Tom Cole is a man with fate on his side.
The teacher, broadcaster and community outreach aficionado has tried his hand at many trades over the years, and continues to work hard to perfect them.
After working as a teacher at several colleges and high schools, Cole pursued journalism through writing, radio and broadcasting. Now, after an illustrious career in both fields, Cole is a Taylor Automotive Community Outreach Coordinator who still dabbles in teaching and writing.
Cole, ever humble, credits those around him for helping him get to where he is today. However, he also credits fate for putting him in the right places at the right times.
First in class
Cole has been a trailblazer since the beginning. He grew up in the Toledo area with four siblings. He credits his mother for raising them so strongly, while also having significant accomplishments of her own as a pre-Title IX athlete.
All the kids in Cole’s family played sports – mostly basketball, baseball and football – so his love of the game began early. Initially, Cole went to St. Patrick of Heatherdowns for grade school as part of the school’s first ever class. Then, Cole was a part of the first class to go through St. John’s Jesuit after it was built in 1965.
Having succeeded in K-12 sports, Cole was headed to Marshall University to play football. After being fully committed to the school, Cole coincidentally stopped for burgers one night with a friend and met the head football coach at Ohio Wesleyan University. Cole wanted to be able to play two sports in college, but Marshall University was a Mid-American Conference (MAC) school so he could only focus on football. However, because Ohio Wesleyan was Division 2, Cole was offered spots for both football and basketball.
He decided to change schools. That first year of university, while Cole was at Ohio Wesleyan, the infamous Marshall Plane Crash happened, where 75 people, including student athletes, were lost in the worst air tragedy in NCAA sports history. Cole knew some of the kids who died on the plane, and knew that he himself would have been on the plane had he not switched universities at the last minute.
“You talk about fate, right?” Cole said. “Why did we stop in that restaurant? Why did he walk in at that day and time?”
That was Cole’s first big rendezvous with fate. He fell in love with Ohio Wesleyan – not only because of the sports, but also because of his studies. He majored in history and minored in English, with the intention to use those degrees for teaching.
Practice what you teach
Upon graduating, Cole knew he wanted to teach and use his love of sports to coach kids, after not wanting to continue pursuing a professional playing career himself.
He started coaching at St. John’s, and then accepted a full time teaching position at Waite High School, where he also coached football and basketball. Through teaching and coaching, Cole was able to truly follow his passion: helping uplift the community through the future generations.
“I can’t explain how gratifying that is, to know that in some small way you’ve been a part of their success,” Cole said.
Always looking to credit others, Cole applauds his wife and the partners of other coaches for being able to help keep the plates spinning while the coaches are in their busy seasons.
Aside from his coaching duties, Cole taught history and English for decades across high schools and colleges like Waite High School, DeVilbiss High School, Fremont St. Joseph Central Catholic High School, Adrian College and predominantly St. John’s Jesuit, where he taught for 22 years. Though he loved English, the history and media classes he taught became his favorite.
From teacher to writer
Cole has always been passionate about writing. While teaching, he took up some freelance writing with publications like the Perrysburg Messenger Journal and the Sylvania Advantage.
Additionally, Cole has written several books. His first was a children’s story called Benny and Babe, that follows a young boy and his talking baseball trying to gain the confidence to be a good pitcher. Next, he wrote One Last Fall about a man playing quarterback through high school and college, with characters inspired by Cole’s own experiences. He also wrote The Class of ‘73, inspired by all the historic events Cole’s class went through together like the moon landing, the Vietnam War, Woodstock, Watergate and more, giving Cole the opportunity to combine his love of writing with his love of history.
His latest book, out now, is called Black in the Pocket, which follows African American quarterbacks who didn’t get the opportunities they deserved based on race. All of his books are available to purchase on Amazon.
A voice for radio, a face for television
Cole’s many writing pursuits and media training eventually transferred over to radio and broadcast, with Cole starting out doing sports commentary for Buckeye and, upon its conception, signing on to be a broadcaster with BCSN.
At BCSN, Cole completed a whopping 10,000 interviews, including famous figures like Jim Harbaugh, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Gloria Steinem, Urban Meyer and more.
“I think it’s harder to be good on radio than it is to be on TV,” Cole said. “If you smile on TV, and you’re relatively friendly, you can get by. But radio, you have to invent so many things – that’s why they call it the ‘theater of the mind.’”
His pursuits in varying journalistic mediums have all been great explorations, each bringing him different experiences and lessons.
“I’ve always been a person that likes to do a lot of different things,” Cole said. “I didn’t want to just be channeled into one thing. I enjoy music, writing, TV, radio; so that was always something I had in me. I wanted to be like a utility ball player, so I see myself as a utility media guy.”
Continuing community outreach
After making a name for himself through sports, teaching and media, Cole decided it was time to branch even further out. Though he still does some work with BCSN, Cole left his full time position there and began looking for a new role to exercise his talents. He reached out to Steve Taylor, hoping for a position within the automotive industry.
Though the automotive industry runs in his family, Cole wasn’t looking to sell cars. Instead, he and Taylor worked together to form a position surrounding community outreach, where Cole acts as the Community Outreach Coordinator for all of the Taylor Automotive dealerships.
Working with Taylor has been extremely fulfilling for Cole. Even though it was an unexpected departure from teaching and journalism, Cole has been able to put those skills to use through event planning, working with youth in the community and even hosting events for artists with special needs to raise money. He admires the Taylor mission of lifting up the community, and feels grateful to be a part of that.
“For me, it’s dumb luck,” Cole said. “I know many talented people, far more talented than myself, that didn’t get the opportunities. Not because they didn’t have the talent, but because it wasn’t the right place at the right time. I’ve really just been in the right place at the right time.”
Accolades and legacies
Cole is a two time hall of famer, the MVP Award winner at BCSN and has won seven sports broadcasting awards. Cole has felt the community standing behind him and remarks how surreal he feels when receiving this praise.
“You feel like you don’t deserve it because you know more talented people, but I have to be truthful that it feels good,” Cole said. “I know I’ve gotten more accolades and recognition than I deserve, but on the other hand, I can’t lie, I’ve enjoyed it.”
But his legacy has nothing to do with his accolades. In fact, Cole’s biggest point of pride comes from his family. He’s been married to his wife, Karen, for almost 50 years; has a daughter who is now married with children of her own whom Cole adores; and had a son who passed away in 2023.
“It’s hard to even explain to somebody,” Cole said. “You get to where you can remember the good things and let go of everything else. You don’t forget about him and you miss him. But I’ve got a great family.”
Aside from his family as his tangible legacy, Cole hopes people remember the good he and others have done for the community.
“Did you help anybody? Did you try to do good things? Did you try to lift people around you? Did you try to make the things you’re involved in a little better? They’d say, ‘Yeah, he did OK. He tried to help us a little bit. He wasn’t horrible.’ If there’s any legacy, I would like it to be that.”
Get to know Tom Cole:
What music are you listening to right now?
60s and 70s. The Beatles, The Beach Boys, Three Dog Night, etc.
What is your favorite movie or television show?
Friday Night Lights and Seinfeld. No Way Out with Kevin Costner. My all time favorite is The Natural with Robert Redford.
Do you have a fictional character you identify with?
Chip Hilton from The Chip Hilton Sports Series.
What are some hobbies or special interests that you have outside of work?
Songwriting. I have a few songs published. I actually wrote a song for the now-scrapped Toledo Troopers women’s football team feature film called “Hard Heart.”
Who are some of your favorite local and national sports teams?
The New York Jets and the Cleveland Browns.
What are the qualities that you value in those that you work with professionally and those that you associate with personally?
I’m big on fairness. If somebody’s fair, honest and integrity-based, you can’t lose.
