Pro Football Hall of Fame: Derrick Thomas

The Kansas City Chiefs selected linebacker Derrick Thomas as the fourth player overall in the 1989 National Football League Draft. A consensus All-America and Dick Butkus Award winner at Alabama, Derrick excelled as a pass rusher who set the school record for sacks. His pass rushing specialty continued on the professional level as he recorded 10 sacks as a rookie for the Chiefs in 1989. He also added 75 tackles that season to earn Defensive Rookie of the Year honors. Following the season, Derrick was named to the first of nine straight Pro Bowls.

Derrick Thomas, Pro Football Hall of Fame Class of 2009 / Photo: Newscom

No player had more sacks during the decade of 1990s than the 116.5 sacks by Derrick. He finished his career with 126.5 sacks which was the fourth highest total by a linebacker in NFL history. Derrick had 10 or more sacks in a season seven times and recorded multi-sack games 27 times during his 169-game career.

As with Bob Hayes, Derrick is sadly no longer with us. So Chiefs president and general manager Carl Peterson spoke on behalf of the Thomas family. Watching Derrick’s highlight reel reminded me what a dominant player he was. In fact, as far as putting pressure on opposing quarterbacks, there were few better. Only Reggie White, Bruce Smith and Lawrence Taylor come to my mind as being on the same level with Derrick. I like how Derrick used to call out safety sacks before they would happen. Now that’s confidence. Derrick was simply a phenomenal defensive football player.

But Mr. Peterson made sure everyone knew about Derrick Thomas the person as well as the player. Derrick was a winner of the NFL’s Walter Payton Man of the Year award as well as the NFLPA’s Byron “Whizzer” White Humanitarian Award:

“As much as anything Derrick did on the football field, beyond the seven sacks in one game, and all the sacks in his career, and all the fumbles recovered, and all the tackles and touchdowns and safeties he made, it was his contribution off the field that stamped his time here on earth. He was certainly not a perfect man but I would ask whom of us is? He was a committed man. Committed to helping others. His list of accomplishments off the field had been widely chronicled.”