 | |
| Profile | |
|---|---|
| Position | Fullback |
| Personal information | |
| Born | (1896-04-17)April 17, 1896 Thomasville, Georgia, U.S. |
| Died | November 27, 1918(1918-11-27) (aged 22) France |
| Height | 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m) |
| Weight | 168 lb (76 kg) |
| Career information | |
| College | Georgia Tech (1914–1916) |
| Awards and highlights | |
| |
Thomas Louis Spence (April 17, 1896 – November 27, 1918) was an Americancollege football player. Spence also played on thebaseball,basketball, andtrack teams.[1]
Spence was a prominentfullback forJohn Heisman'sGeorgia Tech Golden Tornado of theGeorgia Institute of Technology from1914 to1916 . He was posthumously elected to the Georgia Tech Athletics Hall of Fame in 1976.[2]
In1915, near the end of theLSU game, he returned aninterception 85 yards.[3] He made a 40-yarddrop kickfield goal against North Carolina.[4]
Spence was a starter for the 1916 team which, as one writer wrote, "seemed to personify Heisman."[5] In Georgia Tech's record-setting222-0 win overCumberland College in 1916, Spence scored the second-most behindEverett Strupper when he netted five touchdowns.[6] He was selectedAll-Southern that season.[7]Walter Camp gave him honorable mention.
Spence was a casualty of theWorld War I.[8] He is the namesake ofSpence Air Base.[9]
