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Take one look at the Hilltopper Record Book and it's easy to see why many longtime Western fans still proclaim Tom Marshall to be one of, if not THE, greatest player ever to don the red and white. Forty-five years after playing his last game as a Hilltopper, the 6' 4" Mt. Juliet, TN. native still ranks third on the all-time scoring list with 1,909 pts. and a career scoring average of 19.09 ppg, still the fifth-highest career average for a Hilltopper. His 44 pts. (and 22 rebounds) against Eastern Ky. in 1954 still ranks as the seventh highest scoring outburst ever by a Topper. In addition, his senior year scoring average of 25.9 ppg. stands as the fourth-best mark ever, ranking him behind only Jim McDaniels and Darel Carrier in that category. Marshall also ranks second on the all-time rebounding list with 1,225 rebounds and a career average of 12.3 rpg. His 29 rebounds in an 89-71 crushing of Louisville in 1953 is still the single-game high in Western Kentucky history. He also holds five other school records: field goals attempted in a season (692), field goals attempted in a career (1,647), free throws made in a game (18), free throws made in a season (265), and free throws attempted in a season (359). Overall, he ranks among Western's all-time top 10 in nine different categories. Billy Robinson, a life-long Bowling Green resident and former Hilltopper player from the 1930's, had this to say about Marshall, "If I'm not careful, I'm liable to say that Tom Marshall is the greatest athlete to ever play basketball at Western. He could do it all." Former WKU All-American Bobby Rascoe tends to agree with that assessment, "He was without a doubt one of the finest all-around players that ever played at Western, he had all of the abilities. One thing I'll always remember was the enormous hands that he had, especially when he was handling the ball. They were like catcher's mitts." Yet another longtime Hilltopper fan went so far as to say that he thought Marshall was at that time the best player in the entire country......at ANY level. The 1953-54
Hilltopper preseason analysis contained these comments concerning
"The 200-pound senior is an extremely fast man and can hit with deadly accuracy with every shot in the book - hooks, jumps, tips, bat-ins, long shots or mediums. It doesn't make any difference to Marshall, if there is an opening he can make the shot good. In addition, he is a powerful driver and loves to play the lightning fast-break style of basketball for which Western Kentucky teams are so well known." The three varsity teams that Marshall was a member of also rank as some of the most sucessful in Hilltopper history. From 1951-1954 those teams won a total of 80 games compared to only 14 defeats. They also participated in three straight NIT Tournaments, then college basketball's true national championship event. Unfortunately, as has been the case down through the years for Western, injuries and bad breaks cost those teams at least one national title. In the 1952 NIT the Hilltoppers defeated Louisville in the first-round but a late injury to Marshall in that game led to a 70-69 second-round defeat at the hands of St. Bonaventure, bringing the end to a wonderful 26-5 season. In 1954, the Toppers arrived at Madison Square Garden with a brilliant 29-1 record primed and ready to finally bring that elusive national title back to the Hill. After crushing Bowling Green State 95-81 in the first round, up next was Holy Cross and their star Tommy Heinsohn in the second round. However, once again injuries deterred those hopes as Jack Turner, Western's standout point guard and floor leader left the game in the first half with an injured ankle. The situation was made even worse by questionable officiating in the second half. The New York Times described it as such, "Ed Diddle's Hilltoppers got none of the best officiating breaks, a couple of tough calls going against them at key points." Marshall, in a valiant effort however, poured in 22 points, grabbed 22 rebounds, and dished out 7 assists, but in the end the obstacles were too much to overcome and once again fate was against the Toppers as they fell to the eventual champions 75-69. So ended Tom Marshall's remarkable career on the Hill. However, his accomplishments were not to be overlooked, as Marshall was named second-team All-American in 1954. Thus becoming the first Hilltopper, and one of only three to this day, to be named a consensus All-American. Marshall continued his basketball career on the professional level and had stints with the Rochester Royals, the Detroit Pistons and the Cincinnati Royals, where he also served as player/head coach from 1958-60. However, Marshall never seemed to truly fulfill his unlimited potential as a professional. A potential that many say could have made him one of the true early legends of the game. In 1992,
Marshall became a member of the second class to be inducted into
the Western Today, Marshall is retired and currently residing in South Florida.
Name:
Tom Marshall
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Marshall: 
Kentucky University
Hall of Fame.