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5 unusual facts about Tom Waddell


Common Threads: Stories from the Quilt

Dr. Tom Waddell, founder of the Gay Games; his story is told by his friend and the mother of his child, Sara Lewinstein.

International Gay and Lesbian Football Association

The association is affiliated with the Federation of Gay Games and awards the annual Tom Waddell Memorial Trophy (created in 1988) to the winner of its men's tournament (held as part of the Gay Games in years when that event is held).

Tom Waddell

The international sporting event was later renamed the Gay Games after the United States Olympic Committee (USOC) sued Waddell for using the word "Olympic" in the original name.

Waddell attended medical school at New Jersey College of Medicine, a division of Seton Hall University, and in 1965 undertook his medical internship at Beth El Hospital, Brooklyn.

His battle against HIV/AIDS is one of the subjects of the award-winning documentary Common Threads: Stories from the Quilt With sports writer Dick Schaap, Waddell wrote an autobiography titled Gay Olympian.



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