Hall of Fame
Tommy Grayson entered Chowan College in the fall of 1963 and graduated in the spring of 1966. As a Chowan athlete, Grayson played basketball and baseball for one year and football for two years. He was named All- Region X in football in 1964 and was co-captain of the 1964 football team.
Grayson accepted a football scholarship to Guilford College. He played football, basketball, and baseball at Guilford College and made All-Carolinas Conference and All-District 26 in football in 1965. Grayson led the Carolinas Conference in scoring and rushing in 1965 and was captain of the 1966 football team. In 1967, Grayson played on the Guilford College basketball team that won the Carolinas Conference and District 26 Championship and qualified for the NAIA National Basketball Championship.
But baseball was Grayson’s first love and while at Guilford College he was All-Carolinas Conference and All-District 26 for three years. He highlighted his college baseball career by being named First Team All-American in 1967 and 1968. Later in 1968, Grayson was drafted by the Detroit Tigers organization and played five years of Triple-A baseball for the Tigers, leaving the team  in 1972.
Grayson retired from a distinguished high school teaching and coaching career in 2002. He spent seven years as a teacher and head football coach at Rockingham County High School from 1995-2002. Grayson enjoyed 16 years as the head football coach at Eastern Guilford High School where he compiled an 80-81 record and won a Division II state title in 1981. He also coached NFL receiver Torry Holt at Eastern. From 1992-95, he assisted Guilford’s baseball and football teams on a part-time basis.
Grayson is also enshrined in the Guilford College and Davidson County (NC) Sports Halls of Fame.
Grayson passed away in September of 2019, leaving his wife Pamela, residing in Burlington.Â
