A former San Francisco 49ers and New York Giants legendary tight end died last month at the age of 86. Per a statement by the Giants, Aaron Thomas died at his residence in Corvallis, OR, on April 26. He had been battling an illness.
Following a standout college career at Oregon State, the San Francisco 49ers drafted Thomas in the fourth round of the 1961 NFL Draft. The 49ers traded Thomas to the Giants in the 1962 season, and he’d have a spectacular career in New York. Per the Giants’ statement, Thomas is currently 17th in the team’s history in receptions:
“Thomas played 116 regular-season games for the Giants from 1962-70. Fifty-four years after his final game, he is 17th in franchise history with 254 receptions, 14th with 4,253 yards, and tied with teammates Homer Jones and Del Shofner for sixth with 35 touchdown catches. Thomas also had two receptions in the 1963 NFL Championship Game. He missed only seven games in his career due to injury.”
Thomas is the father of Robb Thomas, who also played football at Oregon State before the Kansas City Chiefs drafted him in the sixth round of the 1989 NFL Draft. Robb played in the NFL as a wide receiver until his career ended in 1998 with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Per the Giants statement, Robb compared Aaron to Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce:
“I ordered a highlight film from the NFL called, ‘Aaron Thomas NFL.’ It’s on YouTube,” said Robb Thomas, Aaron’s son, who played 10 years in the league as a wide receiver. “I love watching that because it’s so much fun to see all the old Giants players and be able to see some of the amazing things he did.
He’s almost like the early version of (Kansas City Chiefs tight end) Travis Kelce. He was a tight end and flanker, but he really ran good routes and had a good feel about getting into open space.”
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