I just saw he was 58. Very sad. Played him many times and once we got a chance to talk a few times he loosened up and was quite fun to talk with. Old school for sure in how he played and how he interacted with people during competition. Met him around 1990. He still played good at that time for sure.
Tom was an integral part of John Abruzzo's killer teams that kept winning the BCA championship year after year. Some of the regulars were Abruzzo, Spencer, George Pawelski, Billy Incardona, Mike Bandy and occasionally Jeff Carter or Rich Slupik. I'd put Bandy, Cardone and Pawelski as the top three on that team, so you can see how strong they were.
I really liked Tom and we got along fine. He could be moody and introverted and he didn't make friends easily. He'd been through the road man grind for a few years and that can wear you down. I saw him in L.A. San Jose, Vegas, Phoenix, Denver, Dayton and Chicago of course. We also played one other time in Redwood City, CA in a tournament. We both had won two matches and were in the money. He asked me to make a deal for 10% which I happily accepted. He beat me something like 11-5 and went on the win the tournament for $1,000. I treated him to dinner afterwards. Just another friend I met through pool and miss when we talk about him.