- Born
- Birth nameThurman Lee Thomas
- Nickname
- Thermal
- Height5′ 9¾″ (1.77 m)
- Thurman Thomas is a former American football player who was a running back in the National Football League (NFL) for the Buffalo Bills and Miami Dolphins. Thomas was elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2007 and into the College Football Hall of Fame in 2008. Thomas was an important part of the Bills that won four consecutive AFC championships.
Thomas was the AFC rushing leader in 1990, 1991, and 1993. In the first three seasons of his career, Thomas had a total of 12 games with at least 100 yards rushing. The Bills won every one of those games. In 1989 and 1990, his combined total yards from scrimmage was 3,742. This was more than 200 yards better than any other player in the NFL. He was voted to the All-Pro team in 1990 and 1991, was selected to 5 straight Pro Bowls from 1989-1993, and was named NFL's Most Valuable Player in 1991, after becoming the 11th player in NFL history to finish a season with over 2,000 all-purpose yards.
Thomas holds the all-time Buffalo Bills rushing record with 11,938 yards and the team record for yards from scrimmage with 16,279 over 12 years. He is also 4th overall in team scoring. Overall, Thomas finished his 13 seasons (his 13th season he played for Miami) with 12,074 rushing yards, 472 receptions for 4,458 yards, and 88 touchdowns (65 rushing and 23 receiving) with 16,532 total yards from scrimmage.
Thomas is the only player in NFL history to lead the league in total yards from scrimmage for four consecutive seasons. He is one of only six running backs to have over 400 receptions and 10,000 yards rushing. Thomas is also one of five running backs to have rushed for over 1,000 yards in 8 consecutive seasons.
Thomas also set NFL playoff records with the most career points (126), touchdowns (21), and consecutive playoff games with a touchdown (9). Overall, he rushed for 1,442 yards and caught 76 passes for 672 yards in his 21 postseason games. In a 1989 playoff loss to the Cleveland Browns, Thomas recorded 13 receptions for 150 yards and 2 touchdowns, which was a postseason record for receptions by a running back and tied tight end Kellen Winslow's record for most receptions in a playoff game. At the time of his retirement, his 76 postseason receptions ranked him 4th all time.
- IMDb mini biography by: Bazza the Beast
- SpousePatti Thomas(April 22, 1989 - present) (4 children)
- He currently holds the all-time Buffalo Bills rushing record with 11,938 yards and the team record for yards from scrimmage with 16,532. He is also 4th overall in team scoring. Overall, Thomas finished his 13 seasons with 12,740 rushing yards, 472 receptions for 4,458 yards, and 88 touchdowns(65 rushing and 23 receiving). He is the only player in NFL history to lead the league in total yards from scrimmage for four consecutive seasons.
- Running back with the Buffalo Bills (1988-1999) and Miami Dolphins (2000). When the Bills ran out of money under their salary cap in 2000, Thomas signed with the arch-rival Miami Dolphins. He suffered a knee injury on November 12, 2000 against the San Diego Chargers which ended his NFL career. After deciding to retire, Thurman signed a one-day contract on February 27, 2001 with Buffalo so that he could retire as a Bill.
- Inducted, along with Bruce Matthews and Michael Irvin, into the Pro Football Hall of Fame on August 4, 2007 in Canton, Ohio.
- He has retired from the NFL, he continues to use the same ingredients that made him successful on the field, in the corporate world. He owns several successful business and, instead of inspiring members of his team, he can now inspire yours.
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