Al McCoy’s longtime barber reflects on the Phoenix sports legend, their friendship

PHOENIX (AZFamily) — For nearly 60 years, Ron Thomas has cut hair in Phoenix, and many years at a small 7th Avenue shop in the Melrose District.

“It’s very unassuming when you drive by, “ he said.

He does not use electric clippers, only traditional tools. Ron’s hands, his sense of touch, have been his life’s work as a barber, artist and as a fly fisherman.

His profession and hobbies are details with photos and items all over his shop, telling a story in Phoenix that spans decades. And part of that story is a man who used, not touch, but sound for his life’s work. For more than 50 years, legendary Phoenix Suns announcer Al McCoy came to Ron for a chat and a cut.

McCoy passed away Sept. 21 at the age of 91.

“Cotton used to say, ‘You gotta go to my guy, you gotta go to my guy,’” Ron said.

Former Suns coach Cotton Fitzsimmons connected the men shortly after Al got to town. He said with Al, what you see is what you get. McCoy was a kind, family man who everyone in town knew without knowing. Ron said he liked to tell stories at the shop and talk about his roots: a farm boy from Iowa who became an NBA legend without ever picking up a ball. Al was the original Sixth Man.

Ron said Al enjoyed a nice vodka martini on occasion, but he never cussed.

“Ever. When he spoke, he said it wasn’t necessary,” Ron said.

Al had a sense of humor, recording answering machines messages for him at the shop.

“Come and get a haircut, wham bam slam!,” Ron said with jubilation. “He did all that stuff.”

Now if you are expecting Ron to have all sorts of gossip that only a barber would know, you are not going to get that. Ron will not have those stories about Al, and even if he did, barbers know better than to talk.

But Ron said there were things the public maybe did not know, like how generous Al was. He said McCoy wrote book but never kept the money when he sold one, instead sending it back to Iowa.

“All the funds went to the library in that little town in Williams,” Ron said. “Anytime he sold a book, that’s where the money went.”

Ron has mementos of Al all around—memories of their friendship he will cherish now that Al is gone.

Al was disciplined and consistent; Ron admired that. He said Al found his lane early and stayed in it for more than 50 years, and that approach served him and generations of fans for decades to come.

“Once you find out who you are, the sky is the limit,” he said. “You can go as far as you want to go.”

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