By Gary Curreri | New Pelican Writer

Hillsboro Beach – Zach Thomas opened his NFL Hall of Fame induction speech with a story that paralleled his professional football career.

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“At two years old, I was run over by a pickup truck,” quipped Thomas, one of nine inductees into the 2023 NFL Hall of Fame class in Canton, Ohio on Aug. 5. “But you know what saved me that day? Dirt. If it was on concrete or pavement, I wouldn’t be standing here right now. I took a lot of dirt roads to get here.”

Added Thomas, “It broke my arm, and knocked me out. Thank God my head was harder than the ground. Everything after that when you look at it is a bonus. I did have a learning disorder, so I had to work with my mom a lot so I could fit in during class.”

Speaking on the 27th anniversary of the day he was named the starting middle linebacker for the Miami Dolphins, he was named as the 370th member of the Hall.

It was on Aug. 5, 1996 when former Miami Dolphins coach Jimmy Johnson told the fifth-round, 154th overall selection he was promoting Thomas from the fourth team to starter over veteran linebacker Jack Del Rio.

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Ironically, it was Johnson who appeared at Thomas’ home in Hillsboro Beach in early February telling him he was joining the 2023 class, three years after he became eligible. It was also Johnson who greeted Thomas on the stage to present him and helped him unveil his golden bust.

“That was special,” Thomas said. “It was all a blur to me. When you are in the moment, you don’t really enjoy it like you should. I was more nervous about the speech, and I was more nervous about crying when I was talking about my family. I held up pretty good.”

Thomas played 13 years and a total of 184 games in the NFL. The seven-time Pro Bowler racked up 1,734 tackles, 17 interceptions and 20.5 sacks during his standout career. Always dubbed too small (5 ’11) and too slow (4.8 40 time) growing up, Thomas is the 17th Miami Dolphin to reach the Hall.

“I always go back to, and it doesn’t matter if you are a Hall of Famer, if you are not a great teammate . . . I feel like that whole part of it and the relationships you build along the way are the most important when you look at it. You are motivated by a lot of different things when you are playing, but being a great teammate is awesome,” said Thomas, who was interviewed by The New Pelican at his sister Katina’s 17th annual Cartwheels for Character event at West Broward Gymnastics.

The two-day event allowed 60 underserved girls from Broward and Miami-Dade counties to perform gymnastics and learn a dance which this year was performed at the Hall of Fame in honor of Thomas.

“The relationships you build along the way are the most important when you look at it,” he said. “You are motivated by a lot of different things when you are playing. It doesn’t matter if it was third grade, or high school, college or pro . . . I don’t think you could find one guy that would say one bad thing about me and that is if I took the job, and that was important to me. That’s part of it.”

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Thomas, who would keep notes for everything on team tendencies, even for preseason games that he wasn’t playing in, said early on in his fledgling career he became a gym rat. At his first high school practice in his native Texas, he hit a tackling dummy being held by his head coach so hard that he knocked him backwards, where he broke his glasses and cut his nose.

Thomas said he received a lot of inspiration along the way from his older brother Bart and his sister Katina, who even helped him write his Hall of Fame acceptance speech. “My brother has had a fun-filled week with over 300 family and friends,” Katina said. “He is running on adrenaline and having a blast.”

One of his two daughters, Sienna Thomas, 8, said the family enjoyed the Hall of Fame week. “I cried a lot of happy tears and was very proud of him,” she said. “He’s in the Hall of Fame forever now.”

Thomas said the three-year wait from when he first became eligible for the Hall of Fame was worth it. Ironically, the 2023 class comprises seven defensive players, one coach and one offensive tackle, making it the first time this century that not a single offensive skilled player was enshrined.

“It’s all ego when it comes to it,” Thomas explained. “There are guys who are deserving to go in. I never campaigned for myself, that’s just not me. I feel like the timing was perfect. Anytime, when you get in the Hall of Fame, it’s good timing.”

As he closed out his Hall of Fame speech which thanked everyone in his past from his coaches, teammates, friends and family. He paused to gather himself.

“This is a dream come true for this small-town country boy to be standing on this stage with all these legends behind me,” Thomas said. “My football career has come full circle.”

Source: https://t-tees.com
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