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Chiefs Preserve Memory of Thomas
Aug. 26, 2000
Derrick Thomas' locker remains intact.
Sealed behind a pane of protective glass are his familiar No. 58 jersey, Chiefs helmet, red bandana, shoulder pads, grass-stained cleats, caps, gloves, photos, even his pitching wedge.
The only addition is a small headstone with a color photo of Thomas and the inscription "In Loving Memory," with the dates 1967-2000.
It's more than just a salute to Thomas the star linebacker. The locker evokes memories of Thomas the man -- his chuckle, his mischievous smile and those big doe eyes that could light up a room.
"The locker is a great tribute to him," said defensive end Eric Hicks, who grew close to Thomas during Hicks' first two years with the Chiefs. "It's good for not only the ones who knew him to look at his locker and remember him the best way they can, but for the new guys who didn't know him at all. Maybe they can get a glimpse into his life and what he was all about.
"People are going to know the most about him from the stories the other players tell about him and the experiences they shared. We're going to all try in our best way to preserve his legacy."
Thomas, the centerpiece of the Chiefs franchise for 11 years, died last February from injuries sustained in an automobile accident. He left a legacy of nine Pro Bowl appearances, a selection as NFL Man of the Year and his charitable organization, the Third and Long Foundation.
The club will honor his memory before the home opener Sept. 3 against Indianapolis.
"We counted on Derrick for more than sacks and tackles," said center Tim Grunhard, a teammate for 10 years and whose locker is seven stalls away. "The locker is a nice tribute. I don't think it should be a shrine. I think a year of remembrance is good.
"Retire his number and put a flag up and make sure the next generation of football players understands that Derrick Thomas was a special player, a special person and a guy people could rally around, a lot like some of the other Chiefs who passed away untimely in the organization."
The shock of Thomas' death brings back memories for many of 1983, when another bright star for the Chiefs, running back Joe Delaney, died in a tragic accident.
Delaney, like Thomas, was an energetic, electric player and individual who drowned June 29, 1983, while trying to rescue three children in a waterhole in Monroe, La.
Delaney, 24, saved one of the three kids.
"Joe's death happened right before training camp. Guys were focused on the football season, and to hear that kind of news, it was devastating, and probably even more so because we expected him to be with us at the time we heard the news," recalled Dave Lindstrom, a defensive tackle during 1978-85 and an active member of the Chiefs Ambassadors, an organization of former Kansas City players.
"Both were devastating because they were not only great players, but they were really humanitarians: Derrick through his actions in Kansas City, and Joe through his actions that resulted in his death.
"When you're that age, I'm sure a lot of the players now will be looking for Derrick, because it's hard to comprehend a loss like that, and I think it was for us, too. It's almost as if he was traded. It's hard to accept the reality of those losses."
If the franchise learned one lesson from Delaney's death, it is that a team must mourn but not continue to look back.
"The best thing anyone can do as a coach and player is to honor and pay due respect to Derrick for what he did, but you must move on and put your team in a position with the best possible lineup you can play," said John Mackovic, who took over as the Chiefs' head coach in 1983 and never got to coach Delaney.
The current Chiefs filled Thomas' position by signing free agent Lew Bush. But in 1983, NFL teams did not have the benefit of free agency. Also, the death of Delaney, a 1,121-yard rusher in 1981, occurred three months after the draft.
"One of the things that was so difficult with Joe Delaney's loss was we had no one even closely available to do what he had done," said Mackovic, now a college football analyst for ESPN. "It might be similar in Derrick's case in the sense there aren't that many players of his caliber. Our offense was going to be built around Joe Delaney.
"Sometimes, fans feel that as long as you have a replacement, and he may come with a good reputation, that it will just work. But special players bring special things to the game. Derrick Thomas certainly did that as well as Joe Delaney."
In 1983, the Chiefs eventually filled Delaney's spot by signing Theotis Brown during the fifth week of the '83 season after his release by Seattle. Brown appeared in 12 games, starting the last nine, and he rushed for 467 yards, caught 47 passes and scored a team-high 10 touchdowns. Brown's career ended in 1985 after he suffered a heart attack.
"It was tough as a player," said Brown, an analyst for Metro Sports. "It was tough on the organization. You want to be an impact player, but you can't be somebody that you're not. You can't be a ghost.
"The difference when I came in was the whole regime was new. John Mackovic came in with a new staff, and I had not gone through any camps or anything. This is going to be a challenge. Everyone's the same from last year. Gunther (Cunningham) is still here. He was very close to Derrick, and it's going to be a challenge for the defensive players Derrick played with.
"But you have to go on. Derrick will want these guys to go on, just like Joe wanted the players to go on, and the organization."
Bush is accustomed to stepping into such a situation. While with the San Diego Chargers in 1995, he replaced linebacker David Griggs, who was killed in an auto accident.
"You never forget them," Bush said. "With an impact player and a guy such as Derrick was, the only thing you can do is keep his memory alive through hard play. You are representing that person. We always looked at it like, `Hey, Dave's watching us today. Let's play good for Dave.' Little things like that keep the memory alive. But it's difficult."
That's why the Chiefs will wear a decal of Thomas' No. 58 on their helmets, just as the club honored Delaney with a No. 37 patch in 1983.
"The way Joe died was so heroic and so tragic," said Tom Condon, a Chiefs guard during 1974-84. "For him to jump in the water and save one of the kids and drowned himself was a heroic thing to do, but I never thought he got his just due for what he had done."
Indeed, evidence is scant around Arrowhead Stadium that Delaney spent two seasons with the Chiefs. He's not in the Chiefs Hall of Fame, though another running back, Mack Lee Hill, who spent 1964 and 1965 with the club and died during surgery, was inducted in 1966.
"If there's a locker for Derrick Thomas, then Joe Delaney should deserve the same treatment from the Chiefs," Mackovic said.
Thomas, of course, spent far more time with the Chiefs, made Kansas City his year-round home and was a focal point on seven playoff teams. After Hall of Fame defensive tackle Buck Buchanan died of cancer in 1992, the Chiefs honored his memory by etching Buchanan's No. 86 in the turf near the 50-yard line for a season.
"As the season goes on, (Thomas' locker) will remind the guys who they're without this season," Lindstrom said. "When Buck died, the Ambassadors had reminders in our (tailgate) tent the entire season. We still remember Buck.
"They say time heals all wounds, but it may not completely heal all wounds, and I doubt it will here. There's definitely going to be a sense of loss here."
from kc star
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