When Tom Kowalski first walked into The Oakland Press in 1978 he did not have a college degree, but he was brimming with talent and a willingness to work. He took phone calls from high school coaches and performed some of the scrub work including making fast-food runs for the sports editor.

He quickly worked himself up the chain and became the paper’s Detroit Lions beat writer a few years later. For 30 years the man known as “Killer” put his mark on the beat.

Kowalski, who died of a sudden heart attack 10 years ago at the age 51, will be inducted into the Michigan Sports Hall of Fame on Friday along with a few notables including Calvin Johnson and Chauncey Billups.

While he was often the life of the party, Kowalski was serious about his craft. He wanted to be first with a story but mostly he wanted to be accurate. The competition among the veteran beat writers was fierce and he was always in the middle of the battle.

He helped young sports writers along the way including this one. His words often ring in my head while writing. Be yourself. Write the truth. He always told you what he thought, not necessarily what you wanted to hear. That brutal honesty was one of his trademarks that brought him respect from coaches, players, colleagues and friends.

While writing was his priority, Kowalski became a bigtime player in Detroit sports talk radio. Those who didn’t know him from his newspaper reporting quickly became fans. They gave him grief at times and fearlessly he dished it right back. It was clearly a love-love relationship.

He also became a fixture on the FOX-2’s Lions coverage including pre-game shows where he  verbally sparred with Dan Miller, Bob Wojnowski and Jennifer Hammond.

After nearly 20 years at The Oakland Press he moved to Booth Newspapers (now MLive) continuing to cover the Lions.

For his last Oakland Press story Kowalski was part of the Red Wings playoffs coverage in Denver in 1997. His sidebar focused on Sergei Fedorov who had come off the bench after a chest injury to score the game-winner, saying goodbye to the criticism he couldn’t step up in the playoffs.

Kowalski ended his story: “And then, after all of those years of learning the rigors of the game, he finally said goodbye.”

Asked him later and he admitted those words had a double meaning. He was saying goodbye to the Oakland Press which had opened the door for him. The newspaper clipping remains in my desk drawer 24 years later.

After his death in 2011, the Lions named their media room at Allen Park after him. Signs were installed just weeks after his death. The Professional Football Hall of Fame honored him in 2012 with the Dick McCann Award given by the Professional Football Writers of America to a reporter who has made a long and distinguished contribution to pro football.

The big guy — he was 6-6 — will never be forgotten and not just among the football crowd.

Kowalski started a Christmas tradition years before he died at a little dive bar in Keego Harbor. All tips on the Christmas party night went into a pot to buy presents for underprivileged kids in the neighborhood. He was thrilled to raise a few thousand dollars each year. He wanted the kids to have the best gifts – electronics and the cool stuff, as he would say.

When he died, his friends created the Tom Kowalski Foundation and continued the Christmas party which outgrew its original location and has expanded to help local charities. A few years ago (before the pandemic) the total was $120,000 in one night. In the last 10 years more than $600,000 has been raised by his foundation, KillerCares.org.

It seems fitting that a Hall of Famer had an impact that will be felt long after he has left this Earth.

While he excelled at his career, he also gathered so many friends along the way. He was one of my best friends and I miss him every day.

The Michigan Sports Hall of Fame will induct its 2020 Class at a special induction event at the MotorCity Hotel Casino SoundBoard in Detroit on Friday, Oct. 1 from 6-9 p.m. Tickets are available to the public, starting at $25 at michigansportshof.org. Other inductees include Shane Battier, Jordyn Webber, photographer Mary Schroeder and the late Ralph Wilson Jr. as a contributor. The Detroit Red Wings “Grind Line” will be honored as Michigan Treasures.