American football player (born 1949)
American football player
William Jeffrey Thomas
(born August 7, 1949) is a former professional
American football
running back
in the
National Football League
(NFL) for the
Dallas Cowboys
,
Houston Oilers
and
Kansas City Chiefs
. He was drafted by the Cowboys in the first round of the
1972 NFL Draft
. He played
college football
at
Boston College
.
Early years
[
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]
Thomas attended
Peekskill High School
, before accepting a football scholarship from
Boston College
. In April 1970, he dislocated his left shoulder playing
basketball
, so he had to wear a harness during the
football
season, until he was forced to have surgery and miss one game.
[1]
In 1971, he helped the school achieve their best record (9-2) in a season since 1954, while posting 119 carries for 598 yards and 2
touchdowns
.
[2]
His versatility running and blocking was valued by the team, so he spent his playing time between the
halfback
and
fullback
positions. Fighting through injuries for most of his college career, he recorded a total of 931 career rushing yards (4.5-yard average), 2
touchdowns
and was never the leading rusher on his team. He also
lettered
in
track
and ran the
200 metres
.
Professional career
[
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]
Dallas Cowboys
[
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]
Coming off their
Super Bowl VI
win, the
Dallas Cowboys
entered the
1972 NFL Draft
worried about the future of
Duane Thomas
and the injury history of
Calvin Hill
, so they focused on their
running back
depth. With their first round draft choice the team selected Thomas, who was ranked sixth overall on their draft board and with their second draft choice they selected
Robert Newhouse
.
[3]
He never fully recovered from the left shoulder injury he suffered in college and re-injured it during a dummy blocking drill in
training camp
. He went through surgery to repair the staple pin that was used to secure the shoulder in the original operation and was placed on injured reserve. He was activated for the eighth game of the
1972 season
, touching the ball only twice as a rookie during
kickoff
returns.
On September 28,
1973
, he was waived due to his lack of progress and his injury history and to make room for
running back
Cyril Pinder
.
[4]
Houston Oilers
[
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]
On October 1,
1973
, the
Houston Oilers
claimed him off waivers and played a reserve role during the season.
[5]
On August 16,
1974
, he was traded to the
Kansas City Chiefs
in exchange for a seventh-round draft choice (#162-Mike Biehle).
[6]
Kansas City Chiefs
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In
1974
, he experienced some success playing
special teams
for the
Kansas City Chiefs
, returning 25
kickoffs
for 571 yards. He was waived on August 2,
1975
.
Personal life
[
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]
Thomas was a teacher for more than 27 years, while also serving as coach and administrator at Madison Park High School and Gavin Middle School. He also had a stint with the
football
coaching staff of
Northeastern University
.
References
[
edit
]