Aaron Thomas (American football)

Aaron Norman Thomas (November 7, 1937 – April 26, 2024) was an American professional football player who was a tight end in the National Football League (NFL) for the San Francisco 49ers and New York Giants from 1961 to 1970. He played college football for the Oregon State Beavers.

Early life
Thomas was born in Dierks, Arkansas, but moved in 1948 to Weed, California, where he played high school football. He graduated from Weed High School in 1957. Thomas was inducted into the school's inaugural Athletic Hall of Fame in 2008.

College career
Thomas chose to continue his football career in college just up Interstate 5 for the Oregon State Beavers. Thomas played receiver at OSU from 1958-1960. He played in the East-West Shrine Game following his junior season, and the College All-Star Game, Coaches All-America Bowl, and the Senior Bowl following the 1960 season.

Professional career
Upon his completion at Oregon State, Thomas was not only selected in the fourth round (47th overall) of the 1961 NFL Draft by the San Francisco 49ers, but was also selected in the 16th round of the 1961 AFL Draft by the Dallas Texans. He chose to play for the 49ers, where he played wide receiver. During the 1962 NFL season, after two games with the 49ers, Thomas was traded to the New York Giants where he played tight end for the remainder of his career until retirement in 1970. While with the Giants, Thomas was selected to the Pro Bowl following the 1964 season. In his 11-year career, Thomas only missed seven games.

Personal life and death
Thomas' son, Robb Thomas, followed in his father's path and played football at Oregon State before moving on to play wide receiver in the NFL for 10 seasons. Thomas died in Corvallis, Oregon on April 26, 2024, at the age of 86.