.jpg) Thayer in 2019 | |||||||||
| No. 61, 57 | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Position: | Guard Center | ||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||
| Born: | (1961-08-16)August 16, 1961 (age 63) Joliet, Illinois, U.S. | ||||||||
| Height: | 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) | ||||||||
| Weight: | 261 lb (118 kg) | ||||||||
| Career information | |||||||||
| High school: | Joliet Catholic | ||||||||
| College: | Notre Dame | ||||||||
| NFL draft: | 1983: 4th round, 91st pick | ||||||||
| Career history | |||||||||
| Career highlights and awards | |||||||||
| Career NFL statistics | |||||||||
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Thomas Allen Thayer (born August 16, 1961) is an American former professionalfootball player who was aguard in theNational Football League (NFL) andUnited States Football League (USFL). He played in the NFL for theChicago Bears and theMiami Dolphins, and won aSuper Bowl as a member of the 1985 Chicago Bears. Prior to his NFL career, Thayer played in the USFL for theChicago Blitz,Arizona Wranglers and theArizona Outlaws from 1983 to 1985. He is currently thecolor commentator onWMVP for Chicago Bears broadcasts.
The youngest of five children, Thayer was born and raised inJoliet, Illinois. Thayer's father, Allen, was alineman forCom Ed for 43 years before retiring. In addition to their own children, Thayer's parents adopted the three children of a neighbor after their parents were killed in a plane crash.[1] Thayer graduated from theCathedral of Saint Raymond grade school in May 1975. He then attendedJoliet Catholic High School and graduated in 1979.[2] Thayer helped the Joliet Catholic "Hilltoppers" to win consecutiveClass 4AIHSA football championships in 1977 and 1978 as a junior and senior. The Hilltoppers went an undefeated 13–0 in both seasons[3] outscoring their opponents 224–24 in eight playoff games, including 106–0 in the 1978 playoffs.[4]Gordie Gillespie, the head coach at Joliet Catholic at the time, has referred to Thayer as "one of the five best players I ever coached, and he was the best lineman".[5]
After graduating from Joliet Catholic, Thayer went toUniversity of Notre Dame and was a member of theNotre Dame Fighting Irish football team for four years, first under head coachDan Devine and then underGerry Faust. Thayer was a member of the1980 Fighting Irish team that was ranked number one in both theCoaches' Poll andAP Poll[6] after going undefeated after seven games, but finished with only two wins out of their last five games, including a loss to the eventualNational ChampionGeorgia Bulldogs in the1981 Sugar Bowl, to finish the season ranked ninth and tenth respectively in the AP and College Coaches' polls.[7] Thayer was named anhonorableAll-American while at Notre Dame[1] and graduated with a degree inmedia communications in 1983.[5]
Thayer was drafted by the Chicago Bears with the team's 91st pick inround four of the 1983 NFL draft in April 1983.[8][9] Thayer, however, was also one of the twenty-five players selected by the USFL's Chicago Blitz as part of the new league's1983 Territorial Draft, which was held in January 1983,[10] and the Bears were unaware that Thayer had already agreed to a contract with the Blitz to play under head coachGeorge Allen just hours before.[9] According to Thayer, "They [the Bears] had told me before that I had been their fourth-round choice in a mock draft, but the Blitz was giving me first-round money, and it was guaranteed".[11]
Thayer played in the USFL from 1983 to 1985 for the Blitz, the Arizona Wranglers, and the Arizona Outlaws.[5][12] He even made it as far as the1984 USFL Championship Game as a member of theWranglers,[13] but the team was defeated 23–3 by thePhiladelphia Stars. Thayer then signed with the Bears for the1985 season,[11] joining a team, which also included fellow 1983 draft class members[9]Jimbo Covert,Willie Gault,Mike Richardson,Dave Duerson,Richard Dent, andMark Bortz, that would go on to winSuper Bowl XX.[14] Thayer played eight seasons for the Bears, and started 130 out of 134 season games before being waived by the team after the start of the 1993 season because of an injury suffered while lifting weights during the previousoff-season. Thayer then signed with the Miami Dolphins, but only appeared in three games for the team.[15][16][17] Thayer retired from the NFL as a member of the Dolphins in 1993.[18]
During his career with the Bears, Thayer became friends with radio-personalitiesSteve Dahl andGarry Meier, and would often call in toThe Steve and Garry Show to comment on the Bears and other things.[19] He now appears regularly on Dahl's podcast.
After retiring from the NFL, Thayer hosted a radio show with former teammateKeith Van Horne called the "Tom and Keith Show" on "The Loop" from September 1994 to February 1995. He was part of a sports-talk program atWCBR-FM before signing a three-year contract withWMAQ-AM, replacing former teammateDan Hampton, to work ascolor commentator alongsideWayne Larrivee andHub Arkush for Bears' radio broadcasts.[12]
In March 2005, the Bears decided to switch from a three-man to a two-man team for their radio broadcasts with Jeff Joniak as theplay-by-play commentator and Thayer as the sole color commentator,[20] and the two have continued to serve as the team's main radio voices ever since.[21][22]
In addition to Bears' broadcasts, Thayer also appears with Joniak onBears Gameday Live, hosting a segment called "Thayer's Game Plans", on Sunday mornings andBears Gamenight Live on Sunday nights. On this show he is known as the Surf Master, due to his love of the Lake Michigan surfing. Both shows air onFOX Chicago and are hosted by Lou Canellis.[23] Thayer also hosts thevideocastsGame Preview, with co-host Larry Mayer,[24]Bears Roundtable, with co-hosts Joniak and Mayer,[25] andThayer's Playbook[26] for Chicagobears.com.
His brother-in-law is ex-Atlanta FalconJohn Scully.[27] Thayer currently lives inChicago,Illinois.[21] He is an avid surfer in the off season on Maui, Hawaii.[1][19][28]
On August 30, 2014, Thayer was honored for his accomplishments at Joliet Catholic by being inducted into the Joliet Catholic Academy Hall of Champions along with fellow honorees Gordon Gillespie,Bill Gullickson,Allie Quigley, and Jim Stefanich.[29]
Thayer is also a member of theChicagoland Sports Hall of Fame.[30][31]