Shag Thomas (born James Thomas, August 11, 1924 – July 25, 1982) was an American professional wrestler during the 1950s and 1960s. He was one of the few African-American wrestlers of his day.

Football career

Thomas was a 1942 graduate of Bellaire High School in Bellaire, Ohio playing football for the Big Reds under head coach John "Butch" Niemiec, a former star player at the University of Notre Dame under Knute Rockne. In his four years in high school the Big Reds went 31-6-1 and an Ohio Valley Athletic Association title. Thomas was a World War II veteran and member of the 1950 Rose Bowl champion Ohio State Buckeye squad that entered that game at 6-1-2 (number 6 in the AP poll). In July 1950, he signed a contract with the

Green Bay Packers The Green Bay Packers are a professional American football team based in Green Bay, Wisconsin. The Packers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. It ...

and appeared in pre-season games that year, but was cut prior to the final exhibition game.

Career

Born in

Stewartsville, Ohio Stewartsville is an unincorporated community in Belmont County, Ohio, Belmont County, in the U.S. state of Ohio. History A post office called Stewartsville was established in 1873, and remained in operation until 1998. The community was named for J ...

, Thomas began wrestling during a time when segregation in professional wrestling was still taking place in some territories and promotions throughout the United States. He gained prominence while wrestling in the NWA Pacific Northwest Territory for promoter Don Owen. Owen did not segregate his wrestlers, and Thomas flourished there, winning the Pacific Northwest Heavyweight Championship twice and the Tag Team Championship 16 times. Thomas retired from wrestling in 1969 after defeating

Roger Kirby Roger Sinclair Kirby FRCS(Urol), FEBU (born November 1950) is a British retired prostate surgeon and professor of urology, researcher, writer on men's health and prostate disease, founding editor of the journal '' Prostate Cancer and Prostat ...

by disqualification in his final match. After retirement, he refereed wrestling matches on Owens' '' Portland Wrestling'' broadcast Saturday nights on KPTV. In 1972, Thomas came out of retirement and returned to wrestling until 1976.

Personal

Thomas' younger brother, Clyde Thomas, starred in the backfield for Ohio University on its undefeated team in 1960. Clyde played football for the

NFL 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 major ...

Philadelphia Eagles,

CFL 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 ...

British Columbia Lions, and UFL

Wheeling Ironmen The Wheeling Ironmen were a professional American football team based in Wheeling, West Virginia, and played their home games at Wheeling Island Stadium. The team began play in 1962 as a member of the United Football League, where they played for ...

. Thomas died of a heart attack on July 25, 1982 at the age of 57.

Championships and accomplishments

*Bellaire High School **Wall of Fame Induction Class of 1993 *

NWA Los Angeles NWA Hollywood Wrestling (sometimes referred to as NWA Los Angeles) was a professional wrestling promotion headquartered in Los Angeles, California in the United States that promoted professional wrestling matches throughout Southern California. It ...

:* NWA "Beat the Champ" Television Championship ( 1 time) *

Pacific Northwest Wrestling Pacific Northwest Wrestling (PNW) (also known as Big Time Wrestling and Portland Wrestling) is the common name used to refer to several different professional wrestling companies, both past and present, based in Portland, Oregon, United States. T ...

:* NWA Pacific Northwest Heavyweight Championship (

2 times "2 Times" is a song co-written and recorded by British Italian-based singer Ann Lee. It was released in 1999 as the lead single from her debut album, ''Dreams'' (1999). The single entered and peaked at number two on the UK Singles Chart. Outside ...

) :* NWA Pacific Northwest Tag Team Championship ( 16 times) - with Luther Lindsey (4), Pepper Martin (3), Tony Borne (2), Bearcat Wright (2), Billy White Wolf (1), Danny Hodge (1),

Don Manoukian Donald J. Manoukian (June 9, 1934 – September 23, 2014) was an American football guard and professional wrestler of Armenian descent from Reno, Nevada. American football career An alumnus of Reno High School and Stanford University (class of 1 ...

(1), Armand Hussein (1), and Rene Goulet (1) * Stampede Wrestling :* NWA Canadian Tag Team Championship ''(Calgary version)'' ( 1 time) - with Mighty Ursus :* NWA International Tag Team Championship ''(Calgary version)'' ( 1 time) - with Mighty Ursus

References

External links

Black History Month: Pro Wrestling's Black Stars, Part 1

{{DEFAULTSORT:Thomas, Shag American male professional wrestlers Sportspeople from Portland, Oregon 1924 births 1982 deaths Sportspeople from Columbus, Ohio African-American male professional wrestlers Professional wrestlers from Ohio Professional wrestlers from Oregon 20th-century American male actors Stampede Wrestling alumni American military personnel of World War II 20th-century African-American sportspeople NWA "Beat the Champ" Television Champions NWA Canadian Tag Team Champions (Calgary version) Stampede Wrestling International Tag Team Champions