Derrick Thomas

Verified Timeline

Lore & Background

Thomas played college football for the Alabama Crimson Tide, winning the Butkus Award in 1988. He was selected fourth overall in the 1989 NFL draft by the Chiefs, where he received nine Pro Bowl and two first-team All-Pro selections. Thomas also set the single-game sacks record in 1990. After the Chiefs' 1999 season, Thomas was rendered paraplegic in a car crash and died two weeks later from a pulmonary embolism. He was posthumously inducted to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2009 and the College Football Hall of Fame in 2014.

In Their Own Story

On January 23, 2000, Thomas's SUV went off Interstate 435 in Clay County during a snowstorm while driving to Kansas City International Airport. Police reports indicated he was traveling at approximately 70 mph despite rapidly accumulating snow and ice. Thomas and passenger Michael Tellis were not wearing seat belts; Tellis died instantly, while Thomas suffered paralysis from the chest down. A third passenger survived uninjured. By early February, Thomas was treated at Miami's Jackson Memorial Hospital. On the morning of February 8, 2000, while being transferred to a wheelchair for therapy, he told his mother he felt unwell before suffering cardiorespiratory arrest and dying from a pulmonary embolism caused by a massive blood clot that traveled from his legs to his lungs.

Reader's Guide

Thomas was born on January 1, 1967, in Miami, Florida, and raised by his mother Edith Morgan. His father, Air Force Captain and B-52 pilot Robert James Thomas, died during a mission in the Vietnam War when Derrick was five. He played high school football at South Miami Senior High School. At Alabama, he won the Butkus Award in 1988 and was a consensus All-American. He was selected fourth overall in the 1989 NFL draft by the Chiefs. In his rookie year, he recorded 10 sacks and was named AP Defensive Rookie of the Year. In 1990, he set the single-game sacks record with 7 sacks against the Seattle Seahawks, finishing the season with a career-high 20 sacks. He recorded double-digit sacks in 7 of his 11 seasons. He is 18th all-time in sacks and remains the Chiefs' all-time leader in sacks, forced fumbles, and fumble recoveries. He recorded 1 interception and recovered 19 fumbles, returning them for 161 yards and 4 touchdowns. He was posthumously inducted into the Chiefs Hall of Fame in 2000, the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2009, and the College Football Hall of Fame in 2014. The Chiefs retired his number 58 in 2009.

Did You Know?

• Thomas set the single-game sacks record with 7 sacks in 1990.
• He sacked Denver Broncos quarterback John Elway 26 times, the most against any quarterback in his career.
• He is the only NFL player to die during their career who was later inducted to the Hall of Fame.
• Thomas founded the Derrick Thomas Third and Long Foundation in 1990 to promote literacy.