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Chiefs Will Add Thomas to Arrowhead's Ring of Fame
Sept. 20, 2001
Kansas City Chiefs Founder Lamar Hunt and President Carl Peterson announced on Thursday that the late Derrick Thomas will have his name added to the club’s Ring of Fame on the façade of Arrowhead Stadium on Sunday. The ceremony unveiling Thomas’ name will take place at halftime of Sunday’s game against the N.Y. Giants. Over 50 former Chiefs players, including 16 Chiefs Hall of Fame enshrinees, are scheduled to be in attendance and will also introduced at halftime as part of the annual Chiefs Hall of Fame Classic Weekend.
Hunt and Peterson will conduct the Ring of Fame ceremony along with Thomas’ mother, Edith Morgan. Thomas, who was the franchise’s 2000 Hall of Fame inductee, will become the 32nd individual in team history to have his name permanently affixed to Arrowhead’s Ring of Fame. Thomas becomes eligible for Pro Football Hall of Fame consideration in 2005.
“I don't think there's any question that in 2005, Derrick will be strongly considered for the Pro Football Hall of Fame,” Hunt commented.
“I know I speak for the countless individuals whose lives he touched when I say that Derrick Thomas will always be a member of the Kansas City Chiefs and will always hold a very special place in our hearts,” Peterson observed. “On behalf of the entire Chiefs family, we take great pride in adding Derrick Thomas’ name to the Chiefs Ring of Fame at Arrowhead Stadium.”
The cornerstone around which Peterson rebuilt the Chiefs franchise, Thomas was Peterson’s initial first round draft choice upon joining the Chiefs organization in ’89. Selected with the fourth overall pick out of the University of Alabama that year, Thomas would go on to spend 11 glorious seasons in a Kansas City uniform from ‘89-99.
Thomas, who tragically passed away on February 8, 2000 following a serious auto accident on January 23, 2000, becomes the sixth Kansas City linebacker to have his name added to the club’s Ring of Honor. He was proceeded by Chiefs Hall of Fame members Bobby Bell, Willie Lanier, E.J. Holub, Jim Lynch and Sherrill Headrick. Bell and Lanier are also enshrined in the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio.
This pass rusher extraordinaire served as the heart and soul of the Chiefs franchise during his tenure with Kansas City, helping guide the club to 10 winning seasons and seven playoff appearances over his career. He played in 169 games (158 starts) from ‘89-99 and produced nine consecutive Pro Bowl appearances following the ‘89-97 seasons, the most of any player in team history.
Thomas not only a bona fide star in terms of his contributions on the field, but also illuminated countless lives through his charitable efforts, spearheaded by his “Third and Long Foundation.” He received the ’93 NFL Man of the Year Award, the ’95 Byron “Whizzer” White Humanitarian Award and was named former President George Bush’s “832nd Point of Light”. In ’99 he also received the prestigious Veterans of Foreign Wars Hall of Fame Award at the 100th VFW National Convention in Kansas City.
On the field, he was one of the most dominant defensive players of his day thanks to his patented sack-and-strip maneuver. Thomas still holds Chiefs career records for sacks (126.5), safeties (3), fumble recoveries (18) and forced fumbles (45). His 126.5 sacks were the fourth-highest total ever by a linebacker at the time of his death. He produced a club-record 20.0 sacks in ’90, including an NFL-record seven sacks in a single game vs. Seattle (11/11/90). He is fifth in team history with 728 career tackles and also produced one interception, 34 passes defensed and 444 quarterback pressures during his 11-year playing career.
He is the only player in Chiefs history to see action with the club in three different decades with his final contest coming on January 2, 2000. He also owns a share of another franchise mark with 10 career playoff appearances. Thomas won the Mack Lee Hill Award as a rookie in ’89 and was the initial two-time winner (’91, 94) of the club’s Most Valuable Player Award which was subsequently renamed the Derrick Thomas Award following his death.
A native of Miami, Florida, Thomas posthumously received his bachelor’s degree in Criminal Justice and Social Welfare from the University of Alabama in May of 2000. During his tenure with the Crimson Tide, he established a school record with 52.0 sacks and won the Butkus Award as the nation’s best collegiate linebacker following his senior campaign in ’88. In addition to his induction in the Chiefs Hall of Fame in 2000, Thomas is also a member of the University of Alabama Hall of Fame.
from kc chiefs.com
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