Skip Thomas

Skip Thomas

No. 26
Position:	Cornerback
Personal information
Born:	(1950-02-07)February 7, 1950 Higginsville, Missouri, U.S.
Died:	July 24, 2011(2011-07-24) (aged 61) Kansas City, Kansas, U.S.
Height:	6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)
Weight:	205 lb (93 kg)
Career information
High school:	Kansas City (KS) Wyandotte
College:	Southern California
NFL draft:	1972 / round: 7 / pick: 176
Career history
Oakland Raiders (1972–1977)
Career highlights and awards
Super Bowl champion (XI)
Career NFL statistics
Interceptions: 17 INT yards: 222 Touchdowns: 1
Player stats at PFR

Alonzo "Skip" Thomas (February 7, 1950 – July 24, 2011), nicknamed "Dr. Death", was an American football cornerback who played in the National Football League (NFL).

College career

Thomas was awarded a scholarship to play football at Arizona Western Junior College. Then, Thomas played college football at the University of Southern California.

Professional career

Thomas played for the Oakland Raiders for the entire duration of his professional football career between 1972 and 1977. He had back-to-back six-interception seasons in 1974 and 1975. Although it is commonly believed that his fierce tackling got him the nickname "Doctor Death," the truth (per John Madden's book Hey, Wait a Minute (I Wrote A Book!)) is that Hall of Fame lineman Bob "Boomer" Brown, when he first met him, thought that he looked like the cartoon character "Dr. Death," and the moniker stuck. Thomas died of a heart attack on July 24, 2011. He was 61.