John Russell Thomas (July 24, 1924 – March 19, 1991) was an American professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

tackle who played four seasons with the

Detroit Lions The Detroit Lions are a professional American football team based in Detroit. The Lions compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. The team plays their home game ...

of 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 ...

(NFL). He was selected by the Lions in the third round of the 1946 NFL draft after playing

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. Thomas was the general manager of the Lions from 1967 to 1989.

Early life and college

John Russell Thomas was born on July 24, 1924, in Griffithsville, West Virginia. He attended Charleston High School in

Charleston, West Virginia Charleston () is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in West Virginia, most populous city of the U.S. state of West Virginia. It is the county seat of Kanawha County, West Virginia, Kanawha County and ...

. Thomas was a three-year letterman for the Ohio State Buckeyes of

from 1943 to 1945. He was named first-team All-Big Ten by both the

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and United Press in 1945.

Professional career

Thomas was selected by the

in the third round, with the 22nd overall pick, of the 1946 NFL draft. He signed a one-year contract with the Lions. He played in all 11 games, starting one, for the Lions during his rookie year in 1946 as the team went 1–10. '' The Saginaw News'' reported that Thomas would also be required to enter the 1947 NFL draft since his college class did not graduate until June 1947. He was selected by the Lions in the second round, with the 12th overall pick, of the 1947 draft. He started all 12 games in 1947 as the Lions finished 3–9. Thomas was named a second-team All-Pro by '' Pro Football Illustrated'' for his performance during the 1947 season. He appeared in 12 games, starting five, in 1948 and recovered one fumble. He played in nine games, starting one, during the 1949 season. His playing career ended in 1949 after he suffered a knee injury.

Post-playing career

Thomas was an assistant coach on the Detroit Lions' 1952 and 1953 NFL Championship teams. After a stint as a broadcaster, Thomas became the team's director of player personnel. He served as the general manager of the Lions from 1967 until his retirement in 1989. He was unpopular with Lions fans for his tough stance at the negotiating table and the scapegoat for the team's mediocrity during his tenure. He died in his sleep on March 19, 1991. The Lions players wore a silver football shaped patch on the left chest of their jerseys with the initials 'JRT' in his memory during the 1991 season.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Thomas, Russ 1924 births 1991 deaths American football tackles Ohio State Buckeyes football players Detroit Lions coaches Detroit Lions executives Detroit Lions players NFL general managers Players of American football from Charleston, West Virginia People from Lincoln County, West Virginia Coaches of American football from West Virginia