 Thomason on a 1953 Bowman football card | |||||||||
| No. 47, 32, 28, 11 | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Position | Quarterback | ||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||
| Born | (1928-03-26)March 26, 1928 Albertville, Alabama, U.S. | ||||||||
| Died | November 5, 2013(2013-11-05) (aged 85) Charlotte, North Carolina, U.S. | ||||||||
| Height | 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) | ||||||||
| Weight | 196 lb (89 kg) | ||||||||
| Career information | |||||||||
| High school | Leeds (Leeds, Alabama) | ||||||||
| College | VMI | ||||||||
| NFL draft | 1949: 1st round, 7th overall pick | ||||||||
| Career history | |||||||||
| Awards and highlights | |||||||||
| Career NFL statistics | |||||||||
| |||||||||
Robert Lee Thomason (March 26, 1928 – November 5, 2013) was an American professionalfootball player who was aquarterback in theNational Football League (NFL) from 1949 to 1957, primarily for thePhiladelphia Eagles. He was selected to threePro Bowls. He playedcollege football for theVMI Keydets
Thomason was born in 1928 atAlbertville, Alabama. He attended Leeds High School in Alabama.[1] He then playedcollege football atVirginia Military Institute (VMI) from 1945 to 1948. In 1948, he completed 95 of 117 passes (81.2%) for 1,242 yards and 14touchdowns. He was selected by theAssociated Press as the Virginia "athlete of the year" for 1948.[2] He also received first-team honors from theUnited Press on the1948 All-Southern Conference football team.[3]
Thomason was selected by theLos Angeles Rams in the first round, seventh overall pick, of the1949 NFL draft. He appeared in six games for the Rams, all as a backup toBob Waterfield, in 1949.[1] In 1950 season, he jumped to theAmerican Football League, playing for theRichmond Rebels.[4][5] In July 1951, the Rams traded their rights to Thomason to theGreen Bay Packers.[6] Thomason appeared in 11 games, one as a starter, for the Packers in 1951. He returned to the Rams at the end of the 1951 season, but was traded to thePhiladelphia Eagles in January 1952.[7] He played for the Eagles from 1952 to 1957.[1]
From 1951 to 1956, he was one of the leading passers in the NFL. He was selected to the Pro Bowl in 1953, 1954, and 1956. In 1951, he completed 125 of 221 passes for 1,306 yards and 11 touchdowns and led the league with a 56.6% completion percentage. In both 1951 and 1952, he had the lowest interception percentage in the NFL. In 1953, he completed 162 of 304 passes (53.3%), led the NFL with 21 touchdown passes, and ranked second in the league with 2,462 passing yards (205.2 yards per game).[1] On November 8, 1953, he set an Eagles single-game record with 437 passing yards and four touchdowns in a victory over the New York Giants.[8] In 1955, he ranked second in the NFL with a 122 passer rating.[1]
| Legend | |
|---|---|
| Led the league | |
| Bold | Career high |
| Year | Team | Games | Passing | Rushing | ||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GP | GS | Record | Cmp | Att | Pct | Yds | Y/A | Lng | TD | Int | Rtg | Att | Yds | Avg | Lng | TD | ||
| 1949 | RAM | 6 | 0 | 0-0 | 6 | 12 | 50.0 | 50 | 4.2 | 15 | 0 | 1 | 26.4 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1951 | GNB | 11 | 1 | 0-1 | 125 | 221 | 56.6 | 1,306 | 5.9 | 75 | 11 | 9 | 73.5 | 5 | -5 | -1.0 | 10 | 0 |
| 1952 | PHI | 12 | 9 | 5-4 | 95 | 212 | 44.8 | 1,334 | 6.3 | 44 | 8 | 9 | 60.5 | 17 | 88 | 5.2 | 23 | 0 |
| 1953 | PHI | 12 | 8 | 6-2 | 162 | 304 | 53.3 | 2,462 | 8.1 | 62 | 21 | 20 | 75.8 | 9 | 23 | 2.6 | 20 | 1 |
| 1954 | PHI | 10 | 4 | 2-2 | 83 | 170 | 48.8 | 1,242 | 7.3 | 63 | 10 | 13 | 61.0 | 10 | 45 | 4.5 | 19 | 0 |
| 1955 | PHI | 10 | 4 | 1-2-1 | 88 | 171 | 51.5 | 1,337 | 7.8 | - | 10 | 7 | 80.0 | 17 | 29 | 1.7 | 20 | 0 |
| 1956 | PHI | 12 | 10 | 3-6-1 | 82 | 164 | 50.0 | 1,119 | 6.8 | 52 | 4 | 21 | 40.7 | 21 | 48 | 2.3 | 19 | 2 |
| 1957 | PHI | 12 | 8 | 1-7 | 46 | 92 | 50.0 | 630 | 6.8 | 67 | 4 | 10 | 47.2 | 15 | 62 | 4.1 | 19 | 3 |
| Career | 85 | 44 | 18-24-2 | 687 | 1,346 | 51.0 | 9,480 | 7.0 | 75 | 68 | 90 | 62.9 | 94 | 290 | 3.1 | 23 | 6 | |
Thomason married Jean Pierce in 1951. They had one daughter. In 2013, Thomason died of heart failure at the age of 85 inCharlotte, North Carolina.[9]