Former Ryan Champ, Tommy Bateman, Passes Away

[BuckLateral]

Sad day for the Father Ryan Purple Irish as wrestling season gets set to start-up.  Tommy Bateman, former Father Ryan individual state champion, a member of Ryan football and wrestling state champion teams, and  later Ryan football coach, passed away after suffering a stroke last week. Below is an article on his passing from  this morning's  Tennessean:

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Tommy Bateman, a former star athlete at Father Ryan who coached the Fighting Irish in football from 1984-88, died on Monday.

He was 56. Bateman suffered a stroke on Thursday.

He went 30-23 with the Fighting Irish, including a 10-2 season in 1988.

“He was a practical joker,†Father Ryan wrestling coach Pat Simpson said. “Tommy would talk to anybody. He was a terrific guy, a good friend and he’s definitely going to be missed. Pretty good golfer, too.â€

Bateman wrestled in the 167-pound weight class as a junior in 1974 and helped lead the Irish to the state title. He took second in his weight class before winning it the following year.

His son, Buster, won the Division II 189-pound title in 1999, and they became Ryan’s first father-son state champions.

Tommy was a tackle and an all-state linebacker on Ryan’s 1974 Class AAA champion team that beat Fulton 29-28 in the final. He went on to play for Memphis.

“He was a great high school athlete,†Simpson said. “Tommy started our youth wrestling program. The Bateman name is synonymous with Ryan. His brothers all came through Ryan, and all were good athletes. Tommy married a Francescon, which is another big Father Ryan family and he had some daughters that came through, too.â€

Edited November 19, 2013 by BuckLateral

[StarRaider]

Thanks for letting us know and my condolences to the Bateman and Ryan families and their friends. I remember watching Tommy win that state championship at Maclellan Gymnasium.

[facenthecrowd]

Very sad day in the Father Ryan and Nashville Catholic Wrestling community.  Tommy was a State Wrestling champ at Father Ryan as well as one of his sons.  They are the first father/son to win a state wrestling championship in Tennessee.  Tommy also started the Nashville Catholic Wrestling program and help to propel Father Ryan wrestling to its heights today.  Tommy was loved by all who knew him.

 

Prayers to the Bateman family.