Thurman Thomas
| Thurman Thomas | |
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Position (s): running back |
Jersey number (s): 34 |
| born on May 16, 1966 in Houston , Texas | |
| Career information | |
| Active : 1988 - 2000 | |
| NFL Draft : 1988 / Round: 2 / Pick: 40 | |
| College : Oklahoma State | |
| Teams | |
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| Career statistics | |
| Running game | 12,074 yards |
| Average per run | 4.2 yards |
| Touchdowns | 88 |
| Stats at NFL.com | |
| Stats at pro-football-reference.com | |
| Career highlights and awards | |
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| Pro Football Hall of Fame | |
| College Football Hall of Fame | |
Thurman Lee Thomas (* 16th May 1966 in Houston , Texas ) is a former American American football poker players on the position of the running backs . He played twelve years for the Buffalo Bills in the National Football League (NFL) and came with his team four years in a row in the Super Bowl .
Player career
college
Thomas already played American football in high school. In 1984 he received a scholarship from Oklahoma State University in Stillwater and showed outstanding achievements with the Oklahoma State Cowboys during the course of his studies. Among other things, he was able to achieve 43 touchdowns and ran more than 100 yards in 21 games . In 1985 his team moved to the Gator Bowl , the game was lost to Florida State University 34:23. In the 1987 Sun Bowl , West Virginia University was narrowly beaten by 35:33. When Thomas had finished his studies, he was the best running back of his colleges who had ever played there. The NFL scouts became aware of Thomas.
Professional career
In 1988, surprisingly, Thomas was only selected in the second round of the NFL Draft as the 40th player by the Buffalo Bills . The late signing of Thomas turned out to be a stroke of luck for the Bills. Running backs who were signed up before Thomas did not match his performance in the course of their careers. In the first year Thomas was able to develop into a regular player under his head coach Marv Levy . He impressed not only as a ball carrier, but also as a pass recipient and sometimes gained more space than by running. Every year Thomas was able to increase his statistical performance. In 1990 the Bills entered the Super Bowl for the first time , but had to admit defeat to the New York Giants 20:19 in Super Bowl XXV , although Thomas performed well with 135 yards of space and a touchdown. The Bills were also able to move into the following three Super Bowls as champions of the American Football Conference (AFC), but lost them to the Washington Redskins in Super Bowl XXVI and to the Dallas Cowboys in Super Bowl XXVII and Super Bowl XXVIII . In Super Bowl XXVI, Thomas misplaced his football helmet during the national anthem, which is why he missed the first two moves of his team. In the game he then only gained 13 yards of space. His helmet loss was later voted one of ESPN's 100 Most Notable Super Bowl Moments. In Super Bowl XXVIII, Thomas was able to achieve the only touchdown of his team in the 30:13 defeat, which led the Bills to halftime, but he lost football twice in the second half, so that the Cowboys scored ten points from his mistakes. Although Thomas was able to convince again and again during the regular season , he only managed a statistically outstanding performance in the first Super Bowl against the Giants. Thomas, who was in the Super Bowl four times with his quarterback Jim Kelly , never won one.
In 1999 Thomas left the Bills, unwilling to pay his high salary, and joined the Miami Dolphins . However, he received little time behind Lamar Smith and ended his career after a year and a knee injury sustained in Miami . In order to be able to retire as a player of the Bills, he signed another contract in Buffalo , but did not enter it.
Along with Curtis Martin , Emmitt Smith and Barry Sanders , he is the only player to have scored more than 1,000 yards in eight consecutive years.
Honors
Thomas shirt number 34 is no longer used at his college. He is a member of the College Football Hall of Fame , Pro Football Hall of Fame , Oklahoma Sports Hall of Fame, and the 1990s National Football League All-Decade Team . The Bills honor him on the Buffalo Bills Wall of Fame . In 1991 he was named Most Valuable Player (MVP) of the season and NFL Offensive Player of the Year . He played five times in the Pro Bowl and was voted All Pro six times .
After the career
Thomas is married and has three children. Today he runs a school for young football players and is co-owner of the Rochester Raiders , a team from the Indoor Football League .
literature
- Jens Plassmann: NFL - American Football. The game, the stars, the stories (= Rororo 9445 rororo Sport ). Rowohlt, Reinbek near Hamburg 1995, ISBN 3-499-19445-7 .
Web links
- Homepage of Thurman Thomas
- Statistics by Thurman Thomas
- Thurman Thomas in the Pro Football Hall of Fame
Individual evidence
- ↑ 100 Greatest Super Bowl Moments , ESPN.com
| personal data | |
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| SURNAME | Thomas, Thurman |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Thomas, Thurman Lee (full name) |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | American football player |
| DATE OF BIRTH | May 16, 1966 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Houston , Texas , United States |