John Webster Thomas
Encyclopedia
John Webster Thomas was an All-American fullback
for the Chicago Maroons
football
team from 1921-1923 under Coach Amos Alonzo Stagg
.
Prior to 1919 he enlisted in the United States Army Air Service in World War I
.
In 1919-1920 he played for Jamestown College
in North Dakota
and was chosen
All-State Fullback both years.
In 1921 he transferred to the University of Chicago
under Amos Alonzo Stagg
as a Sophomore. He wore numbers 2 & 5. In 1921 he was picked by many
writers to their All-Big Ten team citing him as the driving force behind the Chicago road victory (9-0) over Princeton that year. That game was the first Western triumph over an Eastern powerhouse and was a primary stimulus in college football becoming a national game.
In 1922 Walter Camp
picked him as his 1st team Fullback in his Junior year.
Of Thomas, Camp wrote :
(*) Camp refers to his 1922 backfield selections: Thomas, Kaw
(Cornell), and Kipke
(Michigan), both notably in the College Football Hall of Fame
.
In 1923 Stagg held Thomas out of the first games due to a summertime
appendicitis operation. Despite his operation, John Thomas had another
solid year. He was named All-Big Ten alongside Red Grange
by both the Chicago American and Chicago Tribune
.
In 1923, he was elected class president of the University of Chicago.
In his years with the Maroons, they were 18-3-1 (6-1, 5-1-1, 7-1). These
three losses were by a total of 17 points. The first in 1921 was to Ohio State by a score of 7-0 after returning from their triumph over the Tigers at
Princeton. The second was a home loss at Stagg Field
to the 1922 Princeton Tigers
(record 8-0) due only to
3 missed extra points after TD. The 3 TD's all scored by Thomas, only to fall two feet short at the goal line on his fourth attempt with time expiring. This was Princeton's closest game of the season (21-18) and was the first football game ever broadcast on Radio
. It marked the first time an Eastern powerhouse had journeyed West. It is also listed by some as one of the greatest sports moments in history.
The third was a 7-0 road loss to the 1923 Illini (record 8-0) led by Red Grange
, the least points allowed to the Illini that year. This game was the first game played at the Illinois (uncompleted) Memorial Stadium
. Prior to the game, John's brother Harry Thomas had been declared ineligible, so Stagg played John at halfback, which Stagg later wrote cost Chicago the game and possible conference championship.
During Thomas's tenure with the Maroons, they outscored their opponents 333 to 72, allowing their opponents into double digits only once (1922 Princeton). Comparatively, the 3 years before, (1918–1920), the Maroons were 8-12-0. The 3 years after (1924–1926) they were 9-11-4.
During 1922-1923 he played with his brother Harry Thomas in the University of Chicago
backfield. Harry was named All-Big 10 in 1924. In addition to Harry, he had two other younger brothers, Lloyd Thomas and Max Thomas, who played in the backfield for USC
1926-1928. Lloyd was a member of the 1928 USC National Championship team, 2nd Team NEA All-American, Associated Press All-Pacific Coast Team, and winner of the 1928 USC Davis-Teschke Award.
He went on to sneak in 2 professional games for the Racine Legion in 1924 under the alias "John Webster"
because his wife Mildred (née Whipple) had asked him to give up the game.
John Thomas took over the reins of the Danville (IL) High School
sports program in September, 1924, the year the community built its new state-of-the art high school. In his three years as Danville High School's football coach, the former All-American coached his teams to undefeated seasons in the falls of 1924 and 1925. In the fall of 1926, his Danville High School Maroons compiled a record of 2-5-2. Thomas also coached basketball and track during his tenure at Danville High School with his track team winning the state championship in 1925. From 1924-1927, he taught physical education at the school.
In 1927-1929 he coached at what was then known as the Haskell Indian Institute
in Lawrence, Kansas
with John Levi.
He worked for the American Red Cross
, Cummins Business Machine of Chicago, along with many other jobs later in life.
John Thomas died in 1977 and is buried in Woodstock, Illinois
.
Fullback (American football)
A fullback is a position in the offensive backfield in American and Canadian football, and is one of the two running back positions along with the halfback...
for the Chicago Maroons
Chicago Maroons
The Maroons are the intercollegiate sports teams of the University of Chicago. They are named after the color maroon, one of the school's colors. They compete in the NCAA's Division III. They are primarily members of the University Athletic Association and were co-founders of the Big Ten...
football
American football
American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...
team from 1921-1923 under Coach Amos Alonzo Stagg
Amos Alonzo Stagg
Amos Alonzo Stagg was an American athlete and pioneering college coach in multiple sports, primarily American football...
.
Prior to 1919 he enlisted in the United States Army Air Service in World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
.
In 1919-1920 he played for Jamestown College
Jamestown College
Jamestown College is a private liberal arts college founded by the Presbyterian Church located in Jamestown, North Dakota. It has about 1,000 students enrolled today and has been co-educational from its founding....
in North Dakota
North Dakota
North Dakota is a state located in the Midwestern region of the United States of America, along the Canadian border. The state is bordered by Canada to the north, Minnesota to the east, South Dakota to the south and Montana to the west. North Dakota is the 19th-largest state by area in the U.S....
and was chosen
All-State Fullback both years.
In 1921 he transferred to the University of Chicago
University of Chicago
The University of Chicago is a private research university in Chicago, Illinois, USA. It was founded by the American Baptist Education Society with a donation from oil magnate and philanthropist John D. Rockefeller and incorporated in 1890...
under Amos Alonzo Stagg
Amos Alonzo Stagg
Amos Alonzo Stagg was an American athlete and pioneering college coach in multiple sports, primarily American football...
as a Sophomore. He wore numbers 2 & 5. In 1921 he was picked by many
writers to their All-Big Ten team citing him as the driving force behind the Chicago road victory (9-0) over Princeton that year. That game was the first Western triumph over an Eastern powerhouse and was a primary stimulus in college football becoming a national game.
In 1922 Walter Camp
Walter Camp
Walter Chauncey Camp was an American football player, coach, and sports writer known as the "Father of American Football". With John Heisman, Amos Alonzo Stagg, Pop Warner, Fielding H. Yost, and George Halas, Camp was one of the most accomplished persons in the early history of American football...
picked him as his 1st team Fullback in his Junior year.
Of Thomas, Camp wrote :
"John Thomas of Chicago has that rare art of carrying through his charge
with his feet still under him, ready for a further drive. When he strikes,
he strikes hard, but he has still a later thrust of power so that the ordinary
check in a line does not stop his forward progress. He would be the most
dashing of the three in this All-American backfield (*). His work shone
in other games but it was particularly brilliant in the Princeton game.
It is safe to say he did far more against the Princeton line in effective
scoring than did any backs of the East who met the Tigers."
(*) Camp refers to his 1922 backfield selections: Thomas, Kaw
Eddie Kaw
Eddie Kaw was an American football player. He attended Cornell University and graduated in 1923. Kaw was elected into the Sphinx Head Society during his senior year....
(Cornell), and Kipke
Harry G. Kipke
Harry George Kipke was an American football, basketball, and baseball player and coach. He was the head football coach at Michigan State College in 1928 and at the University of Michigan from 1929–1937, compiling a career record of 49–30–5...
(Michigan), both notably in the College Football Hall of Fame
College Football Hall of Fame
The College Football Hall of Fame is a hall of fame and museum devoted to college football. Located in South Bend, Indiana, it is connected to a convention center and situated in the city's renovated downtown district, two miles south of the University of Notre Dame campus. It is slated to move...
.
In 1923 Stagg held Thomas out of the first games due to a summertime
appendicitis operation. Despite his operation, John Thomas had another
solid year. He was named All-Big Ten alongside Red Grange
Red Grange
Harold Edward "Red" Grange, nicknamed "The Galloping Ghost", was a college and professional American football halfback for the University of Illinois, the Chicago Bears, and for the short-lived New York Yankees. His signing with the Bears helped legitimize the National Football League...
by both the Chicago American and Chicago Tribune
Chicago Tribune
The Chicago Tribune is a major daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, and the flagship publication of the Tribune Company. Formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper" , it remains the most read daily newspaper of the Chicago metropolitan area and the Great Lakes region and is...
.
In 1923, he was elected class president of the University of Chicago.
In his years with the Maroons, they were 18-3-1 (6-1, 5-1-1, 7-1). These
three losses were by a total of 17 points. The first in 1921 was to Ohio State by a score of 7-0 after returning from their triumph over the Tigers at
Princeton. The second was a home loss at Stagg Field
Stagg Field
Amos Alonzo Stagg Field is the name of two different football fields for the University of Chicago. The earliest Stagg Field is probably best remembered for its role in a landmark scientific achievement by Enrico Fermi during the Manhattan Project. The site of the first nuclear reaction received...
to the 1922 Princeton Tigers
Princeton Tigers
The Princeton Tigers are the athletic teams of Princeton University. The school sponsors 31 varsity sports. The school has won several NCAA national championships, including one in men's fencing, six in men's lacrosse, three in women's lacrosse, and eight in men's golf...
(record 8-0) due only to
3 missed extra points after TD. The 3 TD's all scored by Thomas, only to fall two feet short at the goal line on his fourth attempt with time expiring. This was Princeton's closest game of the season (21-18) and was the first football game ever broadcast on Radio
1922 college football season
The 1922 college football season had a number of unbeaten and untied teams, and no clear-cut champion. Three different "retro polls", taken years later and based on opinions drawn from historical research, reached different conclusions...
. It marked the first time an Eastern powerhouse had journeyed West. It is also listed by some as one of the greatest sports moments in history.
The third was a 7-0 road loss to the 1923 Illini (record 8-0) led by Red Grange
Red Grange
Harold Edward "Red" Grange, nicknamed "The Galloping Ghost", was a college and professional American football halfback for the University of Illinois, the Chicago Bears, and for the short-lived New York Yankees. His signing with the Bears helped legitimize the National Football League...
, the least points allowed to the Illini that year. This game was the first game played at the Illinois (uncompleted) Memorial Stadium
Memorial Stadium (Champaign)
thumb|right|300px|Original plan for Memorial Stadium circa 1921. Caption from [[Popular Mechanics]] Magazine, 1921Memorial Stadium is a football stadium located in Champaign, Illinois, in the United States, on the campus of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. The stadium is dedicated as...
. Prior to the game, John's brother Harry Thomas had been declared ineligible, so Stagg played John at halfback, which Stagg later wrote cost Chicago the game and possible conference championship.
During Thomas's tenure with the Maroons, they outscored their opponents 333 to 72, allowing their opponents into double digits only once (1922 Princeton). Comparatively, the 3 years before, (1918–1920), the Maroons were 8-12-0. The 3 years after (1924–1926) they were 9-11-4.
During 1922-1923 he played with his brother Harry Thomas in the University of Chicago
backfield. Harry was named All-Big 10 in 1924. In addition to Harry, he had two other younger brothers, Lloyd Thomas and Max Thomas, who played in the backfield for USC
University of Southern California
The University of Southern California is a private, not-for-profit, nonsectarian, research university located in Los Angeles, California, United States. USC was founded in 1880, making it California's oldest private research university...
1926-1928. Lloyd was a member of the 1928 USC National Championship team, 2nd Team NEA All-American, Associated Press All-Pacific Coast Team, and winner of the 1928 USC Davis-Teschke Award.
He went on to sneak in 2 professional games for the Racine Legion in 1924 under the alias "John Webster"
because his wife Mildred (née Whipple) had asked him to give up the game.
John Thomas took over the reins of the Danville (IL) High School
Danville High School (Illinois)
Danville High School is a public high school located in Danville, Illinois. DHS is part of Danville District 118, which also includes two middle schools and eight elementary schools....
sports program in September, 1924, the year the community built its new state-of-the art high school. In his three years as Danville High School's football coach, the former All-American coached his teams to undefeated seasons in the falls of 1924 and 1925. In the fall of 1926, his Danville High School Maroons compiled a record of 2-5-2. Thomas also coached basketball and track during his tenure at Danville High School with his track team winning the state championship in 1925. From 1924-1927, he taught physical education at the school.
In 1927-1929 he coached at what was then known as the Haskell Indian Institute
Haskell Indian Nations University
Haskell Indian Nations University is a tribal university located in Lawrence, Kansas, for members of federally recognized Native American tribes in the United States...
in Lawrence, Kansas
Lawrence, Kansas
Lawrence is the sixth largest city in the U.S. State of Kansas and the county seat of Douglas County. Located in northeastern Kansas, Lawrence is the anchor city of the Lawrence, Kansas, Metropolitan Statistical Area, which encompasses all of Douglas County...
with John Levi.
He worked for the American Red Cross
American Red Cross
The American Red Cross , also known as the American National Red Cross, is a volunteer-led, humanitarian organization that provides emergency assistance, disaster relief and education inside the United States. It is the designated U.S...
, Cummins Business Machine of Chicago, along with many other jobs later in life.
John Thomas died in 1977 and is buried in Woodstock, Illinois
Woodstock, Illinois
Woodstock is a far northwest suburb of Chicago in McHenry County, Illinois. The population was 20,151 at the 2000 census. The 2010 Census shows 24,770 residents. It is the county seat of McHenry County...
.