Crowley gridiron star dies Sunday

Orlando Thomas, who’s football talents led him from Gardiner Memorial Stadium as a Crowley Gent to sold out NFL stadiums around the country as a Minnesota Viking, succumbed to his battle against ALS (Lou Gehrig’s Disease) Sunday night. He was 42; the same number he wore during his playing days at the University of Southwestern Louisiana (now ULL) and the Minnesota Vikings. 

When people think of NFL players, especially those who make the Pro Bowl at any point during their career, they often imagine people with God given talents and ability. According to those who knew him, Thomas’ achievements were a result of hard work and a dedication not often seen in players these days. 

“I first met Orlando in eighth grade when he visited Crowley High prior to coming to high school,” said former Crowley High and current Notre Dame High Head Coach Lewis Cook, who’s relationship with Thomas extended long after his football days were over. 

“As a freshman, he weighed 98 pounds. When he was in 10th grade he told me ‘I’m going to play pro ball one day coach.' I said ‘Well it’s going to take a lot of work,” Cook added, with a look in his eyes as though he was still surprised that Thomas fulfilled his promise. “I told him he needed to join the track team which he did immediately. He had such determination and strong will.” 

In 1990, Thomas helped lead the Crowley Gents to the Class 3A State Championship under Coach Cook. According to Cook, the team he fielded in 1989 had more talent, featuring highly recruited players such as wide receivers Wes Jacob and Shane Garrett. 

“I looked at the schedule before that season and tried to see if there were five games we could win,” said Cook. “Orlando’s senior year, he had such a strong will to succeed. He always stepped up...he willed us to the state title.” 

“He was just a great person,” said Jacob, who recalled the same skinny freshman that Coach Cook described. “As a freshman he couldn’t even bench the bar. They had to use a broom and secure weights on the end. Orlando worked for everything he had. He didn’t have much money growing up. He didn’t have the finer things. In my eyes, there is nobody in Crowley who ever worked harder than Orlando.

“I’ll always remember the words he lived by until the day he died - 'Everyday is a holiday.'”

When Thomas signed with then USL out of high school, he was reunited with Coach Cook who had left Crowley High for an assistant coaching position with the colllege in Lafayette.The two formed a friendship that extended past football. After being named an All-American at USL following back to back Big West Titles, he asked his high school coach to come with him to Chicago to prepare for the NFL draft. He was selected in the second round by the Minnesota Vikings. 

“He wanted some help selecting the right agent,” said Coach Cook. 

However, before he departed to Minnesota, where he led the NFL in interceptions and made the Pro Bowl in his rookie year, he told his former coach that he needed some help with something else. 

“He was a senior in college and he didn’t have a driver’s license,” said Cook as he smiled at the memory. “I drove him to the DMV and he used my old car for his driving test.”

Thomas touched other lives that had nothing to do with the gridioon.

“He was a great athlete and a great guy and he will be missed by all,” said Crowley Mayor Greg Jones, who befriended Thomas and recently dedicated his ALS Ice Bucket Challenge to him. “He was taken from us way too early.”  

Thomas played for the Vikings from 1995 until he retired in 2001. In 2007, he revealed that he was suffering from ALS. In the end, Thomas, who was 225 during his playing days in the NFL, is said to have weighed around 70 pounds during his final days. Cook said that the last time he visited him prior to the season he had to use his eyes to communicate because he had no control over the rest of his body. 

There is one thing that Cook seemed to wonder if Thomas didn't control; the Pioneers have a bye week prior to starting the playoffs next week. 

“It’s almost like he’s telling me ‘Don’t worry coach, I wouldn’t do this to you on a game week.’”

No funeral services for Orlando Thomas have yet been set.