• Named City of Edmonton's MVP in football twice in high school and also placed sixth at the World Junior Wrestling championships.
• Selected twice for Canada West All-Star teams (1973 and 1974) and once for the CIAU All-Canadian team (1974).
• Played for the Edmonton Eskimos from 1975 to 1984, winning six Grey Cup championships.
• Served as guest coach for the Golden Bears, Eskimos, and Stampeders.

When football coaches gather to share memories of the great players who wore the green and gold uniform of Golden Bear football teams, Tom Towns' name invariably forms part of the discussion. He was, in the words of several coaches, a university player who was ". . . as good as they get!" Tom Towns joined the Golden Bears directly out of Bonnie Doon Composite High School where he was twice named the City of Edmonton's Most Valuable Player (1969, 1970). Enroute to this recognition, Towns established a high school record for most touchdowns in a season. Not surprisingly, Tom starred in other sports. In Track and Field Athletics he won the City of Edmonton triple jump championship and in wrestling he became the 1971 Canadian Junior Wrestling Champion. As a result of this victory, Tom was named to the Canadian team that traveled to Tokyo for the World Junior Wrestling Championships. In intense international competition, he placed 6th in his weight class.

During the 1971-1972 season, Coach Bert Taylor recruited Tom Towns to the Golden Bears wrestling team that would eventually win the Canada West title. Although he was under the weight limitations for the heavy weight class he competed with athletes in this weight division.

As interesting and appealing as his other sport endeavors were, it was football that was Tom Towns' great love. Head Coach Jim Donlevy, recognizing outstanding talent, named him a starter on a Bears' team that was to win the right to compete in the final of the Canadian championship College Bowl in 1971. By 1973, Tom was playing "both ways" on the Bears. He was a back-up running back and the starting middle linebacker - a position he played with such power, poise and purpose that he was named to the Canada West All-Star teams in 1973 and 1974. His outstanding play during the 1974 season resulted in his selection to the All-Canadian CIAU team. Tom's superior play resulted in his recruitment by the Edmonton Eskimos to their roster and from 1975 to 1984 he played for the other "Green and Gold" team in this city. During that ten-year span Tom was a part of six Grey Cup championship teams - a remarkable skein of championship seasons! In 1985, he was traded to the Ottawa Roughriders and, at the end of the season, Tom decided to end his career as an outstanding athlete.

Tom Towns came home to Edmonton and to opportunities to return to football some of the important lessons that he had learned during his playing career. Tom served well as a guest coach for the Golden Bears, the Eskimos and the Calgary Stampeders. He also became a successful businessman and a contributor to life in our city by serving in a major role as a volunteer for the Alberta Foundation for Diabetes Research, as a member of the Eskimo Alumni Association and as a fundraiser and fund provider of the charitable organization that generates the support necessary to ensure that needy children receive a "Jump Start on Education". Tom has a strong sense of being a member of our extensive communities and has demonstrated a real will to "add value" to them.

The Sports Wall of Fame was designed to pay tribute to "the very best of our athletes and builders of our sports programs". Football coaches here at the University of Alberta and across the nation echo the sentiment that Tom Towns was "... as good as they get!" The University of Alberta is proud to recognize this outstanding athlete.