Howe Of Fife Rugby Club is in mourning for the loss of one of the greatest figures in its long history the former Scottish Rugby Union president Tom Pearson, who died this week at the age of 83.
Tom was synonymous with the Cupar club over six decades as a player, coach, referee, school teacher and latterly as an administrator at a national level, both in a ceremonial post as SRU president in season 1988-89 but also as a hands-on innovator in developing the game in this country.
He was chairman of the Scottish selectors from 1976 to 1980 and was one of the figures behind the move to form the SRU coaching panel which installed the union’s first technical director and laid the groundwork for the likes of Jim Telfer and others to succeed at a national and international level.
A PE teacher himself at Buckhaven High School, he was instrumental in forming youth rugby initiatives both at Howe, in the Midlands and at national level.
Born at Gateside and educated at Bell Baxter High in Cupar, Howe was where his heart lay and he viewed the successes of the club in recent seasons with great pride, the four successive promotions into Premier League Rugby and especially the all-conquering youth team based at the club that won the Scottish Schools Cup and Youth League three years ago.
Tom was a former principal PE teacher and assistant rector at Buckhaven and was first elected to the Scottish Rugby Union general committee as Midlands District representative in season 1969-70. He managed the Scotland tour to Japan in 1977 before ill-health caused him to retire in 1980, but he later returned as SRU president.
He and his wife Betty marked their 60th wedding anniversary this year. He is also survived by son Colin, daughter Marjorie, and three grandchildren.