When college football coach Mike Leach passed away 9 days ago, mentees and friends within the industry talked about their plans to connect with him, or recent interactions. He was that type of guy. Like him or not, he was charismatic-often speaking his mind on any number of subjects. Fans connected with him because of his frankness and approachability.

As is the case when someone dies too young, people talk about making the most of your time and reaching out to friends and family. Even when we don’t know the deceased, we talk about connecting with people in our own life. The other theme resonating with me was the passing of a character in the sports world.

I really wanted to post about some of the characters with whom I’ve crossed paths in the past 15 years or so and Tom Browning immediately came to mind. Then Mr. Perfect died a few days later at 62. I never thought of him being only a few years older than me because his playing career ended in 1995.

By now, if you’ve read of his passing, you know about the key points in his career; the perfect game in 1988, his WS ring with the Reds in 1990, and his famous day at Wrigley in 1993.

The first time I met Tom was on the back fields at Goodyear Stadium, spring home of the Cincinnati Reds. At the time he was a minor league pitching coach in the system. A few fans called out, “Mr. Perfect, can you sign please.” He didn’t quite bristle at the moniker, although he accepted the responsibility graciously (as he always did). He was the 10th pitcher in the World Series era to throw a perfect game. He answered every question and seemed to feel quite ordinary when compared to some of his compatriots whose signatures also appeared on the ball or photo. After the initial encounter, he almost always asked them to call him Tom or Mr. Browning, based on their age.

Somewhere down the line, I got him to sign an item or two for me, but after talking with him, I really wanted a picture with him (which I can’t find, but I know it’s out there).

Flash forward to the 2014 FL season when he was the pitching coach for the Glendale Desert Dogs and our relationship changed. I was covering the Reds prospects and he was one of my better resources that year. Not only did he provide me with great information, he treated me like someone in the game. More importantly, he entertained me repeatedly with great stories and humorous descriptions of his teammates and former coaches. He was a phenomenal storyteller and had a great wit.

Ultimately, he was good guy, one that happened to be a successful former ballplayer. In 11 seasons with the Reds, he was 123-88. He led the NL in games started four times, exceeded 225 innings pitched 6 times and pitched rapidly. He was also very approachable and loved a good time. If you’ve read about his passing, you couldn’t have missed the legendary photo of him in his Reds uniform sitting on the rail of an apartment overlooking Wrigley Field in 1993. He embraced the notoriety of that afternoon as few others could.

Of his experience in Indy ball and coaching for Dayton, he was happiest because he was closer to home and Cincinnati. A few years ago, he purchased a bar in Newport with his sons. One of m biggest regrets is not getting to Brownings on York to watch a game with Tom.

My hope is that I get to Newport and Browning’s on York to toast a really good guy with his sons.

R.I.P to a one-of-a-kind character and good guy!