Richard Quincy "Tricky Dick" Thornton (November 1, 1939 – December 19, 2014) was an American gridiron football player and coach. He played professionally in the

Canadian Football League The Canadian Football League (CFL; french: Ligue canadienne de football—LCF) is a professional sports league in Canada. The CFL is the highest level of competition in Canadian football. The league consists of nine teams, each located in a ci ...

(CFL) as a defensive back and wide receiver for the

Winnipeg Blue Bombers The Winnipeg Blue Bombers are a professional Canadian football team based in Winnipeg, Manitoba. The Blue Bombers compete in the Canadian Football League (CFL) as a member club of the league's West division. They play their home games at IG Fie ...

and

Toronto Argonauts The Toronto Argonauts (officially the Toronto Argonaut Football Club and colloquially known as the Argos) are a professional Canadian football team competing in the East Division of the Canadian Football League (CFL), based in Toronto, Ontario ...

from 1961 to 1972.

College and NFL draft

Thornton was selected originally by the

Cleveland Browns The Cleveland Browns are a professional American football team based in Cleveland. Named after original coach and co-founder Paul Brown, they compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (A ...

of the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...

in the

1961 NFL Draft The 1961 National Football League draft took place at the Warwick Hotel in Philadelphia on December 27–28, 1960. The league would later hold an expansion draft for the Minnesota Vikings expansion franchise. This draft was also the first reg ...

out of

Northwestern University Northwestern University is a private research university in Evanston, Illinois. Founded in 1851, Northwestern is the oldest chartered university in Illinois and is ranked among the most prestigious academic institutions in the world. Charte ...

, where he starred at

quarterback The quarterback (commonly abbreviated "QB"), colloquially known as the "signal caller", is a position in gridiron football. Quarterbacks are members of the offensive platoon and mostly line up directly behind the offensive line. In modern Ame ...

. The Browns immediately traded his rights to the

St. Louis Cardinals The St. Louis Cardinals are an American professional baseball team based in St. Louis. The Cardinals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) Central division. Since the 2006 season, the Cardinals ha ...

, but Thornton went to play in Canada, where he starred mostly as a defensive back.

Winnipeg

Thornton was a star defensive back and wide receiver for the Winnipeg Blue Bombers from 1961 to 1966. Thornton also subbed for Kenny Ploen when Winnipeg's starting quarterback was injured. He won two Grey Cup games with them, the first in

1961 Events January * January 3 ** United States President Dwight D. Eisenhower announces that the United States has severed diplomatic and consular relations with Cuba (Cuba–United States relations are restored in 2015). ** Aero Flight 311 (K ...

, the

49th Grey Cup The 49th Grey Cup was the Canadian Football League's championship game of the 1961 season on December 2, 1961. The Winnipeg Blue Bombers defeated the Hamilton Tiger-Cats 21–14 at CNE Stadium in Toronto before 32,651 fans. It is considered to ...

that went in overtime, the second in

1962 Events January * January 1 – Western Samoa becomes independent from New Zealand. * January 3 – Pope John XXIII excommunicates Fidel Castro for preaching communism. * January 8 – Harmelen train disaster: 93 die in the wor ...

, the

50th Grey Cup The 50th Grey Cup, also known as the Fog Bowl, was the 1962 Grey Cup Canadian Football League championship game played between the Winnipeg Blue Bombers and the Hamilton Tiger-Cats on December 1, 1962, at Toronto's Exhibition Stadium. It remain ...

, played in horrendous fog, both against the Hamilton Tiger-Cats. In 1961, he did not play in the title game due to an injury. However, he was an important cog as

cornerback A cornerback (CB) is a member of the defensive backfield or secondary in gridiron football. Cornerbacks cover Wide receiver, receivers most of the time, but also blitz and defend against such Play from scrimmage, offensive running plays as sweep ...

on the 1962 team, after intercepting 4 passes and returning one for a touchdown, recovering two fumbles, and blocking a kick during the regular season. In

1963 Events January * January 1 – Bogle–Chandler case: Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation scientist Dr. Gilbert Bogle and Mrs. Margaret Chandler are found dead (presumed poisoned), in bushland near the Lane Co ...

, Thornton intercepted 6 passes, 3 of them for touchdowns, also returning a fumble for a touchdown. In

1964 Events January * January 1 – The Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland is dissolved. * January 5 - In the first meeting between leaders of the Roman Catholic and Orthodox churches since the fifteenth century, Pope Paul VI and Patriarc ...

, he missed most of the season due to an injury, but recovered well in 1965, when he starred again at defensive back and wide receiver, his team making it to the 53rd Grey Cup, the nearly supernatural "Wind Bowl", this time losing to Hamilton. After 1966, when the Bombers did not make the playoffs, change was imminent.

Toronto

Thornton was traded to the Toronto Argonauts in

1967 Events January * January 1 – Canada begins a year-long celebration of the 100th anniversary of Confederation, featuring the Expo 67 World's Fair. * January 5 ** Spain and Romania sign an agreement in Paris, establishing full consular and ...

and played with them up to

1972 Within the context of Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) it was the longest year ever, as two leap seconds were added during this 366-day year, an event which has not since been repeated. (If its start and end are defined using mean solar tim ...

as one of the best defensive backs in that era. Notably, he intercepted 7 passes in

1969 This year is notable for Apollo 11's first landing on the moon. Events January * January 4 – The Government of Spain hands over Ifni to Morocco. * January 5 **Ariana Afghan Airlines Flight 701 crashes into a house on its approach to ...

from the cornerback position. He was a CFL all-star and played in the rainy

59th Grey Cup The 59th Grey Cup was played on November 28, 1971, before 34,404 fans at Vancouver's Empire Stadium. The Calgary Stampeders defeated the Toronto Argonauts on a slick, rain-covered field, 14–11. Box Score First Quarter Calgary - TD - Herm Ha ...

game in 1971. Despite his return of an interception of 54 yards, Toronto lost a defensive struggle to the

Calgary Stampeders The Calgary Stampeders are a professional Canadian football team based in Calgary, Alberta. The Stampeders compete in the West Division of the Canadian Football League (CFL). The club plays its home games at McMahon Stadium and are the third-o ...

, 14–11.

WFL

Thornton ended his playing career with the

Memphis Southmen The Memphis Southmen, also known as the Memphis Grizzlies, were an American football team based in Memphis, Tennessee. They played in the World Football League (WFL), which operated in 1974 and 1975. They played their home games at Liberty Bowl M ...

of the World Football League (WFL).

Coaching career and later life

In April 1976, Thornton was hired as

athletic director An athletic director (commonly "athletics director" or "AD") is an administrator at many American clubs or institutions, such as colleges and universities, as well as in larger high schools and middle schools, who oversees the work of coaches an ...

and head football coach at Southwestern at Memphis—now known as

Rhodes College Rhodes College is a Private college, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Memphis, Tennessee. Historically affiliated with the Presbyterian Church (USA), it is a member of the Associated Colleges of the Sout ...

. He resigned after the 1978 season. Thornton retired to the Philippines with his family in 1994 and died of lung cancer, in

Manila Manila ( , ; fil, Maynila, ), officially the City of Manila ( fil, Lungsod ng Maynila, ), is the capital of the Philippines, and its second-most populous city. It is highly urbanized and, as of 2019, was the world's most densely populate ...

, in 2014. Thornton was posthumously announced as a member of the Canadian Football Hall of Fame 2022 class on June 21, 2022.

Head coaching record

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Thornton, Dick 1939 births 2014 deaths American players of Canadian football Canadian football defensive backs Canadian football quarterbacks Memphis Southmen players Northwestern Wildcats football players Rhodes Lynx athletic directors Rhodes Lynx football coaches Toronto Argonauts players Winnipeg Blue Bombers players Sportspeople from Chicago Coaches of American football from Illinois Players of American football from Chicago Deaths from lung cancer in the Philippines