A Tribute to Derrick Thomas

I decided to do something a little different for this page. I am a big Kansas City Chiefs fan, but I decided to focus this page on one of its greatest players ever, the late Derrick Thomas. Earlier this year, on his way to the NFC Championship Game in St. Louis, Thomas with a friend wrecked his sport utility vehicle, seriously injuring Thomas and killing his friend. Thomas suffered serious spinal cord injuries and he was paralyzed from the waist down. He died of a blood clot a few weeks later in the hospital. News of Thomas' death shocked the entire Kansas City community. People came in droves to Kansas City's home stadium Arrowhead Stadium to leave flowers and pay their last respects to one the NFL's premiere players. Thomas was known as one the greatest pass rushers in the game, and his NFL record of 7 quarterback sacks in a game still stands today. Below are some career stats and highlights of Derrick Thomas, as well as some info. on some of his off the field activities that made him such a huge loss not just to Kansas City, but to the NFL as well. RIP D.T.!

Career Highlights (Courtesy of NFL.com)

Pro Career
Pass rusher extraordinaire entering his 11th NFL campaign in a Kansas City uniform ... Owns nine Pro Bowl appearances of his own, the most of any player in the illustrious history of the Chiefs franchise ... Has established team career records for sacks (119.5), safeties (3) and fumble recoveries (18) during his stellar career in the Red and Gold ... His 20.0 sacks in ?90 set a Chiefs single-season mark, while his seven-sack game in ?90 set an NFL single-game record ... Ranks fifth all-time in Chiefs history with 649 career tackles, as well ... Has pounced on opposing quarterbacks a club-record 119.5 times for 883.5 yards in losses since entering the league in ?89, the ninth-highest total in NFL history and the sixth-best mark among players who were active in ?98... Was named the Chiefs Most Valuable Player following the ?91 and ?94 seasons and won the NFL sack crown in ?90 ... Has received the league?s two most prestigious humanitarian awards (?93 NFL Man of the Year and ?95 Byron "Whizzer" White Humanitarian Award) ... Joined the illustrious 100-sack club in ?97, one of only 16 players in league annals to reach that milestone ...Durable performer has missed just six of a possible 160 career games due to injury, sitting out just two games during his first eight pro campaigns ... Has started 142 of the 153 regular season contests he?s seen action in, totaling 649 tackles (498 solo), 119.5 sacks (-883.5 yards), 42 forced fumbles, 18 fumble recoveries, a blocked field goal, a blocked PAT, four touchdowns and three safeties ... Also owns 412 quarterback pressures and 29 passes defensed ... Has 10 career playoff appearances (all starts), logging 37 tackles (36 solo), a Chiefs playoff record 7.5 sacks (-55.0 yards), to go along with four forced fumbles and four quarterback pressures.

1998
Competed at the club?s "Falcon" post in 15 games with 10 starts ... Registered a team-high 12.0 sacks (-79.0 yds.) and added 54 tackles (44 solo) to go along with two fumble recoveries, three forced fumbles, a pass defensed and 26 QB pressures ... Took home AFC Defensive Player of the Week honors after a monster game in the season-opener vs. Oakland (9/6), recording 6.0 sacks (-36.0 yards) of Jeff George. That sack tally tied him for the second-highest single-game total in league history, coming only one sack short of his own NFL record of 7.0 set vs. Seattle (11/11/90).

1997
Saw minimal action in the season's first two games and sat out the next four contests with a training camp triceps injury, but rebounded to produce his ninth-straight Pro Bowl campaign and a berth on the All-Madden Team . . . Played in 12 games (10 starts), recording 55 tackles (34 solo), 9.5 sacks (-56.5 yards) . . . Did not record a fumble recovery for the first time in his career, but did have three forced fumbles, two passes defensed and 34 QB pressures.

1996
Garnered his eighth straight Pro Bowl nod, extending his Chiefs record . . . Was a first team All-NFL pick by USA Today and a second team All-NFL choice by AP . . . Selected first team All-AFC by UPI and Football News . . . Recorded a team-leading 13 sacks, his most since '92 (14.5), tying for second in the AFC and fourth in NFL . . . Also contributed 58 tackles, three forced fumbles, a fumble recovery, a blocked field goal, four passes defensed and 47 quarterback pressures in 16 games (15 starts) . . . In a game against the Raiders he had seven tackles and a season-high 13 QB pressures en route to AFC Defensive Player of the Week accolades.

1995
Earned his seventh straight Pro Bowl appearance, his first as a non-starter . . . Was a second team All-AFC choice by UPI . . . Registered 71 tackles (sixth on team), eight sacks (second), two forced fumbles, a fumble recovery, four passes defensed and 54 quarterback pressures (fourth) . . . Started 15 games, missing just the second game of his career (at Miami, 12/11) with a groin
injury . . . Broke a string of 81 straight games played dating back to '90.

1994
Enjoyed the finest season of his distinguished NFL career, earning a sixth straight trip to the Pro Bowl, his sixth as a starter, and his second Chiefs MVP Award . . . Was a second team All-NFL pick by AP . . . Corralled a career-high 86 tackles, 11 sacks, a team-high six forced fumbles, three fumble recoveries, 45 quarterback pressures, five passes defensed and a safety . . . The 86 tackles were good enough for fourth place on the club . . . Became the Chiefs all-time sack leader vs. L.A. Raiders (11/16), bypassing Art Still, who had 72.5 . . . Best performance was an eight-tackle, three-sack, one-safety outing against San Francisco (9/11); had a fourth sack taken away by a intentional-grounding call . . . Was named AFC Defensive Player of the Week for his efforts against the 49ers.

1993
Landed his fifth straight Pro Bowl nod . . . Earned one of pro sports most prestigious awards by being named the Edge NFL Man of the Year, which recognizes both community service and on-field performance . . . Was a second team All-NFL pick by AP and College & Pro Football Newsweekly . . . Named to All-AFC squad by UPI . . . Improved his play against the run as the team allowed just 101.3 rushing yards per game, the club's lowest yield since '71 (95.5) . . . Had a career-low eight sacks as teammate Neil Smith topped the league with 15 . . . Also added 43 tackles, four forced fumbles, one fumble recovery, a team-high 47 quarterback pressures and a blocked PAT.

1992
Selected to start for the AFC in the Pro Bowl for the fourth year in a row . . . Was a first team All-NFL pick by NEA and The Sporting News, and named All-AFC by UPI, Pro Football Weekly and Football News . . . Made the All-Madden Team for the first time as well . . . His 14.5 sacks, second-highest total of his career, led the team for the fourth straight year (Neil Smith also had 14.5) . . . That total tied for the second-most ever by a Chief, and third-most in AFC, sixth-most in NFL in '92 . . . Also contributed 67 tackles, the sixth-most on the club, a team-leading eight forced fumbles, three fumble recoveries, including one for a touchdown, 27 QB pressures, and two deflected passes.

1991
Continued impressive run through NFL offenses, earning his third straight Pro Bowl start . . . Named All-NFL by AP, The Sporting News, College and Pro Football Weekly, and Pro Football Weekly . . . Took home unanimous All-AFC honors . . . His 13.5 sacks led the club for the third straight year and tied for second in the AFC (with Simon Fletcher and behind William Fuller) and fourth in the NFL (behind Swilling, Fuller and Reggie White). . . Was sixth on the club with 79 tackles, and second on the team with 43 quarterback pressures; also knocked down two passes . . . His four-sack, two-forced fumble effort on Buffalo's Jim Kelly (10/7) earned him AFC Defensive Player of the Week honors.

1990
Had simply miraculous sophomore NFL season, earning second Pro Bowl appearance and All-NFL recognition . . . Named first team All-NFL by Pro Football Writers Association, Ap, Pro Football Weekly, The Sporting News, NEA, College & Pro Football Newsweekly and Football Digest and first team All-AFC by UPI . . . Led NFL with 20 sacks, a team record and the fifth-highest total in league history . . . Only players with more sacks in a season are Mark Gastineau (22 in '84), Reggie White (21 in '87), Chris Doleman (21 in '89) and Lawrence Taylor (20.5 in '86) . . . Established a new NFL record with seven sacks in a game on Seattle's Dave Krieg (11/11), breaking Fred Dean's old mark of six . Was named AFC Defensive Player of the Week (10). . . Forced a team-leading six fumbles during the season, recovering two . . . Made 63 tackles, including 47 solos . . . Also had five pass deflections and 35 quarterback pressures.

1989
Became a dominant force on the Chiefs defense in first NFL season . . . Consensus Defensive Rookie of the Year, winning that honor from Associated Press, Pro Football Weekly, College and Pro Football News-weekly and NFL Players' Association . . . Became first Chiefs outside linebacker to go to the Pro Bowl since Bell in '73 Started first Pro Bowl . . . Won Mack Lee Hill Award, which annually goes to the Chiefs top rookie . . . Named top AFC linebacker by NFLPA . . . Was an All-NFL selection by Sports Illustrated and a second team All-Pro pick by College and Pro Football Newsweekly . . . First team All-AFC by UPI . . . Finished tied for seventh in the AFC with 10 sacks, the most by a Chiefs linebacker since '73 when the team started keeping the statistic . . . Tied with Kevin Ross for fifth on the team with 75 tackles . . . Also contributed three forced fumbles, a fumble recovery and four pass deflections . . . In addition to 10 sacks, he also had a team-high 55 quarterback pressures . . . Earned AFC Defensive Player of the Week honors in second NFL game (24-19 win over L.A. Raiders, 9/17), with seven tackles, 2.5 sacks and one forced fumble . . . Was fourth overall selection in first round of '89 draft, selected after Troy Aikman, Tony Mandarich and Barry Sanders . . . Was the first linebacker the Chiefs ever drafted in the first round.

College Highlights
Was one of the most dominant defensive players in the country as a college senior at Alabama . . . Regarded as the nation's finest pass rusher during junior and senior seasons . . . Set school career record with 52 quarterback sacks and a total of 74 tackles behind the line of scrimmage . . . Other career totals: 204 tackles, 12 forced fumbles, four fumble recoveries, nine deflections five blocked kicks, one safety and one touchdown . . . Unanimous first team All-America pick . . . Won the '88 Butkus Award as the best collegiate linebacker . . . Finished 10th in the Heisman voting . . . Had 67 tackles and a school-record 18 sacks as a junior . . . Made 30 tackles and four sacks as a sophomore and 19 stops and three sacks as a freshman.

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Off-Field Activities