Draft:Thomas “Tommy Gun” Hungerford

Thomas Hungerford is an American born wrestling and jujitsu specialist. Born on the 24th of November in 1978, his arrival was treated with joy by his mother & father and initial disapproval by his older brothers who had their Thanksgiving meal reduced to TV dinners that year.

His career in wrestling was jumpstarted at an early age as he served as a human stress relief ball by his brothers and many of their friends. He survived this bullying often by hiding under his bed, later telling friends he enjoyed sleeping on the floor.

Often he was sent to the woods alone to receive his vision, often without sunscreen. This contributed greatly to his dark completion and rumors in the community that he was adopted. However, the Hungerford blood ran strong.

Eventually his persistence and endurance were noticed by his older brothers who eventually granted him permanent status in the tribe. They agreed to shepherd young Tom to warrior status. This wasn’t initially easy. Tom could barely lift a plate. Not a gym plate, but a dining plate.

Due to his protruding ribs and lack of muscle mass the elementary school he attended grew concerned that his parents weren’t feeding him. However since this was in the 1980s, the school administrators actually took the parents word for something and all agreed the road to warrior status would take a lot of hard work and likely pounds and pounds of chicken nuggets.

After years of struggle, his wrestling career began to take off late in high school. His weight gain was greatly assisted by kind cafeteria workers who agreed to service him two rectangular shaped pieces of pizza even though he could barely afford one.

He began working in the meat department of the local grocery store. The manager saw someone with a great deal of potential. He agreed to let Tom stay late and punch frozen sides of beef in the cooler, thus hardening Tom’s resolve and cold stone hands.

As the boy became a man, colleges in the immediate 40 mile radius began to take notice. This lead to Tom’s collegiate journey and the beginning of his “Tommy Gun” status. The nickname first arose after a hard, three set burnout of dumbbell curls where the team’s heavyweight said “get a load of the guns on that guy”. Whether sarcasm or not the name stuck, and a wrestling legend was born. While part of the Ithaca College program, Tom’s greatest success in the combat sports took place in non-sanctioned, winner-take all ice wrestling in the hinterlands of the northern NY mountains and reservations.

For many years after he drifted through upstate NY and eventually the southeast. Rarely was he spotted by those in the wrestling community, however some still believed he engaged in tough man competitions in Georgia and Florida.

His true vision quest came late, some would say his midlife crisis. One night while watching UFC fights at the local wing bar he was inspired to return to the mat. He immediately removed his sauce stained bib and found his favorite Nike Pegasus running shoes. He returned to form almost immediately, often dominating the 45-50 year old divisions in rural areas.

Currently he wrestles in open categories throughout Texas and Oklahoma and coaches children, who often refer to him at the man who was “shaped by the hand of Zeus”.

In his spare time he reads Greek poetry and working the Texas land he loves.