Jim Thomas (offensive lineman)
James F. Thomas (May 6, 1917 – June 4, 1981) was an American football guard. 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] References
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