The CAC is sad to report that CAC Vice President Tom Drake passed away this morning. Tom was the legal council for the CAC. He was the Speaker Of The House for the State of Alabama under Governor George Wallace. Tom was also the owner of the Drake & Drake Law Firm. The CAC sends condolences to the Drake family and all of Tom’s friends.
— Morgan Dollar, CAC EVP
From the CAC website:
Tom’s background is fascinating, having played in two college all-star games and wrestled at an elite level through college. Tom qualified for the 1952 southern Olympic finals in wrestling and went to the US Olympic Finals in Ames, IA. Tom holds both a Master’s degree and a JD (Law) degree from the University of Alabama and, while in school there, he also coached football under Bear Bryant and started the first-ever wrestling team while at Alabama. Tom served 32 years in the Alabama House of Representatives and was elected Speaker of the House for two terms.
Also, during this time, Tom and his wife, Chris, opened up a law office in their hometown of Cullman, AL. The firm has now been active for 45 years. Both Tom and Chris, who passed away in 2011, served for many years as legal counsel for the club. Tom continues as counsel and Vice-President of CAC, and Chris was also the Club’s Treasurer for 19 years. Tom is active in not only the activities of CAC, but also the International Wrestling Hall of Fame (now named after Dan Gable) in Waterloo, Iowa. In June 2001, he was awarded the Hall’s second-ever Frank Gotch Award at its annual ceremony. In addition to this, Tom serves on the Board of Directors of Attorneys Insurance Mutual of Alabama, Inc., and served for 30 years as Vice Chairman of the Board of Directors for Peoples Bank of North Alabama.