Skip Thomas

Skip Thomas
No. 26
Position:Cornerback
Personal information
Born:(1950-02-07)February 7, 1950
Higginsville, Missouri, U.S.
Died:July 24, 2011(2011-07-24) (aged 61)
Kansas City, Kansas, U.S.
Height:6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)
Weight:205 lb (93 kg)
Career information
High school:Kansas City (KS) Wyandotte
College:Southern California
NFL draft:1972 / round: 7 / pick: 176
Career history
Career highlights and awards
Career NFL statistics
Interceptions:17
INT yards:222
Touchdowns:1
Stats at Pro Football Reference

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

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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

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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.[1] Thomas died of a heart attack on July 24, 2011.[2] He was 61.

References

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  1. ^ 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 Archived 2015-12-22 at the Wayback Machine
  2. ^ Williamson, Bill (July 25, 2011). "Former Raider Skip Thomas dies". ESPN.com. Retrieved July 25, 2011.