Jim Thomas (gridiron football)

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Jim Thomas
No. 12, 14, 20, 23
Edmonton Eskimos
Career highlights and awards
CFL All-Star1966, 1967
CFL West All-Star1965, 1966, 1967
RecordsEskimos Record
  • Longest Run (104) – October 9, 1965

Jim "Long Gone"

Edmonton Eskimos. Thomas ran for 6,161 yards in his CFL career and was a two-time CFL All-Star.[2] He signed to the Los Angeles Rams of the National Football League (NFL) in 1970 for a five-game trial, but returned to Edmonton.[3]

Thomas holds the record for the three longest rushing touchdowns in Eskimos history—a 104-yard run on October 9, 1965, against the BC Lions, a 100-yard run on August 2, 1966, against the Winnipeg Blue Bombers, and a 97-yard run on September 4, 1964, against the Ottawa Rough Riders.[4]

Thomas attended R. E. Hunt High School in Columbus, Mississippi, a segregated school for blacks only. He attended college at Mississippi Industrial College in Holly Springs, Mississippi.

After his playing career was over, Thomas earned a master's degree from Southwestern Oklahoma State University. He coached in college at Southwestern Oklahoma State and the University of Mississippi (Ole Miss) as well as Noxubee County High School, Houston High School, and in Memphis before winding up at Mississippi Valley State University.[5]

Thomas died in 2015.[6][7]

Head coaching record

Year Team Overall Conference Standing Bowl/playoffs
Mississippi Valley State Delta Devils (Southwestern Athletic Conference) (1978–1979)
1978 Mississippi Valley State 6–3–1 3–2–1 3rd
1979 Mississippi Valley State 4–5 2–4 5th
Mississippi Valley State: 10–8–1 5–6–1
Total: 10–8–1

References

  1. ^ Long Gone Really Gone
  2. ^ CFL loses two Stars to Los Angeles Rams
  3. ^ Surprising Lions out after 4th Straight
  4. ^ http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/sports/football/cfl/former-edmonton-eskimos-running-back-jim-thomas-dies-at-76-331488601.html [dead link]
  5. ^ Smith, Slim (October 8, 2015). "Columbus loses a football legend". The Commercial Dispatch. Columbus, Mississippi. Retrieved December 11, 2018.
  6. ^ "Eskimos Mourn the Passing of Jim Thomas". 8 October 2015.
  7. ^ "Jim "Long Gone" Thomas – View Obituary & Service Information".
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