Tony Tomsic, who worked for the Cleveland Press and, starting in 1981, for Sports Illustrated and the NFL,  and who photographed the first 48 Super Bowls, passed away Sunday, April 21.

Tomsic took many famous Super Bowl photos, including the one of Vince Lombardi celebrating a Green Bay Packers Super Bowl II championship that is in the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton.

Nine of Tomsic's pictures were included in the NFL's 1999 coffee-table book "Best Shots," commemorating the greatest NFL photographs of the century. Tomsick’s photos were on 20 Sports Illustrated covers.

Tomsic was in the documentary "Keepers of the Streak," along with John Biever, Walter Looss and Mickey Palmer as the only photographers covering the first 48 Super Bowls.

Tony was inducted into the Cleveland Journalism Hall of Fame by the Press Club in 1994.

Tony also was struck in 1996 by a baseball thrown from the outfield by an angry Albert Belle that cut Tony’s left hand.

Tomsic, working for Sports Illustrated, was standing near the Indians' dugout before the game against Toronto when he was struck in the left hand by a ball Belle threw from the outfield. Belle had been angered because Tomsic took his picture while he was stretching earlier.

 

Tomsic didn't mention it till a Cleveland reporter asked him about it.

"I didn't want to make a big thing out of it," Tomsic said. "But when a player is on the field, he is fair game."

Tomsic said he had backed off after Belle shook his finger at him for taking his picture.

Indians pitcher Orel Hershiser, fellow Tribe players Alvaro Espinoza and Omar Vizquel came to Tomsic’s rescue.