Great SI Story on Joe Thomas

[lbmclean_sj]

alot of nice nuggets in this blast from the past

http://vault.sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/article/magazine/MAG1085640/index.htm

Those who have traded with Joe Thomas, who have, as one described it, suddenly looked up to see him running oil' with the cake when no one even knew he was at the party, say it is not the kind of thing you care to do every day. Three years ago Miami needed a middle linebacker. Thomas wanted All-AFL Nick Buoniconti of the Patriots. Boston needed a quarterback. Thomas sent films of third-string rookie Quarterback Kim Hammond in action. The films showed Hammond at his best. Boston asked Thomas to throw in Wide Receiver Howard Twilley. "No, but I'll tell you what."" said Thomas. "You can have Hammond and [Linebacker] John Bramlett." After a week of phone calls, the deal was made. Buoniconti today is Miami's defensive captain; Twilley is a regular. Bramlett is a substitute at Atlanta. Hammond is in law school.

"When I talked with Griese after the Rose Bowl game, he was wide-eyed and alert. He was attentive. He was interested in what we talked about. Like Tarkenton, he impressed me right away as an aware guy. People were saying he didn't have a strong enough arm, but a quarterback's arm is a relative thing. I've found that arms get stronger as you grow in the pros anyway, and the kind you really need is the one that can pick a defense apart in the short-to-medium range. How many times does a quarterback have to throw the ball 60 yards?
"Spurrier, of course, had the strong arm, and he was a winner at Florida. Tall, handsome, very popular. I talked with him in the den of his lawyer's home. Actually, the lawyer and I talked. Spurrier sat there playing solitaire the whole time. I had to interrupt to get Ins attention."

 

[Skree]

Very nice find.