Frank Thomas (American football)

Thomas was born in Muncie, Indiana. His parents, James and Elizabeth Williams Thomas, were recent immigrants from Cardiff, Wales.Lewis Bowling, [http://www.encyclopediaofalabama.org/article/h-2043 "Frank Thomas"] Encyclopedia of Alabama (last updated May 2013). He was a star athlete in high school.

After spending two years at —Western State Normal School—now known as Western Michigan University, Thomas transferred to Notre Dame and played quarterback for coach Knute Rockne from 1920 to 1922. According to Rockne, Thomas was the smartest player he ever coached.{{Cite web|url=http://www.thearabtribune.com/sports/remembering-the-great-frank-thomas-local-woman-has-family-ties/article_ed6153a0-c350-11e8-941f-4bd50a18b3eb.html|title=Remembering the great Frank Thomas: Local woman has family ties with Bama legend|last=Tribune|first=MIKE TANKERSLEY The Arab|website=The Arab Tribune|date=September 28, 2018 |language=en|access-date=2019-02-08}} Thomas's roommate and best friend at Notre Dame was George "The Gipper" Gipp.

After graduating from Notre Dame, Thomas became an assistant coach at the University of Georgia for two years before earning his first head coaching job in 1925 at the University of Chattanooga, where his teams' record was 26–9–2 in four seasons. In 1931, he accepted the head coaching job at the University of Alabama, where he established himself as one of the top coaches in the nation. His bowl record at Alabama was 4–2, with wins at the Rose Bowl (1935, 1946), Cotton Bowl Classic (1942), and Orange Bowl (1943). He became the coach and mentor to future Hall of Fame coach Paul "Bear" Bryant. Other notable players included Don Hutson, Vaughn Mancha, Harry Gilmer, Johnny Cain, and Riley Smith.

A frequent smoker, Thomas commonly smoked cigars on the sidelines during games. Thomas fell ill with heart and lung disease. Too weak to both coach and take care of his mentally ill daughter, his declining health finally forced his resignation from coaching in 1946.Groom, 2000, p.80. He remained Alabama's athletic director.

In 1951, he was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame. Thomas died in 1954 at the age of 55 at Druid City Hospital in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. An illustrated book published later that year told his story. The football practice fields at the University of Alabama are named for Thomas and his successor, Harold Drew.

In 2006, a bronze statue of Thomas was erected outside of the University of Alabama's Bryant–Denny Stadium alongside the statues of Wallace Wade, Bear Bryant, Gene Stallings and now Nick Saban, the other head coaches who have led Alabama to national championships.

{{CFB Yearly Record Start | type = coach | team = | conf = | bowl = | poll = AP }}

{{CFB Yearly Record Subhead

| name = Chattanooga Moccasins

| conf = Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Association

| startyear = 1925

| endyear = 1928

}}

{{CFB Yearly Record Entry

| championship =

| year = 1925

| name = Chattanooga

| overall = 4–4

| conference = 2–3

| confstanding = 12th

| bowlname =

| bowloutcome =

| bcsbowl =

| ranking =

| ranking2 = no

}}

{{CFB Yearly Record Entry

| championship = conference

| year = 1926

| name = Chattanooga

| overall = 6–2–2

| conference = 4–0–2

| confstanding = T–1st

| bowlname =

| bowloutcome =

| bcsbowl =

| ranking =

| ranking2 = no

}}

{{CFB Yearly Record Entry

| championship = conference

| year = 1927

| name = Chattanooga

| overall = 8–1

| conference = 5–0

| confstanding = T–1st

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| bcsbowl =

| ranking =

| ranking2 = no

}}

{{CFB Yearly Record Entry

| championship = conference

| year = 1928

| name = Chattanooga

| overall = 8–2

| conference = 8–1

| confstanding = 1st

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| ranking2 = no

}}

{{CFB Yearly Record Subtotal

| name = Chattanooga

| overall = 26–9–2

| confrecord = 19–4–2

}}

{{CFB Yearly Record Subhead

| name = Alabama Crimson Tide

| conf = Southern Conference

| startyear = 1931

| endyear = 1932

}}

{{CFB Yearly Record Entry

| championship =

| year = 1931

| name = Alabama

| overall = 9–1

| conference = 7–1

| confstanding = 3rd

| bowlname =

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| ranking =

| ranking2 = no

}}

{{CFB Yearly Record Entry

| championship =

| year = 1932

| name = Alabama

| overall = 8–2

| conference = 5–2

| confstanding = T–5th

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| ranking2 = no

}}

{{CFB Yearly Record Subhead

| name = Alabama Crimson Tide

| conf = Southeastern Conference

| startyear = 1933

| endyear = 1946

}}

{{CFB Yearly Record Entry

| championship = conference

| year = 1933

| name = Alabama

| overall = 7–1–1

| conference = 5–0–1

| confstanding = 1st

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| ranking =

| ranking2 = no

}}

{{CFB Yearly Record Entry

| championship = national

| year = 1934

| name = Alabama

| overall = 10–0

| conference = 7–0

| confstanding = T–1st

| bowlname = Rose

| bowloutcome = W

| bcsbowl =

| ranking =

| ranking2 = no

}}

{{CFB Yearly Record Entry

| championship =

| year = 1935

| name = Alabama

| overall = 6–2–1

| conference = 4–2

| confstanding = 5th

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| ranking2 = no

}}

{{CFB Yearly Record Entry

| championship =

| year = 1936

| name = Alabama

| overall = 8–0–1

| conference = 5–0–1

| confstanding = 2nd

| bowlname =

| bowloutcome =

| bcsbowl =

| ranking = 4

| ranking2 = no

}}

{{CFB Yearly Record Entry

| championship = conference

| year = 1937

| name = Alabama

| overall = 9–1

| conference = 6–0

| confstanding = 1st

| bowlname = Rose

| bowloutcome = L

| bcsbowl =

| ranking = 4

| ranking2 = no

}}

{{CFB Yearly Record Entry

| championship =

| year = 1938

| name = Alabama

| overall = 7–1–1

| conference = 4–1–1

| confstanding = T–2nd

| bowlname =

| bowloutcome =

| bcsbowl =

| ranking = 13

| ranking2 = no

}}

{{CFB Yearly Record Entry

| championship =

| year = 1939

| name = Alabama

| overall = 5–3–1

| conference = 2–3–1

| confstanding = 8th

| bowlname =

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| bcsbowl =

| ranking =

| ranking2 = no

}}

{{CFB Yearly Record Entry

| championship =

| year = 1940

| name = Alabama

| overall = 7–2

| conference = 4–2

| confstanding = 4th

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| ranking2 = no

}}

{{CFB Yearly Record Entry

| championship = national

| year = 1941

| name = Alabama

| overall = 9–2

| conference = 5–2

| confstanding = 3rd

| bowlname = Cotton

| bowloutcome = W

| bcsbowl =

| ranking = 20

| ranking2 = no

}}

{{CFB Yearly Record Entry

| championship =

| year = 1942

| name = Alabama

| overall = 8–3

| conference = 4–2

| confstanding = 5th

| bowlname = Orange

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| bcsbowl =

| ranking = 10

| ranking2 = no

}}

{{CFB Yearly Record Entry

| championship =

| year = 1943

| name = No team—World War II

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{{CFB Yearly Record Entry

| championship =

| year = 1944

| name = Alabama

| overall = 5–2–2

| conference = 3–1–2

| confstanding = T–3rd

| bowlname = Sugar

| bowloutcome = L

| bcsbowl =

| ranking =

| ranking2 = no

}}

{{CFB Yearly Record Entry

| championship = conference

| year = 1945

| name = Alabama

| overall = 10–0

| conference = 6–0

| confstanding = 1st

| bowlname = Rose

| bowloutcome = W

| bcsbowl =

| ranking = 3

| ranking2 = no

}}

{{CFB Yearly Record Entry

| championship =

| year = 1946

| name = Alabama

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| ranking2 = no

}}

{{CFB Yearly Record Subtotal

| name = Alabama

| overall = 115–24–7

| confrecord = 71–19–6

}}

{{CFB Yearly Record End

| overall = 141–33–9

| bowls = no

| poll =

| polltype = Rankings from final AP Poll

}}

{{Reflist}}

• Stone, Naylor (1954) Coach Tommy of the Crimson Tide. Birmingham, Alabama: Vulcan Press.
• Groom, Winston. The Crimson Tide - An Illustrated History. Tuscaloosa: The University of Alabama Press, 2000. {{ISBN|0-8173-1051-7}}
• Bowling, Lewis. "EOA Links." Encyclopedia of Alabama: Frank Thomas. N.p., 26 Feb. 2009. Web.

• {{College Football HoF|1466}}
• {{Find a Grave}}

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Thomas, Frank}}

Category:1898 births

Category:1954 deaths

Category:American football quarterbacks

Category:Alabama Crimson Tide athletic directors

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Category:American people of Welsh descent