Ralph Werner Thomas (December 16, 1929 – July 22, 2024) was an
American football
American football, referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada and also known as gridiron football, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular American football field, field with goalposts at e ...
end
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*End (gridiron football)
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in the
National Football League
The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...
for the
Washington Redskins
The Washington Commanders are a professional American football team based in the Washington metropolitan area. The Commanders compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East ...
and the
Chicago Cardinals
The professional American football team now known as the Arizona Cardinals previously played in Chicago, Illinois, as the Chicago Cardinals from 1898 to 1959 before relocating to St. Louis, Missouri, for the 1960 through 1987 seasons.
Roots ca ...
.
Biography
Thomas graduated from
St. Catherine's High School (Racine, Wisconsin) Class of 1947. After high school, he played for the
Racine Raiders. He attended the
University of San Francisco
The University of San Francisco (USF) is a Private university, private Society of Jesus, Jesuit university in San Francisco, California, United States. Founded in 1855, it has nearly 9,000 students pursuing undergraduate and graduate degrees ...
from 1948 to 1951 and was a member of the
1951 San Francisco Dons football team. In 1955, while playing for the Redskins, he set the unofficial record for fastest consecutive TD at 0:02.7 seconds. He was featured in the 2014 documentary
'51 Dons
''51 Dons'' is a 2014 American documentary film directed by Ron Luscinski and written by Luscinski, Tom Davis and Danny Llewelyn. Narrated by Johnny Mathis, it covers the 1951 San Francisco Dons football team and its unique stand against racism. ...
. Thomas died on July 22, 2024, at the age of 94.
Awards and honors
* 1979 University of San Francisco Athletic Hall of Fame
* 2000 St. Catherine's High School Alumni Hall of Fame
References
1929 births
2024 deaths
Players of American football from Kenosha, Wisconsin
American football wide receivers
San Francisco Dons football players
Chicago Cardinals players
Washington Redskins players
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