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His career started and ended with a question about his knee. In between, no one ever questioned his heart.

In 1988, when Thomas was drafted in the second round (40th overall), then-GM Bill Polian just hoped that the Bills would get a few good years out of the Oklahoma State RB. Scouts feared his knee, injured during his senior season, just wouldn't hold up.

It held up and then some.

On Tuesday, RB Thurman Thomas, a player Buffalo Bills owner Ralph Wilson Jr. called 'one of the greatest players in the history of the game', retired after 13 NFL seasons. He spent all but one of them with the Bills. 

Rather than enduring a long rehab after injuring his knee in a game against the San Diego Chargers this past season, Thomas decided to hang up his cleats and retire as a Buffalo Bill. Honoring his wishes, the Miami Dolphins released him last week. This enabled Thomas to sign a one day contract with the Bills and thus announce the end to his magnificent career with the team he will forever be synonymous with.

There can be no doubt that Thomas is a sure bet for the Hall of Fame. He may even make it in his first year of eligibility. That's what 16,532 yards from scrimmage (6th in NFL history), 12,074 yards of it the ground (9th in NFL history) will do for one's credentials. Four straight Super Bowl appearances, five Pro Bowl berths, and an NFL MVP Award (1991) rounds out his case quite nicely. So does shattering the team rushing record of an existing Hall of Famer, O.J. Simpson.

As spectacular as Thomas's career was, it wasn't the spectacular plays that folks immediately recalled at the retirement ceremony. It was the Thurmanator's work on third down and short that drew the rave reviews. In fact, it was a third and one play that Thomas converted in anAFC Championship Game that Wilson recalled as Thomas's greatest play ever. Grabbed three yards deep in the backfield by a Dolphin linebacker, Thomas somehow managed to fight off the tackle and lurch forward for just barely enough turf to get the first down. The play kept the ball out of Dan Marino's hands and allowed the Bills to run of the clock, sealing the win.

As Thomas stood on the podium, choking back tears and then fielding questions from the media, it was clear that he had few regrets, from the time he forgot his helmet on the sidelines of a Super Bowl to signing a contract with archrival Miami this past season. 

But the sting of falling short in the four straight Super Bowls that the Bills appeared in lingers still. 'I wasn't able to accomplish the one thing that I wanted the most', lamented Thomas, 'which is win a Super Bowl for the City of Buffalo'.

While the Bills failed to clinch a championship in those glory years, Wilson made it clear to all that 'without Thurman Thomas, we could not have gone to four straight Super Bowls in a row'.

Former Bills coach Marv Levy, unable to attend the ceremony due to a scheduling conflict, sent a letter echoing Wilson's praise, calling Thomas 'one of the most complete NFL backs ever' along with Walter Payton.

At 5-10, 206lbs., Thomas wasn't the biggest of backs but was one of the most potent. Levy went on to recall that legendary Dolphin coach Don Shula once said of Thomas, 'That Thurman Thomas may be a small potato, but he sure is tough to peel'. Shula would know; no one has gained more yards rushing against the Miami Dolphins than Thurman Thomas did.

While it was ironic and strange that Thomas ended up spending his last season in Miami, there was no question that the love and admiration that Thomas and the Buffalo organization enjoyed had not eroded. In the end, Wilson summed it up best.

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