Skip Thomas
Skip Thomas c. 1972 | |||||||||
| No. 26 | |||||||||
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| Position | Cornerback | ||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||
| Born | February 7, 1950 Higginsville, Missouri, U.S. | ||||||||
| Died | July 24, 2011 (aged 61) Kansas, U.S. | ||||||||
| Listed height | 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) | ||||||||
| Listed weight | 205 lb (93 kg) | ||||||||
| Career information | |||||||||
| High school | Kansas City (KS) Wyandotte | ||||||||
| College | |||||||||
| NFL draft | 1972: 7th round, 176th overall pick | ||||||||
| Career history | |||||||||
| Awards and highlights | |||||||||
| Career NFL statistics | |||||||||
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Alonzo "Skip" Thomas III (February 7, 1950 – July 24, 2011), nicknamed "Dr. Death", was an American professional football player. A cornerback, Thomas played college football at Arizona Western Junior College before transferring to the University of Southern California. After college, he spent six seasons with the Oakland Raiders of the National Football League (NFL) before retiring from football.
Thomas was a part of the Raiders' Super Bowl XI winning team, and a notable figure in the "Soul Patrol" defensive secondary of the 1970s. Alongside cornerback Jack Tatum and safeties Willie Brown and George Atkinson, the quartet were known for their physicality. Thomas' harsh style on the field is well documented, though he is remembered as the most subdued of the four.