Tom Waddell
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- For the Major League Baseball player, see Tom Waddell (baseball).
Dr. Tom Waddell (November 1, 1937 - July 11, 1987) was the gay American sportsman who founded the Gay Games, originally called the Gay Olympics.
Tom was a football player and gymnast when he was in college. He served as a military doctor afterward. He represented USA in decathlon at the 1968 Summer Olympics. In his medical career, he had done research on viruses and served the Saudi Royal family.
Tom had a daughter with a lesbian. He died of AIDS in 1987. His battle against HIV/AIDS is depicted in the award-winning documentary Common Threads: Stories from the Quilt.
Tom wrote an autobiography titled Gay Olympian.
