[2] His namesake boat the SS Thomas F. Cole was built by United States Steel's Pittsburgh Steamship Company in 1907.

[3] His first management job at 27 where he oversaw several Michigan mines earning him the title "Boy Superintendent.

Under his direction, he moved the company's headquarters from Pittsburgh to his resident city of Duluth, Minnesota.

The western Mesabi range was developed by Cole's ability to convince the directors of the company to open mines of lower grade ore.

Their first mine, the Irish Mag in Bisbee, Arizona, was the richest strike in the region at the time.