‘I should have been gone’ | How a 60-year-old traded in pallets for shoulder pads

CARROLL COUNTY, Md. (WHP) — Every athlete at every level has a story to tell. Some people like to share those stories, and others let their play do the talking. At McDaniel College, one of their newest athletes is also one of their most experienced, off the field.

“It was kind of a one off just walking into the office and it’s like, who’s this guy walking into my office [who] wants to play football, that’s not an 18 year old,” head coach Skyler Fultz said.

Tom Green, owner of Northeast Pallet in Littlestown, Adams County, is a true freshman defensive lineman at McDaniel College. He’s also the oldest college football player in the entire United States.

At 60 years old, Green is the oldest player on the team by many years, but you couldn’t convince him that.

“The laughter, oh I love that part,” he said. “You know, we laugh. I mean they act like their age, you know, and that’s the best part. I love to cut out and just like the rest of the guys.”

His teammates agree and say they’ve embraced Green as one of their own.

“It was just a little shocking because of his age,” sophomore linebacker Ashawn Mears said. “But he’s coming to play football, it was more motivating.”

Green grew up near McDaniel in Maryland and said he worked at his father’s wood pallet and sawmill company growing up.

Green was one of 12 children in his family and said he was often consumed with helping his father. Because he needed to help his father, attending school was never important.

“When I was 12 years old and all these kids were out there playing sports in the summer, not me,” Green said. “I was down working on the sawmill, working in the company.”

Many years after forgoing college, life started to catch up to Tom. He lost his money, his health, and he lost his way.

“They should have put me in the ground in May of 2018 … I should have been gone, but here I am.”

Facing cancer, Tom fought for his life, eventually overcoming the disease and starting his own pallet company in Littlestown.

But after all of that, Tom needed a new challenge. He enrolled at McDaniel College, but just being a student wasn’t enough.

“So it started with an email going, ‘Hey, is this something you would consider?’ And I get like 45, 50 emails a day and sometimes things get lost,” Fultz said. “And next thing you know, walks into my office, ‘Hey, can I talk to you real quick?'”