17/07/2026
Tribute to Tom McNab by Lynne Milner
Tom NcNab
Many of you will have read posts following the recent death of Tom McNab, but probably won’t know his background or the significance of his relationship with our club and the huge influence he had in the progression of athletics in St. Albans.
Tom, from Glasgow, trained as a PE teacher and as an athlete himself received many medals and accolades for his achievements in triple jump and decathlon. He helped develop the concept of the British Athletic League back in the late 60’s, and he was British Team Coach in the 1972 Montreal Olympics and 1978 Olympics and also coached Greg Rutherford in his developmental stage. He also worked with Chelsea FC as fitness advisor for the 1970 FA Cup, the England Rugby team as fitness advisor when they won silver at the 1991 World Cup, and the British Bobsleigh Team.
In 1988, Tom who lived in St. Albans, ran athletics taster sessions for school children during the summer holidays. These were extremely successful, but once the holidays were over, parents wanted to know where we could go to continue athletics all year round. And the seed was sown. There was already a track at Abbey View, which was underused. Tom approached St Albans District Council with a view to using the track on a regular basis to encourage local children to take part. He then held a meeting with parents who were as enthusiastic as he was, and volunteers were enlisted for both admin and helpers at the training sessions. At this time Tom was having to bring in outside coaches, so he approached St. Albans Godfrey Davis (Ford dealers) for sponsorship, and this helped fund these coaches.
The number of attendees to the sessions was increasing every week, and it was agreed we would launch the Club in February 1989 – to be known as St. Albans Godfrey Davis Athletic Club (SAGDAC). This was a great success, and, on the night, we enrolled over 120 athletes. Initially it was open to children from eight to 18, the senior side came much later. We could not be, at this stage, a competitive club as we had no ‘home grown’ coaches or officials, so many of us attended coaching and/or officiating courses over the next 12 months and became qualified to carry out these posts. We were now ready to apply to England Athletics for membership. This was granted and we joined our first league – the Eastern Young Athletes League.
Occasionally Tom brought in Olympians who would come along to join in our training sessions Sally Gunnell, Colin Jackson, Daley Thomson, John Regis, Fatima Whitbread, Brian Hooper, Tony Jarrard and Denise Lewis, to name but a few. These ‘superstars’ were very happy to join in the sessions and talk to the athletes about how to ‘make it’ at the highest level of athletics.
By this time, we had a full complement of coaches and officials, so Tom stepped back a little so that we could develop our newfound skills and he could concentrate on his other projects and his writing. However, he would always be there to follow and support our budding athletes and advise the coaches. Our Club name then changed from SAGDAC to St. Albans AC when Godfrey Davis changed hands and were no longer able to sponsor us.
And look at us now. We have our very own home-grown Olympian, several GB representatives, a world and European masters champion, highly qualified coaches and officials, a collaboration with St. Albans Striders, and a membership well over 600. For all of this, we thank Tom for his dream of creating a club in St. Albans back in 1989 and the priceless knowledge he passed on to those who were lucky enough to be guided by it, and able to pass it on to their successors.
Our sincere condolences go to Tom’s family and friends – the world of athletics will not be the same without him. RIP Tom.
