, coaching and so much more. Coach knew how to get a point across so that you would understand the importance of what he was telling you. Other than my own father, Coach taught me the most about life, about being a good person, about being a man of your word and doing everything to the best of your ability.
Coach was inducted into the Pima County Hall of Fame for his coaching and teaching. He led by example every day. He raised his boys to be outstanding young men. His legacy will continue on through them and all the numerous amount of coaches and players he taught. I can remember so many times we would be going to dinner or to run some errands and we would run into someone that coach taught or coached over his 40-plus years. His impact on his players rang through so loudly with each interaction.
Coach and his wife Donna were an unbelievable pair. They were married for 51 years. They would be up early every morning working out, riding their bikes to the top of Mt. Lemmon and being the most energetic and fun loving couple a person could ever know. Donna loved Coach so much and you could feel it with every interaction they had. They were comedic when they would take little jabs at each other. There were so many nights when my stomach would hurt from laughing so much. Their relationship they had was nothing short of amazing.
Coach’s boys JP and Jason are both great young men. Jason is a high school basketball coach in Chicago and has won city championships. JP was an accomplished actor on stage in Chicago and has two children that Coach and Donna adore.
Now anyone that knew Coach they knew what an avid Chicago sports fan he was. The Bears and Cubs were so special to him. I remember when Coach was retiring from coaching in 2014, Skip Peete, Rodney’s brother, was the running back coach for the Bears, and he had a helmet signed by the entire Bears team as a gift. It was an awesome moment.
Coach P coached some of the greatest players to ever suit up here in Tucson. Rodney Peete, 16 year NFL quarterback, Jay Dobyns, All Pac-10 player and undercover ATF agent that infiltrated the Hells Angels, Sam Khalifa, who played quarterback for him but ended up being the No. 7 overall draft pick by the Pittsburgh Pirates out of Sahuaro High School. Derik Hall, all-city running back and defensive back. The list could go on for days.
While I am terribly sad this morning, I am forever grateful for Coach’s friendship, mentorship and being a second father to me. There isn’t a day that goes by that I don’t think about coach and the life lessons he taught me. I’ve tried my best to carry that on in the kids that I coach, the men that I coach with and the way I try to help the community of Tucson be a better place.
For Coach:
Thank you for believing in me. Thank you for showing me the way to be a positive mentor and coach. Thank you for loving me and showing me how to handle adversity. Thank you for the countless times you told me everything was going to be ok. I can’t express to you how much I love you, admire you and will miss you every single day for the rest of my days. I will do my best to make you proud and to carry on the legacy you leave behind.
Pierson is survived by his wife Donna and sons, JP and Jason, and their families.
Funeral arrangements are pending.
Recommended for you
