Husky Legend: Tom Gallagher
September 07, 2018 | Football
By Brian Tom
On the football field, Tom Gallagher played a position where name recognition is hard earned. As an offensive lineman, he mostly toiled in anonymity, blocking and paving the way for the players that soaked up most of the spotlight. Names famously etched in Husky lore, like Napoleon Kaufman, Mark Brunell and Damon Huard.
So when Gallagher got a call earlier this summer from his former high school and college teammate, Huard, he was surprised at the news he was delivered. Huard, who serves as the Huskies' radio analyst and UW External Relations Director, called Gallagher to inform him that he had been selected as a Husky Legend to be honored during the North Dakota game.
"I was in the middle of work and my phone rang and I missed it. It said call missed by Damon Huard, and when I played it back, I was in a moment of stunned shock," Gallagher recalled. "I'm a lineman, and linemen don't get noticed that way, so what an honor. It's been over 20 years since I played, and to go back and get remembered like this, it's something I won't forget."
The honor bestowed on Gallagher is a well-deserved recognition, despite his surprise. After backing up All-American Lincoln Kennedy at weakside tackle during the Huskies' 1991 National Championship run, he moved to strong tackle and started 22 of 23 games in 1992 and 1993. He capped his career by earning first-team All- Pac-10 recognition.
While Gallagher thrived at Washington, he also experienced some of the highest of highs and lowest of lows in the program's history. After playing in back-to-back Rose Bowls as a sophomore and junior, Gallagher's senior year was dealt a blow by sanctions from the Pac-10 which saw the resignation of his beloved mentor and coach, Don James, and kept him from participating in a bowl game during his last season.
"As a young kid you are very disappointed," Gallagher remembered. "You want to be eligible for bowl games. Those on the field, we felt like we were the ones being penalized for something we didn't do. We as a team said, 'let's not let this bug us, we are going to have a special year, we are ranked in the rankings, let's try to win a national championship.' Obviously that didn't happen, we lost four games that year, but we still had a very competitive year, and I personally took it upon myself to find out how much better I could make myself to be noticed by the NFL, to leave it all out there, and to be proud of what I did."
With a heavy burden on their shoulders, the Huskies went 7-4. But, it was still a fun year for Gallagher and his offensive line mates as they helped clear the way for Kaufman, who set a then single-season record with 1,299 rushing yards.
"You go block your guy, and he's going to go where he wants to go, he's slippery," Gallagher said of his electric teammate. "You just go block your guy and he's going to get five or six yards and there's a chance of him breaking one every time you snap the ball. It's a lot of fun blocking for a guy like that."
After exhausting his college eligibility, Gallagher was poised to make his mark in the NFL. Besides an impressive college career, at 6-foot-5 and 300 pounds, he had elite size. He remembers being projected as a mid-round pick for the draft. But, his plans hit a huge roadblock when he ended up tearing his ACL following the season in the Blue-Grey All-Star Game on Christmas Day.
"After that injury I was pretty much taken off every list," Gallagher said of his draft prospects. "(But) there was only one team that called me week to week saying 'when you're ready, we want you' and that was the Denver Broncos."
True to their word, the day Gallagher was cleared to play football, the team brought him in for a tryout and signed him to a contract that same day. He spent the 1994 season with the Broncos, but was released the following year after a coaching change. He gave pro football one last shot before calling it quits for good.
"I spent a year in San Diego, and that was it," Gallagher, who currently manages construction development sites, said. "I had a very short career, because when you're in a knee brace and you've felt that kind of pain, it's just the one thing you can't shake from your mind."
Despite being over 20 years removed from last playing football, Gallagher still leans on what he learned while on the field in his everyday life. Playing for several legendary coaches from the state of Washington – first Mike Huard at Puyallup and then James at UW – he had some great mentors to teach him valuable life lessons.
He learned pretty quick that you not only have to be physically tough to play football, but you have to be mentally tough. He also learned that football pushes you to do things that make you uncomfortable, but that you have to hold your ground and push back. It is that extra push that has led Gallagher to succeed on and off the field.
"Playing for the University of Washington, it was a dream come true," he said. "A lot of people doubted me when I was a younger kid, saying 'yeah right,' but that just fueled my desire to do this even stronger.
"One of the things I do when I talk to kids, is to tell them don't think you can't do something or accomplish something. Everyday someone is going to doubt you. Everyday someone is going to say you can't do it because they can't do it. But you can go prove them wrong and do it, you'll remember it the rest of your life no matter what you choose to do."
That's good advice. And for Gallagher, as he stands on the field with his wife, Britney, sons, Joe and Jordan, and daughters, Olivia, Monica and Marissa, and hears the roar of the crowd as his name is announced, he can have the satisfaction – and a memory of a lifetime – that he has come full circle as a football player at Washington.
On the football field, Tom Gallagher played a position where name recognition is hard earned. As an offensive lineman, he mostly toiled in anonymity, blocking and paving the way for the players that soaked up most of the spotlight. Names famously etched in Husky lore, like Napoleon Kaufman, Mark Brunell and Damon Huard.
So when Gallagher got a call earlier this summer from his former high school and college teammate, Huard, he was surprised at the news he was delivered. Huard, who serves as the Huskies' radio analyst and UW External Relations Director, called Gallagher to inform him that he had been selected as a Husky Legend to be honored during the North Dakota game.
"I was in the middle of work and my phone rang and I missed it. It said call missed by Damon Huard, and when I played it back, I was in a moment of stunned shock," Gallagher recalled. "I'm a lineman, and linemen don't get noticed that way, so what an honor. It's been over 20 years since I played, and to go back and get remembered like this, it's something I won't forget."
The honor bestowed on Gallagher is a well-deserved recognition, despite his surprise. After backing up All-American Lincoln Kennedy at weakside tackle during the Huskies' 1991 National Championship run, he moved to strong tackle and started 22 of 23 games in 1992 and 1993. He capped his career by earning first-team All- Pac-10 recognition.
While Gallagher thrived at Washington, he also experienced some of the highest of highs and lowest of lows in the program's history. After playing in back-to-back Rose Bowls as a sophomore and junior, Gallagher's senior year was dealt a blow by sanctions from the Pac-10 which saw the resignation of his beloved mentor and coach, Don James, and kept him from participating in a bowl game during his last season.
"As a young kid you are very disappointed," Gallagher remembered. "You want to be eligible for bowl games. Those on the field, we felt like we were the ones being penalized for something we didn't do. We as a team said, 'let's not let this bug us, we are going to have a special year, we are ranked in the rankings, let's try to win a national championship.' Obviously that didn't happen, we lost four games that year, but we still had a very competitive year, and I personally took it upon myself to find out how much better I could make myself to be noticed by the NFL, to leave it all out there, and to be proud of what I did."
With a heavy burden on their shoulders, the Huskies went 7-4. But, it was still a fun year for Gallagher and his offensive line mates as they helped clear the way for Kaufman, who set a then single-season record with 1,299 rushing yards.
"You go block your guy, and he's going to go where he wants to go, he's slippery," Gallagher said of his electric teammate. "You just go block your guy and he's going to get five or six yards and there's a chance of him breaking one every time you snap the ball. It's a lot of fun blocking for a guy like that."
After exhausting his college eligibility, Gallagher was poised to make his mark in the NFL. Besides an impressive college career, at 6-foot-5 and 300 pounds, he had elite size. He remembers being projected as a mid-round pick for the draft. But, his plans hit a huge roadblock when he ended up tearing his ACL following the season in the Blue-Grey All-Star Game on Christmas Day.
"After that injury I was pretty much taken off every list," Gallagher said of his draft prospects. "(But) there was only one team that called me week to week saying 'when you're ready, we want you' and that was the Denver Broncos."
True to their word, the day Gallagher was cleared to play football, the team brought him in for a tryout and signed him to a contract that same day. He spent the 1994 season with the Broncos, but was released the following year after a coaching change. He gave pro football one last shot before calling it quits for good.
"I spent a year in San Diego, and that was it," Gallagher, who currently manages construction development sites, said. "I had a very short career, because when you're in a knee brace and you've felt that kind of pain, it's just the one thing you can't shake from your mind."
Despite being over 20 years removed from last playing football, Gallagher still leans on what he learned while on the field in his everyday life. Playing for several legendary coaches from the state of Washington – first Mike Huard at Puyallup and then James at UW – he had some great mentors to teach him valuable life lessons.
He learned pretty quick that you not only have to be physically tough to play football, but you have to be mentally tough. He also learned that football pushes you to do things that make you uncomfortable, but that you have to hold your ground and push back. It is that extra push that has led Gallagher to succeed on and off the field.
"Playing for the University of Washington, it was a dream come true," he said. "A lot of people doubted me when I was a younger kid, saying 'yeah right,' but that just fueled my desire to do this even stronger.
"One of the things I do when I talk to kids, is to tell them don't think you can't do something or accomplish something. Everyday someone is going to doubt you. Everyday someone is going to say you can't do it because they can't do it. But you can go prove them wrong and do it, you'll remember it the rest of your life no matter what you choose to do."
That's good advice. And for Gallagher, as he stands on the field with his wife, Britney, sons, Joe and Jordan, and daughters, Olivia, Monica and Marissa, and hears the roar of the crowd as his name is announced, he can have the satisfaction – and a memory of a lifetime – that he has come full circle as a football player at Washington.
Friday, July 17
Wednesday, July 08
Wednesday, July 08
Friday, July 03
