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Thomas Kron ’63

Thomas M. Kron was born in Owensboro, Kentucky on February 28, 1943.

Kron played for the legendary Orlando “Gunner” Wyman at Tell City High School. He led the Marksmen to 4 Sectional and 3 Regional titles and during Tommy’s Junior season (1960–61), he led them to the Indiana Final Four. The Marksmen lost their semi-final matchup to the Indianapolis Manual Redskins, starring the Van Arsdale Twins, Dick Van Arsdale and Tom Van Arsdale. He was named All-State and an Indiana All-Star in 1962. Kron was inducted into the Indiana Basketball Hall of Fame in 2001.

Brother Kron played college basketball at the University of Kentucky under legendary coach Adolph Rupp. As a senior member of Rupp’s Runts during the 1965-1966 season, he led Kentucky to the NCAA Championship Finals versus UTEP, playing alongside such All-Americans as Pat Riley, Thad Jaracz and Louie Dampier.

Upon graduation from Kentucky, Kron had scored 719 points, grabbed 500 rebounds, and dished out 134 assists. In 1964-65 he was named both First Team All-Southeastern Conference by the coaches and Third Team by the AP. In 1965-66, he was named Third Team All-Southeastern Conference by the UPI.

In 1966, the St. Louis Hawks made him their 3rd round pick; as a rookie, he averaged 2.1 points per game off the bench. He then moved to Seattle, following the 1967 NBA Expansion Draft as a member of the SuperSonics and spent the next two seasons (1967–68 and 1968–69) coming off the bench and averaging 9.7 and 5.1 respectively. Tommy then moved to the ABA rejoining his Kentucky teammate Louie Dampier in leading the Colonels to the playoffs. He finished his career with the Colonels, becoming a fan favorite during the 1969 and 1970 seasons.

Brother Kron cherished his time on campus and within the Chapter. He credited the Chapter as the vehicle which formed lifelong bonds with Bothers Jim Snider, James Paul (2015 HOF inductee) and Big Brother Jim Showalter. Many laughs were had reliving the great experiences this group and others experienced as Brothers.

Tommy Kron joined the Chapter Celestial at age 64 on November 29, 2007.