Eugene "Gene" Warren Thomas (September 1, 1942 – August 27, 1993) was an

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team with ...

fullback Fullback or Full back may refer to: Sports * A position in various kinds of football, including: ** Full-back (association football), in association football (soccer), a defender playing in a wide position ** Fullback (gridiron football), in Americ ...

and halfback in the

American Football League The American Football League (AFL) was a major professional American football league that operated for ten seasons from 1960 until 1970, when it merged with the older National Football League (NFL), and became the American Football Conference. ...

and played in Super Bowl I. He attended

North High School North High School may refer to: * North High School (Phoenix, Arizona) * North Pulaski High School, Jacksonville, Arkansas * North High School (Bakersfield, California) * John W. North High School, Riverside, California * North High School (Torranc ...

Akron, Ohio Akron () is the fifth-largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio and is the county seat of Summit County, Ohio, Summit County. It is located on the western edge of the Glaciated Allegheny Plateau, about south of downtown Cleveland. As of the 2020 C ...

, and played

college football College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States. Unlike most ...

at Florida A&M University. During his pro-career, played for the

Kansas City Chiefs The Kansas City Chiefs are a professional American football team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Chiefs compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) West division. The tea ...

and the

Boston Patriots Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- most ...

Death

Thomas died from

cardiomyopathy Cardiomyopathy is a group of diseases that affect the heart muscle. Early on there may be few or no symptoms. As the disease worsens, shortness of breath, feeling tired, and swelling of the legs may occur, due to the onset of heart failure. A ...

in his sleep on August 27, 1993, at his home in

Independence, Missouri Independence is the fifth-largest city in Missouri and the county seat of Jackson County, Missouri, Jackson County. Independence is a satellite city of Kansas City, Missouri, and is the largest suburb on the Missouri side of the Kansas City metro ...

, 5 days before his 51st birthday.

References

1942 births 1993 deaths Sportspeople from Barberton, Ohio Players of American football from Ohio American football fullbacks American football halfbacks Florida A&M Rattlers football players Kansas City Chiefs players Boston Patriots players American Football League players Deaths from cardiomyopathy {{runningback-1940s-stub