HAMPTON ROADS, Va. — Tommy Reamon Sr., a former NFL and World Football League running back and long-time high school coach of students in Hampton Roads, including Michael Vick, has died, his son Tommy Reamon Jr. announced on social media Thursday morning. He was 73.
The news comes about two months after Reamon Jr. shared on social media that his father had suffered a stroke.
In the 1970s, Reamon was drafted by the Pittsburgh Steelers, but played for a few years on various teams in the WFL.
But Reamon's biggest impacts were felt as a coach in Hampton Roads, where he coached in Newport News at Ferguson, Warwick, and Denbigh high schools, and later in Virginia Beach as the head coach at Landstown High School.
Watch related: Reamon welcomes Vick back to the 757
In March, Tommy Reamon Jr. posted that his father was in the hospital after having a stroke.
Reamon Jr. continued to update the community on his father's condition, sharing that he had a tracheostomy in April.
In one of his final updates before his father passed, Reamon Jr. shared the following remarks:
"We're approaching two months of my dad being in the hospital," Reamon Jr. wrote on May 17. " He has not been making the improvements like we all would hope. It's been an emotional battle every single day."
"Pops, I love you. The city loves you," he continued. "We're in this together."
Reamon is beloved by the countless players he's coached at programs throughout Hampton Roads, including Michael Vick, who's now the head coach at Norfolk State University. Reamon was Vick's high school football coach when he starred at Ferguson and Warwick.
NSU Athletics shared this statement following Reamon's passing:
"The Norfolk State University athletic department is saddened to hear of the passing of local football legend Tommy Reamon. Coach Reamon was a one-of-a-kind figure who impacted countless members of the Hampton Roads community – including our head football coach Michael Vick. He will be deeply missed. At this time, we request privacy for Coach Vick and his family as they mourn the loss of a close friend and longtime mentor."
This is a developing story.
