Derrick Vincent Thomas was born January 1, 1967. The son of Robert Thomas (US Air Force Captain) and Edith Morgan. His father was a veteran of the Vietnam war.He began playing football at the age of 3. He went on to play for South Miami High School in Miami, Florida. He graduated in 1985.He was offered a scholarship to play linebacker for the University of Alabama. He excelled at Alabama. He broke multiple records including most sacks in a season. He was given the Butkus award, which is given to the nations top linebacker after the 1988 season.Thomas was selected with the 4th overall selection in the 1989 NFL draft by the Kansas City Chiefs. He began performing on a high level his rookie year, earning several defensive rookie of the year awards. Thomas's most notable career achievements include 7 sacks in a game (an NFL record), 9 time pro bowl selection (1989-1997), 3 time all-pro selection (1990-1992), was named to the 90s all-decade team, and was awarded the Walter Payton man of the year award in 1993 which is given to an NFL player for his charitable work, His charity is the 3rd and Long Foundation.On January 23, 2000, Thomas was on his way to Kansas City International Airport, when his SUV went off road because of snowy conditions. Thomas and one of his passengers (who died instantly) were thrown from the vehicle, the other passenger was wearing his seat-belt, and was okay.His injuries left him in a paralyzed from the waist down. He was improving, and even scheduled a press conference to let people know how he was doing. However, at about 9:30 AM on February 7, 2000, Thomas died in a hospital in Miami, Florida. His cause of death, at first, was not known. After an autopsy was performed, it was determined that he died of a pulmonary embolism, which is a large blood clot in your lungs.Thomas was survived by his mother, and his 7 children, Burgandie, Derrick Jr., Derrion, Derrius, Robert, Micayla, and Alexis.He finished his career with 126.5 sacks, 642 tackles, 45 forced fumbles (NFL record), 19 fumble recoveries, 4 defensive touchdowns, 3 safeties, and 1 interception. He also only missed 7 games in his career.Many NFL experts consider him one of the greatest linebackers of all-time. As of 2008, he had not been elected to the Pro-football Hall of Fame. No player for the Kansas City Chiefs has worn the number 58 since he died.
