Football History on 16th of May

Born May 16, 1966, in Houston, Texas, was Oklahoma State running back from 1984 through the 1987 season, Thurman Thomas. Thomas according to the FootballFoundation.org was a First Team All-America pick in 1985 as well as consensus choice in 1987. For his collegiate career Thurman Thomas amassed 4,847 rushing yards and 43 touchdowns at Oklahoma State, catapulting him into school and conference record books. His career rushing yardage is second best all-time in the conference, trailing only 2006 College Football Hall of Famer Mike Rozier of Nebraska. Thurman Thomas’ collegiate football records are celebrated in the College Football Hall of Fame after his induction in 2008. The Buffalo Bills wisely selected Thomas in the second round of the 1988 NFL Draft. He was a perfect fit for the style of offense that head coach Marv Levy employed with the Bills aiding both the run game as well catching passes out of the backfield. He played in the NFL for 13 seasons, appearing in four Super Bowls with the Bills. He was named to the league's All-Decade Team of the 1990s. Thurman received the great honor of being the NFL MVP in 1991 and according to the ProFootballHOF.com website he recorded eight consecutive 1000 yard seasons running with the ball. Thomas retired as the NFL's ninth ranked rusher with 12,074 yards and added another 4,458 yards on 472 catches. He scored 65 rushing and 23 receiving touchdowns in his 13-season career. The Pro Football Hall of Fame enshrined the brilliant NFL career of Thurmon Thomas in 2007.

Born May 16, 1943, in Borger, Texas, was Donny Anderson who was the 1963 to 1965 starting halfback of Texas Tech. His bio lists that he was known as The Golden Palomino as a two-time All-America halfback 1964 and 1965. He had some splash plays almost from the get-go, for as a sophomore at Tech, he intercepted a pass and ran 43 yards against Washington State. As a junior his stat-line included a 90-yard run from scrimmage against Texas Christian and a 68-yard punt against Southern Methodist. The more he played the better he got. In his Senior season Donny was off the charts. That 1965 season Anderson ran a kickoff back 100 yards against Oklahoma State, caught ten passes against Arkansas, and scored 17 touchdowns on the season. The Sporting News named him co-winner (with Jim Grabowski of Illinois) of its Player of the Year Award. His 5111 yards on all-purpose running was a Texas Tech record. This includes his career yardage by rushing, receiving, kick returns, and interception returns. The National Football Foundation selected Donny Anderson for entrance into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1989. Donny enjoyed nine seasons at the professional level as a player too. The Pro Football Reference website shares that he spent 6 seasons as a Green Bay Packer winning two Super Bowls and two NFL Championships and three more years as a St Louis Cardinal. During his NFL stint he tallied almost 4700 yards with a 3.9 yards per carry average.

In this episode of the Football History Headlines, we discuss the birthday boys of the HOF's Jim Langer, Eddie Casey, Thurman Thomas and Donny Anderson as well as many more HOF Legendary stories.

Born May 16, 1948, in Little Falls, Minnesota, was the South Dakota State center Jim Langer. Langer, according to the Pro Football Hall of Fame’s bio on him, walked on to the 1970 Miami Dolphins as a free agent. He soon became a starter and even played every offensive snap of the Miami perfect season of 1972 needing the help of a teammate on only three of 500 snaps of blocking assignments that year! Jim was a four time All-Pro, played in 3 Super Bowls and in 6 Pro Bowls. Jim Langer had his body of NFL work enshrined into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1987.