Tommy Casanova
Encyclopedia
Thomas Henry "Tommy" Casanova, III (born July 29, 1950) is an ophthalmologist in Crowley, Louisiana
Crowley, Louisiana
Crowley is a city in and the parish seat of Acadia Parish, Louisiana, United States. The population was 14,225 at the 2000 census. The city is noted for its annual International Rice Festival. Crowley has the nickname of "Rice Capital of America", because at one time it was a major center for...

, and a former American football
American football
American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...

 player and politician. He played football for the LSU Tigers
LSU Tigers football
The LSU Tigers football team, also known as the Fighting Tigers or Bayou Bengals, represents Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, United States in NCAA Division I FBS college football. Current head coach Les Miles has led the team since 2005. Since 1999 when Nick Saban took over as...

 and the Cincinnati Bengals
Cincinnati Bengals
The Cincinnati Bengals are a professional football team based in Cincinnati, Ohio. They are members of the AFC's North Division in the National Football League . The Bengals began play in 1968 as an expansion team in the American Football League , and joined the NFL in 1970 in the AFL-NFL...

. He was also a Republican
Republican Party (United States)
The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...

 member of the Louisiana State Senate
Louisiana State Legislature
The Louisiana State Legislature is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Louisiana. It is bicameral body, comprising the lower house, the Louisiana House of Representatives with 105 representatives, and the upper house, the Louisiana Senate with 39 senators...

 from 1996 to 2000.

Early life

Born in New Orleans, Casanova graduated in 1968 from the Roman Catholic Notre Dame High School
Notre Dame High School (Crowley)
Notre Dame High School is a private, Catholic high school in Crowley, Louisiana. It was formed in 1967 by consolidating the three Catholic high schools in Acadia Parish; St. Michael of Crowley, St. Joseph of Rayne, and St. Francis of Iota...

 in Crowley, the seat of Acadia Parish.

College

After high school, Casanova went to Louisiana State University
Louisiana State University
Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, most often referred to as Louisiana State University, or LSU, is a public coeducational university located in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The University was founded in 1853 in what is now known as Pineville, Louisiana, under the name...

 in Baton Rouge, where he became one of the greatest LSU football
LSU Tigers football
The LSU Tigers football team, also known as the Fighting Tigers or Bayou Bengals, represents Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, United States in NCAA Division I FBS college football. Current head coach Les Miles has led the team since 2005. Since 1999 when Nick Saban took over as...

 players in the history of the institution. He played three seasons for LSU
LSU Tigers football
The LSU Tigers football team, also known as the Fighting Tigers or Bayou Bengals, represents Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, United States in NCAA Division I FBS college football. Current head coach Les Miles has led the team since 2005. Since 1999 when Nick Saban took over as...

: 1969, 1970, and 1971. At LSU, Casanova did it all, playing running back, punt returner, kick returner, and defensive back. During each of his three years at LSU, he was selected as a member of the College Football All-America Team
College Football All-America Team
The College Football All-America Team is an honor given annually to the best American college football players at their respective positions. The original usage of the term All-America seems to have been to the 1889 College Football All-America Team selected by Casper Whitney and published in This...

 (Casanova is the only three-time All-American in LSU history). In the September 13, 1971 issue of Sports Illustrated
Sports Illustrated
Sports Illustrated is an American sports media company owned by media conglomerate Time Warner. Its self titled magazine has over 3.5 million subscribers and is read by 23 million adults each week, including over 18 million men. It was the first magazine with circulation over one million to win the...

, the magazine featured Casanova on the front cover, with the headline: "Tommy Casanova of LSU, Best Player in the Nation." In 2000, the Walter Camp Football Foundation
Walter Camp Football Foundation
The Walter Camp Football Foundation is one of the organizations whose College Football All-America Team is recognized by the NCAA. The organization also presents various awards.-Awards:*Walter Camp Player of the Year*CT Player of the Year...

 selected Casanova for their All-Century team
(honoring the best college football players of the 20th century). Major games from Casanova's time at LSU include #9 LSU's 21-20 victory over #14 Auburn in 1969 (televised on ABC), #14 LSU's 17-9 victory at #6 Auburn in 1970, #11 LSU's 14-9 victory at #19 Alabama in 1970 (televised on ABC), #8 LSU's 61-17 victory over #16 Ole Miss in 1970 (televised on ABC), and #14 LSU's 28-8 victory over #7 Notre Dame in 1971 (televised on ABC). His jersey (#37) was retired from LSU football on October 10, 2009.

NFL

In 1972, Casanova was drafted in Round 2, pick 29 by the Cincinnati Bengals
Cincinnati Bengals
The Cincinnati Bengals are a professional football team based in Cincinnati, Ohio. They are members of the AFC's North Division in the National Football League . The Bengals began play in 1968 as an expansion team in the American Football League , and joined the NFL in 1970 in the AFL-NFL...

. He played safety for the Bengals from 1972 to 1977, being selected to the Pro Bowl
Pro Bowl
In professional American football, the Pro Bowl is the all-star game of the National Football League . Since the merger with the rival American Football League in 1970, it has been officially called the AFC–NFC Pro Bowl, matching the top players in the American Football Conference against those...

 in 1974, 1975, 1976, and 1977. Known as a faster than average, hard-hitting free safety, Casanova also collected 17 career interceptions, in what is considered a short career.

Later life

While playing for the Bengals, Casanova began to pursue his M.D. at the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine. In 1977, he quit playing football early to pursue his medical degree full time. He graduated from the UC College of Medicine in 1980, and then began a three-year residency in ophthalmology
Ophthalmology
Ophthalmology is the branch of medicine that deals with the anatomy, physiology and diseases of the eye. An ophthalmologist is a specialist in medical and surgical eye problems...

 in New Orleans. After completing his residency in 1983, Casanova went on to complete a specialization in Oculoplastic Surgery
Oculoplastics
Oculoplastics, or oculoplastic surgery, includes a wide variety of surgical procedures that deal with the orbit , eyelids, tear ducts, and the face...

 at the University of Utah
University of Utah
The University of Utah, also known as the U or the U of U, is a public, coeducational research university in Salt Lake City, Utah, United States. The university was established in 1850 as the University of Deseret by the General Assembly of the provisional State of Deseret, making it Utah's oldest...

 in Salt Lake City.

Politics

In the historically Democratic District 26, the Republican Casanova upset veteran state Senator Armand Brinkhaus of Sunset
Sunset, Louisiana
Sunset is a town in St. Landry Parish, Louisiana, United States. The population was 2,897 at the 2010 census. It is part of the Opelousas–Eunice Micropolitan Statistical Area.-Geography:Sunset is located at ....

, a small town
Town
A town is a human settlement larger than a village but smaller than a city. The size a settlement must be in order to be called a "town" varies considerably in different parts of the world, so that, for example, many American "small towns" seem to British people to be no more than villages, while...

 in St. Landry Parish, in the 1995 Louisiana jungle primary
Jungle primary
A nonpartisan blanket primary is a primary election in which all candidates for elected office run in the same primary regardless of political party. Under this system, the top two candidates who receive the most votes advance to the next round, as in a runoff election...

. Casanova received 21,543 votes (58 percent) to Brinkhaus' 15,753 (42 percent). In addition to Acadia and St. Landry parishes, the district included parts of five other parishes: Avoyelles, Calcasieu, Cameron, Jefferson Davis, and Lafayette. After a single term, Casanova declined to seek reelection and returned to his ophthalmology practice in Crowley. He was succeeded by the Democrat Fred Hoyt. In the 2003 gubernatorial election, Casanova supported a Democratic candidate, former State Senate President Randy Ewing
Randy Ewing
Randy Lew Ewing is a Jackson Parish businessman who, as a Democrat, represented District 35 in the Louisiana State Senate from 1988 to 2000. He was the State Senate President in his last term from 1996 to 2000, which corresponded with the first term of Republican Governor Murphy J...

 of Jackson Parish in north Louisiana. Ewing's term as Senate president coincided with Casanova's legislative years.

Family

Tommy is living in Crowley, LA. Casanova is married to Jeanne Basara, and they have two children, Lauren and Dominic. His daughter, Lauren Casanova, follows in her father's footsteps, attending Louisiana State University
Louisiana State University
Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, most often referred to as Louisiana State University, or LSU, is a public coeducational university located in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The University was founded in 1853 in what is now known as Pineville, Louisiana, under the name...

. She is actively studying Latin Ballroom, specifically the Cha Cha. He is a member of the Louisiana and Acadia Parish medical societies as well as the Louisiana Clean Team, the LSU Alumni Association, and Ducks Unlimited
Ducks Unlimited
Ducks Unlimited is an international non-profit organization dedicated to the conservation of wetlands and associated upland habitats for waterfowl, other wildlife, and people. It currently has approximately 780,000 members, mostly in the United States and Canada.-Introduction:Ducks Unlimited was...

.
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