Rose Bowl Legacy Foundation to Dedicate Tunnel 4 in Honor of Coach Tom Hamilton

PASADENA, Calif. (August 2019) On October 31, prior to the Turkey Tussle between Pasadena High School and John Muir High School, the Rose Bowl Legacy Foundation will dedicate stadium Tunnel 4 in honor of former Pasadena High School football coach, athletic director and community icon, Tom Hamilton.  The donation to name the tunnel was generously provided by Mickey and Lee Segal; the former having played for Coach Hamilton when he attended Pasadena High School. Segal is currently the President of the Legacy Foundation Board of Directors and the Chair of the organization’s $40M capital campaign. 

The dedication event on October 31 will be free and open to the public.  As of now, the dedication area will be cleared prior to the opening of the gates for the Turkey Tussle football game in which game tickets will be required for entry.

"Coach Hamilton was an inspiring leader. He was able to get 110%‎ performance from every player. But more importantly, he was able to teach and develop character and responsibility in each and every one us," said Mickey Segal, President of the Legacy Foundation Board.

A plaque displaying Hamilton’s name and accomplishments will reside at the opening of the tunnel and will remain to inspire and motivate all who enter, just as he did with all those who knew him. 

Coach Hamilton, who passed in 2004, had a rich history in the Rose Bowl Stadium as well, coaching in the annual Turkey Tussle against John Muir High School, where his teams were victorious 16 out of the 24 times that the rivals met under his watch.

Gary Griffiths, who was Coach Hamilton’s assistant for 13 years, observed, “He won just about everything you can win as far as a high school coach. Yet the concept of the football coach is such a minute part of who he was. He elevated all the standards.”

Coach Hamilton’s tunnel is one of 12 tunnels to be named in honor of donors, community supporters, organizations (such as the Pittsburgh Steelers) and universities (such as UCLA, Michigan and Harvard) around the venue’s famous concourse.  “Coach Hamilton contributed to this community and to so many young men and women in the San Gabriel Valley and beyond,” said Legacy’s Chief Development Officer Dedan Brozino. “To honor him in this way, through one of his former players in Mickey, is so special and adds to the legacy surrounding the stadium’s rich history.”