About Inductee

David Thomas was born May 20, 1941, in Huntsville, Alabama, and was educated in the Huntsville City Schools. He began playing baseball at the age of 12 in the Huntsville Little League Program and also played basketball and football at the McCormick Branch YMCA under coaches Bill Childress, Sr. and Buttermilk Johnson. At Butler High School, David played end on the football team, forward on the basketball team and was an outfielder on the baseball team from 1956 to 1959. After graduating from Butler, David signed a football scholarship with legendary coach Hal Self, at Florence State. He went on to earn three letters playing end on the football team from 1960 to 1963. During Davids college years, a player had to play both offense and defense. In one game against Northwestern Louisiana, Thomas caught five passes and made nine individual tackles. In the 1963 season, he was the Lions leading receiver and a very rugged defensive end; he was also selected at the end of the season to be one of the permanent Co-Captains. After graduation, David was hired by Principal Fulton Hamilton and Coach Bill Godsey as an assistant coach at Lee High School where he stayed for two years. He returned to Florence to pursue a Masters degree at Florence State and coach football at Bradshaw High School and basketball and track at Forest Hill Middle School. In 1977, David made a career change and became a State Farm Insurance agent in Florence. He enjoyed a successful career with State Farm and retired in 2002. David said, I had many coaches impact my life from Little League through Florence State. They taught me the skills needed to play all sports; however, the person with the greatest impact on my life was my mother, Thelma Thomas. My father died when I was nine and my mom had to work to support our family. She would work all day and go to business school at night. She was successful in business school and worked as a secretary until she retired. She taught me the value of hard work, determination and sacrifice. Another great influence of my life has been my wife of 46 years, Jo Ann Smith Thomas. She encouraged me to finish my degree from Florence State, and has been my best friend through the years. David and Jo Ann live in Florence and have one daughter, one son and four grandchildren.