a high level position at any academic institution. The time he spent with me made an indelible mark and ultimately shaped my decision.” The clincher was the third guy Terry met, who served as his unofficial host while on his visit to William and Mary. They ultimately became teammates, roommates, and fraternity brothers. They were both wide receivers. Both went on to become superstars in their chosen professions. Their jobs have taken them to various cities. Terry recently moved to Charlotte, North Carolina. Ironically, the other fellow resides in Pittsburgh and works long hours for the Pittsburgh Steelers. He is head coach Mike Tomlin. If you want to see Coach Tomlin smile, ask him about Terry Hammons. While visiting the Steelers’ practice facility one day, I asked Mike what he would say to Terry before he went out to catch a punt. Coach Tomlin laughed and said, “I reminded him that he was a small man and this is a tough game. Don’t drop the ball.” As for dropping the ball, Terry did drop the ball in a big game against Delaware. Three of USC’s former great players, Scott Hondru, Mark Hondru, and Drew Aramany, were playing for highly-ranked Delaware in that game. Terry, who dropped a punt on the five-yard line, picked up the ball and promptly returned it 95 yards for a game-changing touchdown. He wore his William and Mary #3 jersey proudly that day. One of the oldest rivalries in college football is Harvard vs. William and Mary. To help celebrate the school’s 300th year as an academic institution, Terry scored the first two touchdowns of the game for William and Mary in a big win over Harvard that year. After the fourth game of his freshman year, Terry became a starting wide receiver along with Mike Tomlin and Corey Ludwig, who attended Montour High School. They referred to themselves as the Bomb Squad. Their motto was “We might not be the best receiving corps in the nation… but we think we are.” Similar to his time in high school, Terry became captain his senior year (1995) and led his teammates to more career victories than any other class in the long history of the College of William and Mary. For the record, Terry caught 140 passes, totaling 2134 yards, and finished his career as the third all time leader in both career catches and career receiving yards. Additionally, he was an Academic All-Conference performer for three years and an Academic All-American in 1995. He graduated in the spring of 1996 as a Mortar Board National Honor Society member with a
Terry Hammons and Coach Jim Render at USC on Terry’s college signing day
bachelor of arts degree in English. After dabbling as an insurance salesman post graduation, Terry sent his application to Georgetown University Law School. After an extended period of time and his cancelled check of $40, he realized that he was admitted. He received a partial academic scholarship and, like many young students, work-study programs and loans got him to his end goal over a three-year period. He graduated cum laude in 1999 with a Juris Doctor Degree and as a legal research and writing law fellow. His first job was with Hunton & Williams in Virginia as a member of the law firm’s corporate technology practice team. After two years, he joined Arnold & Porter in Washington D.C. as a member of that firm’s corporate and securities practice group. In those five years, he gained experience in the venture capital and private equity investment field, as well as in mergers and acquisitions. In February 2004, he made a career jump by joining Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. in Allentown, Pennsylvania. He started as chief legal counsel for North America Tonnage Gases and as the company’s lead counsel for worldwide mergers and acquisitions. After four years, the company moved him to London, England, as its senior legal counsel for Europe. After three years in London, he came back to Allentown and was soon promoted to assistant general counsel, responsible for the company’s worldwide corporate legal activities. In addition, Terry was responsible for all commercial legal activities in Europe, the Middle East, India, and Africa for the company’s industrial gases and materials technologies businesses. He concluded 12 years of service with the Allentown company in the summer of 2015. That fall, he moved his family to Charlotte, North Carolina, where he assumed the position of vice president and deputy counsel for the Albemarle Corporation, a leading specialty chemical company providing innovative chemistry solutions to customers in more than 100 countries around the world. The day of our last interview conversation, Terry was waiting in the Charlotte airport for a plane bound for Austria. His goal is to become general counsel for a Fortune 500 company. My bet is that it will happen. Terry has shown he knows how to overcome and succeed. Terry’s family includes his lovely wife, Tara, and their daughter, Annabelle. Father and daughter share the same birth date. If you took a chance and guessed the date to be the number “3” you would be correct! Annabelle turned seven on February third. n
A photo taken from William and Mary’s Tribe, the school’s official publication Spring 2016
Terry Hammons, today UPPER ST. CLAIR TODAY
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