Bills Legend Still a Workhorse

Hall of Famer RB Thurman Thomas is Back in Buffalo

Let's get it out of the way: The Buffalo Bills of the 1990s lost four straight Super Bowls. There. It's been said.

But few teams in recent memory, particularly in the parity-laden NFL, have captured the hearts and minds of their local fans as the Bills of that time period did. They won -- and, of course, lost -- in mystifying ways. Their veteran (and now Hall of Fame) coach Marv Levy wandered the sidelines spouting everything from classical references to curse words. And they had star players at nearly every position.

Few teams have embodied their cities in the way the Bills did at that time in blue-collar Buffalo. And few players have embodied that workhorse mentality better than Bills Hall of Fame running back Thurman Thomas.

But Thomas's arrival in Buffalo was rather mystifying in itself. A college star at Oklahoma State with 1,613 yards and 17 touchdowns his senior season in Stillwater, Thomas was considered a slam-dunk first-round pick as the 1988 NFL Draft approached.

But concerns about a lingering knee injury left Thomas waiting as the first-round picks were announced on Draft Day in New York. To make matters worse, ESPN, then in its early days of televising the draft, kept showing Thomas sitting alone, looking restless in the draft room as team after team passed on the Texas native.

The Bills didn't have a first-round pick that year, but they snatched up the bruising back with their first selection of the day, the 13th pick of the second round and the 40th overall.

"Yeah, I 'fell' all the way to the second round," Thomas, now 42 and retired from the NFL, says with a laugh. "But it felt like a long wait because everyone told me that I was going to go in the first round. So it felt like the eighth round."

Even then, Thomas's cosmic connection to Buffalo was evident. Thomas's girlfriend at Oklahoma State at the time -- Patti, now his wife -- is a Buffalo native.

"I was a senior, she was a freshman," says Thomas. "I got drafted by Buffalo, she is from Buffalo. It's a small world. It all came together."

Still, that draft day bruise to his ego gave Thomas motivation for the following season and beyond in a Bills uniform. "I really felt like I had something to prove. I thought, 'All of the teams that didn't draft me… I'm gonna really make them pay.' "

Thomas continues: "I talked to a lot of teams (before the draft) that said if I was there, they were going to pick me in the first round. The Houston Oilers were one, and when their pick came at No. 22, they took Lorenzo White. There were a couple of teams like that. So I did come into the league with a chip on my shoulder."

All Thomas did his rookie season in Buffalo was start 15 games and lead the Bills in rushing with 881 yards. The following year was the first of eight straight seasons that Thomas went on to gain over 1,000 yards. And as we all know, he went on to a Hall of Fame career on the gridiron.

But Thomas's football career might never have happened had it not been for some fortuitous friendships back in seventh grade in the Houston area.

TRADING THE DIAMOND FOR THE GRIDIRON

How did he get his start in football? "It's a funny story," he says. "Because growing up, I was a baseball player. I played football in the streets with my friends and my parents would let me stay up and watch Monday Night Football, but I was really a baseball player.

"It was something I liked from the time I was a little kid. It was probably the first sport I ever played. I was a shortstop and a leadoff man. I used to watch Ozzie Smith, Gary Templeton and guys like that play shortstop. I just loved being out there. It was my first love."

But in seventh grade, Thomas and his parents moved into a new house in a new part of town. "I was making new friends and it would have been an hour drive from where we were to get to my baseball team's practice."

"So one day," he continues, "I was getting ready to hop on the bus to go home and a couple of friends caught me and told me that they were going to try out for the football team and that I should try out, too. So I went and tried out.

"And my first carry, the first time I touched the ball, I went 80 yards for a touchdown. After that, I fell in love with it. And all of my new friends played football, not baseball. So I said, 'Alright, I'll just stick with football."

Though success on the football field came quickly once Thomas hung up his baseball spikes, it didn't come easily. He worked hard to continually improve and stay ahead of the competition. That hard work was paralleled off the playing field and in the classroom as Thomas endeavored to reach a successful balance.

"Even when I was younger and playing baseball, my report card was very important to my parents," he says. "They told me from an early age that if I didn't have good grades, I couldn't play baseball. And that stuck with me. I knew I had to put in a lot of time with my schoolwork.

"I wasn't a straight 'A' student, but I did the work. And it meant a lot to me not to have to sit out because I'd gotten a bad report card. I wanted to be the guy who was doing everything right and working hard. That was instilled in me from a very young age."

Thomas never had to sit out and helped turn Willowridge High School from a newbie on the Texas football scene into a force to be reckoned with at the state level.

His sophomore year, Thomas, then playing mostly cornerback, helped his squad to the state finals where they lost. His junior season, he won the starting tailback job and that's what put them over the edge. Thomas was named All-State at both running back and cornerback and helped Willowridge to a 15-0 mark and the 4A state title. The following year, his senior season ended with a loss in the state semis, but that defeat did little to mar Thomas's memory of his high school football experience.

Thomas as a teenage star at Willowridge High in Houston. (Courtesy of Thurman Thomas Sports)

"It was a pretty successful high school career," he says. "I would never call myself a star, but I was a guy that everybody looked up to. It was thrilling to be 'that guy' but a lot of the recognition I received was because of my coaches and teammates who helped put me in the situation to succeed."

When it came time to look ahead to college, Thomas's mind was made up… or so he thought.

"At first I really wanted to go to the University of Texas. But the coach at the time, Fred Akers, was interested in me playing defensive back, and I didn't want to play defensive back. I made it very clear that I wanted to play running back. And when Texas made it clear that wasn't going to happen, I chose to go far -- but not that far -- away."

After four seasons at Oklahoma State, three bowl games, two All-American nods and a starting spot over eventual Heisman Trophy winner and fellow NFL legend Barry Sanders (Thomas still holds the Cowboys' career rushing mark with 4,595 yards), Thomas was headed to Buffalo. And who would have guessed that the Houston-area native would find a longtime home in Western New York.

BUFFALO BOY

The winters in Buffalo are unkind. "Lake-effect snow" is a regular player on local weathercasts. The struggling economy hasn't helped already struggling local businesses and the local population has continually fallen since the city's peak in 1950. But this smaller-scale sports town was just what the doctor ordered for Thomas.

Upon arriving in town, Bills head coach Marv Levy matched Thomas up with gun-slinging quarterback Jim Kelly and wide receiver Andre Reed in a quick-hitting, hurry-up style offense that would come to be known as the K-Gun. Thomas took off running the ball his rookie season and never looked back.

In 12 seasons in a Bills uniform from 1988 to 1999, Thomas rushed for 11,938 yards and 65 touchdowns and caught 456 passes for 4,341 yards and another 22 scores. A five-time Pro Bowler and two-time first team All-Pro in Buffalo, Thomas was widely considered one of the game's finest all-around offensive talents.

"I thought it was great!" says Thomas of being a pro athlete in Buffalo. "I loved it so much, I moved back here (after his playing career in 2007). I know how much the fans care about their football team. It's small, but it's a great sports town to play in."

But it's the Super Bowl appearances that made Thomas and his teammates local legends. Four straight seasons from 1990 to 1993, the Bills won the AFC Championship only to fall to their NFC counterparts on Super Sunday, often in frustrating fashion.

Having been on a team that lost four Super Bowls can result in a few jeers from critical fans every now and then, especially in a city where everyone knows who you are. But for the most part, says an understanding Thomas, "it is a great city that supports its sports teams."

And it's not only football, as Thomas himself can attest.

"I'm a huge hockey fan," he says. "We had hockey in Houston, but it wasn’t a big sport for kids in Texas back when I was growing up. But after being around it for a while in Buffalo, I just fell in love with it.

"I've known some of the Sabres players over the years: Dominik Hasek, Michael Peca, Dixon Ward and a lot more. Last year, I went to 39 home games. I'm pretty hardcore about my hockey, man."

But with the offensive firepower and, yes, the Super Bowl setbacks, the Bills still rule when it comes to local recognition.

People will come up to him, Thomas goes on to say, "no matter what type of environment we're in. They won't be rude. They'll just come up and say, 'Wow, we enjoyed watching you and all you did for the Buffalo Bills.' And that'll be it. It's that type of town.

"Of course they care that we didn't win a Super Bowl, but they care more in some ways about the positive things that we did and about what we're doing now to help the city – myself and Jim (Kelly) and (special-teams star) Steve Tasker. They thank us for coming back and doing what we can to help not only the city, but the Buffalo Bills now."

Speaking of the current Bills, Thomas has high hopes for the team in 2009.

"If they're not a playoff team," he says, "there will be some heads rolling up here in Buffalo. I think that with the addition of Terrell Owens, (the mentality) has changed a lot. With just one new player joining the football team, you can see how excited the town is about next season. If they can learn from last year's experience, I think they will make the playoffs."

And while he continues to support the current Bills squad, Thomas still sees plenty of his old teammates around town. "Are you kidding me? I can't go a week without talking to at least 10 of them.

"When you lose four Super Bowls, you have to have a thick skin," he says. "And because of that, as a team, we stick together.

"But the people here don't just support their sports teams," Thomas continues. "They support each other, and that's one of the reasons I moved back."

TRYING TO HELP EVERYBODY

After leaving the Bills to spend his final NFL season with the Miami Dolphins in 2000, Thomas signed a one-day contract with Buffalo so that he could retire as a member of the Bills. Then, along with his wife Patti and their four children, he spent several years in the Orlando area before returning to Buffalo permanently in 2007. He and several partners opened Thurman Thomas Sports (TTS) last year.

"Our facility is designed to deliver the same experience and benefits that professional athletes receive in their training programs," the group's Web site states. "We are dedicated to providing athletes of all skill levels and age groups with the tools needed to perform at their highest level."

The organization offers instruction in sports ranging from football, basketball and baseball to wrestling, lacrosse and "special forces," a fitness program for kids aged 6-14. And seeing Thomas on the practice field preaching techniques to everyone from beginners to serious college prospects ("We want to better them," Thomas says. "How to run right. How to train right. How to be polite."), you're compelled to trust his ability to get the best out of them and prepare them for sports at the next level, whatever that next level is.  

Thomas works closely with the young athletes who visit his facility in Elma, N.Y., just outside of Buffalo. (Courtesy of Thurman Thomas Sports)

"We're trying to make athletes better on the field," says Thomas. "But we want to better them off the field, too. We want to let them know that if they work hard, they'll get an opportunity in life, whether it's in sports or in another arena. We want people to know what hard work is all about. And we want these kids to feel confident in themselves and in their abilities, both in sports and outside of sports.

"We can help you be a great athlete, but we can help you be a great person, too. And that's the way I want to keep it."

And it's that mentality that keeps Thomas and his students grounded, because it's clear that not everyone who comes to Thurman Thomas Sports is going to be a legend on the playing field.

"You know what? Not everybody makes it. Not everybody becomes a star," Thomas says. "I tell them I can probably increase their chances of getting a scholarship and making it to the next level, but it's not all about being a star. It's about getting your education and working hard. If I can get those two thoughts inside a kid's head, then I feel like I've done my part."

THE LEGACY OF A DYNASTY

Four Super Bowls in four years is usually a fair indication that there's a dynasty afoot in the NFL. But when each of those Super Bowl seasons ends with a loss in the big game, the "dynasty" moniker comes more into question. It's an issue that Thomas himself doesn't feel comfortable answering. But he does come prepared with a valued opinion… that of another star running back who is not only a fellow Hall of Famer, but one with four Super Bowl rings: Pittsburgh Steelers legend Franco Harris.

"Whenever I see him," Thomas says excitedly, "he tells me, 'I don’t care what people say. You guys may have lost four Super Bowls in a row. But to me, you guys were a dynasty.' And coming from Franco -- a guy who was on the other end of four Super Bowls -- that means a lot.

"He always says, 'You guys were a great team,' " Thomas continues. "'And even though you lost each time you got there, you stayed together as a great team for long time. That, to me, is a dynasty.'

"He says that to me every single time I see him. And it never gets old."

Yes, the Bills of the '90s were a great team. And in honor of his enduring excellence in a Bills uniform, Thomas was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2007. (Read his enshrinement speech here.) Similarly, coach Marv Levy was immortalized in 2001, quarterback Jim Kelly was inducted in 2002 and former teammate Bruce Smith and Bills owner Ralph Wilson, Jr. will be enshrined in Canton this summer. Yet there are still some members of the legendary Super Bowl squads who have yet to be honored appropriately, says Thomas.

"I definitely think Andre Reed should be in there. As Jim said not too long ago, 'What are you supposed to do as a wide receiver? You catch the football.' And Andre, when he retired, was No. 3 or 4 on the all-time receptions list."

And in terms of being the best at your position, experts always bring up quarterbacks and running backs. The names thrown around are those of Unitas, Montana and Elway... Jim Brown, Walter Payton and Barry Sanders.

"But when it comes down to who was the best special-teams player ever," Thomas says, "everyone around the league knows that the answer is Steve Tasker."

And his Hall of Fame talk doesn't stop there.

"(Offensive lineman) Kent Hull should have an opportunity. And I think (linebackers) Darryl Talley and Cornelius Bennett should be in there, too. Will they get in? I have no idea. But when you talk about the best players at their positions, especially during that time period, you have to talk about those guys."

After four Super Bowl losses, maybe the Hall of Fame honors serve as a consolation prize, of sorts, to both the former Bills and their longtime, diehard fans. But to be fair, the successes on the football field in Buffalo still overshadow most of the honors off of it.

When asked about his fondest memory of playing for the Bills, Thomas thought for a good 15 seconds before answering.

"I would have to say the first AFC Championship Game that we won (51-3 against the Raiders in 1991)," he says. "The year before, we were known as the 'bickering Bills.' So for us to put that aside and come together as a team was something special."

And that moment was far from just a personal success for Thomas.

"To host that game and see the smiles and the tears on the faces of the fans in the city of Buffalo because we were going to the Super Bowl for the first time… it was something I'll never forget."

Surely the Bills fans haven't forgotten it either. And with Thomas doing his best to train and prepare another generation of blue-collar Buffalo athletes, who's to say there won't be more -- and more successful -- Super Bowl moments in the city's future.

"Things aren't always going to go your way. You're going to experience setbacks," Thomas tells his devotees at TTS with a hint of "been there, done that" in his voice. "But you need to stay on track and keep working hard."

Even at 42, he's still Buffalo's workhorse.