Isaac Thomas (born November 4, 1947) is a former

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 wi ...

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 ...

in 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 ...

(NFL) for the

Dallas Cowboys The Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football team based in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. The Cowboys compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East divi ...

, Green Bay Packers, and Buffalo Bills. He played college football at

Bishop College Bishop College was a historically black college, founded in Marshall, Texas, United States, in 1881 by the Baptist Home Mission Society. It was intended to serve students in east Texas, where the majority of the black population lived at the t ...

and was drafted in the second round of the

1971 NFL Draft The 1971 National Football League draft was held January 28–29, 1971, at the Belmont Plaza Hotel in New York City, New York. The Boston Patriots, who did not officially change their name to New England Patriots until after the draft, used th ...

Early years

Thomas attended Langston High School in

Hot Springs, Arkansas Hot Springs is a resort city in the state of Arkansas and the county seat of Garland County. The city is located in the Ouachita Mountains among the U.S. Interior Highlands, and is set among several natural hot springs for which the city is n ...

. His achievements included football. He also played at

, an

historically black college Historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs) are institutions of higher education in the United States that were established before the Civil Rights Act of 1964 with the intention of primarily serving the African-American community. M ...

in Texas. As a senior, he intercepted 4 passes (2 returned for

touchdown A touchdown (abbreviated as TD) is a scoring play in gridiron football. Whether running, passing, returning a kickoff or punt, or recovering a turnover, a team scores a touchdown by advancing the ball into the opponent's end zone. In Amer ...

s), recovered 3 fumbles and received NAIA All-District 8 honors. He also participated in the 1971 College All-Star Game against the Baltimore Colts.

Professional career

Dallas Cowboys

Thomas was selected by the

in the second round (51st overall) of the

. In training camp he was tried at wide receiver. He had 2

kickoff returns A return specialist or kick returner is a player on the special teams unit of a gridiron football team who specializes in returning punts and kickoffs. There are few players who are exclusively return specialists; most also play another position ...

for

s in his rookie season. One of those returns was a franchise record 101-yard score against the New York Jets. It still stands as the record for a Cowboys rookie, and Thomas is tied with

Bryan McCann Bryan McCann (born September 29, 1987) is a former American football cornerback. He was signed by the Dallas Cowboys as an undrafted free agent in 2010. He played college football at Southern Methodist University. Early years McCann was born ...

and Amos Marsh for making the second-longest play in Cowboys history, behind Alexander Wright's 102-yard

kickoff return A kickoff is a method of starting a drive in gridiron football. Typically, a kickoff consists of one team – the "kicking team" – kicking the ball to the opposing team – the "receiving team". The receiving team is then entitled to ''return' ...

against the Atlanta Falcons in

1991 File:1991 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Boris Yeltsin, elected as Russia's first president, waves the new flag of Russia after the 1991 Soviet coup d'état attempt, orchestrated by Soviet hardliners; Mount Pinatubo erupts in the Phi ...

. Thomas played one season with the Cowboys, averaging 42.1 yards per

, and was part of their winning team in Super Bowl VI. He was traded on September 5,

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 ...

, to the Green Bay Packers, along with punter Ron Widby, for a

1973 Events January * January 1 - The United Kingdom, the Republic of Ireland and Denmark 1973 enlargement of the European Communities, enter the European Economic Community, which later becomes the European Union. * January 15 – Vietnam War: ...

second round-draft choice (#46-

Golden Richards John Golden Richards (born December 31, 1950) is a former professional American football wide receiver in the National Football League for the Dallas Cowboys and Chicago Bears. He played college football at Brigham Young University and the Unive ...

Green Bay Packers

Thomas continued to return kickoffs and had over 1,000 return yards in 2 seasons with the Green Bay Packers. In

, he was used as a wide receiver before being moved back to

. He was waived on August 15, 1974.

New York Stars / Charlotte Hornets (WFL)

In 1974, he signed with the New York Stars of the World Football League and was the starter at strong safety. In October, the team moved to Charlotte and was renamed as the Charlotte Hornets.

Buffalo Bills

1975 It was also declared the ''International Women's Year'' by the United Nations and the European Architectural Heritage Year by the Council of Europe. Events January * January 1 - Watergate scandal (United States): John N. Mitchell, H. R. ...

, Thomas signed with the Buffalo Bills. That year he made his only 2 interceptions in the NFL. He was released on September 4,

1976 Events January * January 3 – The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights enters into force. * January 5 – The Pol Pot regime proclaims a new constitution for Democratic Kampuchea. * January 11 – The 1976 ...

. During his NFL career he played 37 games in 4 years, with 1,394 kickoff return yards, 2

interception In ball-playing competitive team sports, an interception or pick is a move by a player involving a pass of the ball—whether by foot or hand, depending on the rules of the sport—in which the ball is intended for a player of the same team ...

s, and 2

Toronto Argonauts (CFL)

1977 Events January * January 8 – Three bombs explode in Moscow within 37 minutes, killing seven. The bombings are attributed to an Armenian separatist group. * January 10 – Mount Nyiragongo erupts in eastern Zaire (now the Democrat ...

, he signed with the

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 ...

of 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 ...

and played there for one season before being released.

Hamilton Tiger-Cats (CFL)

In 1978, he signed with the Hamilton Tiger-Cats of the

, playing most of the season before being put on the

injured reserve list The injured reserve list ( IR list) is a designation used in North American professional sports leagues for athletes who suffer injuries and become unable to play. The exact name of the list varies by league; it is known as "injured reserve" in th ...

with a broken hand. He retired on November 14,

1979 Events January * January 1 ** United Nations Secretary-General Kurt Waldheim heralds the start of the '' International Year of the Child''. Many musicians donate to the '' Music for UNICEF Concert'' fund, among them ABBA, who write the so ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Thomas, Ike 1947 births Living people Sportspeople from Hot Springs, Arkansas Players of American football from Arkansas American football cornerbacks Bishop Tigers football players Dallas Cowboys players Green Bay Packers players Toronto Argonauts players Hamilton Tiger-Cats players Buffalo Bills players Charlotte Hornets (WFL) players New York Stars players