On a mild autumnal Friday evening on November 10th 1978, the Lisburn Sports Advisory Council honoured the Borough's local sporting stars at the annual Lisburn Sports Personality Supper Dance in the Beechlawn Hotel, Dunmurry between Lisburn and Belfast. 

When Sports Advisory Council Chairman Mr. Bill McCarroll announced that Northern Ireland Individual Darts Champion Andy Heffron was third and Linfield Football Club's Alan Fraser was second, most of the 120+ guests assembled that evening suspected that Beechdene Drive resident Herron had retained the award he won the previous year.

Then came the confirmation: 'It's Tom Herron for the second year..............................

To rapturous applause Tom received his trophy, with the voting so tight that only 1.29% separated the top two. 

The Lisburn Sports Personality Award was only one of a number of accolades bestowed upon Tom as 1978 drew to a close. 

He also picked up the Ulster Sports Personality of the Year, the Belfast News Letter Sportsman of the Year and the Enkalon Rider of the Year Awards and was ranked eighth in the Motorcourse Top 10 Riders in the World. 

Tom'TW'Herron.com
January 2011