Jesse Thomas (football player)

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Jesse Thomas
Positions:
Defensive Back , Halfback 		Jersey numbers:
40, 20
born May 23, 1928 in Guthrie , Oklahoma
died on May 16, 2012 in Columbia , Maryland
Career information
Active : 1954 - 1960
NFL Draft : 1951 / Round: 10 / Pick: 119
College : Michigan State University
Teams
Career statistics
Games (AFL / NFL)     36
Interception     4th
Touchdown     1
Stats at pro-football-reference.com
Career highlights and awards

Jesse LeRoy Thomas (born May 23, 1928 in Guthrie , Oklahoma , † May 16, 2012 in Columbia , Maryland ), nickname : The Lieutenant , was an American Canadian football and American football player.

youth

Jesse Thomas was born in Guthrie, but grew up in Flint , Michigan , where he also attended high school . Thomas already played football in high school, but was also active as a baseball and basketball player, and as a track and field athlete . In 1945 he won the Michigan State Championship in the high jump . That year he was also voted Sportsman of the Year in Flint.

Player career

College career

After graduating from high school, Jesse Thomas studied at Michigan State University . He was also active as a football player and track and field athlete at college . He played as a halfback for the Michigan State Spartans and was voted All-American in his senior year of college . As a track and field athlete, he won four championships in the Big Ten Conference in 1951 . His college also honored him several times for his athletic achievements. After graduating from college, Thomas went on a tour of Japan with the US athletics team . Jesse Thomas then served in the United States Army in the Korean War .

Professional career

Jesse Thomas was drafted 119th in the tenth round by the New York Yanks in 1951 . Thomas never played for the National Football League (NFL) team due to his military service . After the end of the Korean War, Thomas joined the Winnipeg Blue Bombers from the Canadian Football League (CFL). He played for the Winnipeg team as a halfback. After a year in Canada, Thomas moved to the NFL to the Baltimore Colts . He was used by Head Coach Weeb Ewbank in the first two years of play together with Don Shula as safety in the defense of the Colts. After the 1957 season, Thomas was released from the Colts. In 1960 he briefly returned to football as a player and joined the Los Angeles Chargers , overseen by Sid Gillman , who played in the newly founded American Football League (AFL). He failed with his team in the AFL final that year with 24:16 at the Houston Oilers .

Coaching career

After his playing career, Jesse Thomas worked as a sports teacher at various schools. In 1964, he became the assistant coach of Morgan State Bears , the football team at Morgan State University . He taught sport at the college and coached the athletics team. From 1985 to 1987 he was head coach of the football team. His team could only win two of 29 games. Thomas then resumed his teaching activity and retired in 2010.

Outside the field of play

Jesse Thomas was married and had one daughter. He is a member of the Greater Flint Area Sports Hall of Fame and the Greater Flint Afro-American Hall of Fame. His grave is unknown.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Annual statistics of the Chargers 1960
  2. ^ Statistics AFL final 1960
  3. ^ Biography in the Find A Grave database
personal data
SURNAME Thomas, Jesse
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Thomas, Jesse LeRoy
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American football player
DATE OF BIRTH May 23, 1928
PLACE OF BIRTH Guthrie , Oklahoma, USA
DATE OF DEATH May 16, 2012
Place of death Columbia , Maryland, USA