Jim Thomas (offensive lineman)

James F. Thomas (May 6, 1917 – June 4, 1981) was an American football guard.

Jim Thomas

Jim Thomas in 1938
Personal information
Born:	(1917-05-06)May 6, 1917 Oilton, Oklahoma, U.S.
Died:	June 4, 1981 (age 64) Florence, South Carolina, U.S.
Height:	5 ft 11 in (1.80 m)
Weight:	200 lb (91 kg)
Career information
High school:	Oilton (OK)
College:	Oklahoma
Position:	Guard
NFL Draft:	1939 / Round: 12 / Pick: 102
Career history
Chicago Cardinals (1939–1940)
Player stats at PFR

Thomas was born in 1917 at Oilton, Oklahoma. He attended Oilton High School.[1]

Thomas attended the University of Oklahoma and played for the Oklahoma Sooners football team from 1935 to 1938.[1] He was a member of the 1938 Oklahoma Sooners football team that compiled a 10–1 record and was ranked No. 4 in the final Associated Press poll. He was known as "Singer" Thomas at Oklahoma because of his constant singing in the shower room.[2]

He was drafted by the Chicago Cardinals with the 102nd pick in the 1939 NFL Draft.[3] He appeared in 13 games for the Cardinals during the 1939 and 1940 seasons.[4]

Thomas was also an opera singer who sang with the Metropolitan Opera for a year. He served in the Army during World War II, attaining the rank of lieutenant and serving in the field artillery under General George Patton. He was a school teacher in Florence, South Carolina, starting in 1966. He died of an apparent heart attack in 1981 in Florence.[5]