:Skip Thomas
{{Short description|American football player (1950–2011)}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=July 2024}}
{{Infobox NFL biography
| name = Skip Thomas
| image =
| alt =
| caption =
| number = 26
| position = Cornerback
| birth_date = {{birth date|1950|02|7}}
| birth_place = Higginsville, Missouri, U.S.
| death_date = {{death date and age|2011|7|24|1950|2|7}}
| death_place = Kansas City, Kansas, U.S.
| height_ft = 6
| height_in = 1
| weight_lbs = 205
| high_school = Kansas City (KS) Wyandotte
| college = Southern California
| draftyear = 1972
| draftround = 7
| draftpick = 176
| pastteams =
- Oakland Raiders ({{NFL Year|1972}}–{{NFL Year|1977}})
| highlights =
| statlabel1 = Interceptions
| statvalue1 = 17
| statlabel2 = INT yards
| statvalue2 = 222
| statlabel3 = Touchdowns
| statvalue3 = 1
| pfr = ThomSk20
}}
Alonzo "Skip" Thomas (February 7, 1950 – July 24, 2011), nicknamed "Dr. Death", was an American football cornerback who played in the National Football League (NFL).
College career
Thomas was awarded a scholarship to play football at Arizona Western Junior College. Then, Thomas played college football at the University of Southern California.
Professional career
Thomas played for the Oakland Raiders for the entire duration of his professional football career between 1972 and 1977. He had back-to-back six-interception seasons in 1974 and 1975. Although it is commonly believed that his fierce tackling got him the nickname "Doctor Death," the truth (per John Madden's book Hey, Wait a Minute (I Wrote A Book!)) is that Hall of Fame lineman Bob "Boomer" Brown, when he first met him, thought that he looked like the cartoon character "Dr. Death," and the moniker stuck.See "Daily Madden" show featuring John Madden, Oakland Raiders' coach when Thomas played cornerback, for July 26, 2011 as follows: http://sanfrancisco.cbslocal.com/?podcast_url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.podtrac.com%2Fpts%2Fredirect.mp3%2Fnyc.podcast.play.it%2Fmedia%2Fd0%2Fd0%2Fd0%2FdY%2FdA%2FdM%2FdV%2FYAMV_3.MP3%3Fauthtok%3D5561519120994696059_otzlQq98Az8ayw4x2arQKoP3s8&podcast_name=Daily+Madden&podcast_artist=KCBS&station_id=97&tag=pages&dcid=CBS.SF {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151222210922/http://sanfrancisco.cbslocal.com/tag/pages/?podcast_url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.podtrac.com%2Fpts%2Fredirect.mp3%2Fnyc.podcast.play.it%2Fmedia%2Fd0%2Fd0%2Fd0%2FdY%2FdA%2FdM%2FdV%2FYAMV_3.MP3%3Fauthtok%3D5561519120994696059_otzlQq98Az8ayw4x2arQKoP3s8&podcast_name=Daily+Madden&podcast_artist=KCBS&station_id=97&dcid=CBS.SF |date=2015-12-22 }}
Thomas died of a heart attack on July 24, 2011.{{cite news |author=Williamson, Bill |title=Former Raider Skip Thomas dies |url=https://www.espn.com/blog/afcwest/post/_/id/29169/former-raider-skip-thomas-dies |work=ESPN.com |date=July 25, 2011 |access-date=2011-07-25}} He was 61.
References
{{Reflist}}
{{Raiders1972DraftPicks}}
{{Super Bowl XI}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Thomas, Skip}}
Category:American football cornerbacks
Category:Arizona Western Matadors football players
Category:Oakland Raiders players
Category:People from Higginsville, Missouri
Category:Players of American football from Missouri
Category:Sportspeople from the Kansas City metropolitan area