Ray B. Thomas Explained

Ray B. Thomas
Birth Date:11 April 1884
Birth Place:Berkshire, Vermont, U.S.
Death Place:St. Albans, Vermont, U.S.
Player Sport1:Football
Player Years2:c.1905
Player Team2:Brown
Player Years3:c.1908
Player Team3:Vermont
Player Positions:Center[1]
Coach Sport1:Football
Coach Years2:1909
Coach Team2:Vermont
Coach Years3:1910–1911
Coach Team3:New Hampshire
Coach Sport4:Basketball
Coach Years5:1910–1911
Coach Team5:New Hampshire
Overall Record:7–10–4 (football)
6–3 (basketball)

Ray Brown Thomas (April 11, 1884 – August 5, 1931) was an American college athlete, coach of college football and college basketball, physician, and medical officer in the United States Army.

Biography

Thomas graduated from Burlington High School in Vermont, then Brown University in Rhode Island, and later earned his medical degree at the University of Vermont in 1910. While at Brown, he played football, baseball, and basketball; he also played football at Vermont.[2]

Thomas served as the head football coach at Vermont in 1909 and at New Hampshire College of Agriculture and the Mechanic Arts for the 1910 and 1911 seasons, compiling a career college football record of 7–10–4. Thomas was also the head basketball coach at New Hampshire for one season, in 1910–11, tallying a mark of 6–3.

In 1911, he opened a medical office in Enosburgh, Vermont. During World War I, he served as a major in the U.S. Army Medical Corps,[3] and was chief of X-ray services at the Camp McClellan hospital in Alabama. Thomas died in August 1931 at the age of 47, of pneumonia brought on by heat stroke while on duty with the Army Reserve.[3] He was a Freemason and a member of the Episcopal Church; he was survived by his wife, Elizabeth Laird Thomas.[4]

Head coaching record

Football

Notes and References

  1. Book: The Ariel . XXIII . 1910 . . 177 . uvm.edu . April 25, 2020 . Varsity Football Team, Season of 1908.
  2. News: Bits Of Sport . . . 2 . October 27, 1911 . April 25, 2020 . newspapers.com.
  3. News: Dr. Thomas, Athlete, Dies . . . . 6 . August 5, 1931 . April 25, 2020 . newspapers.com.
  4. News: Dr. R. B. Thomas, 47, of Enosburg Falls dies in St. Albans . . . 1 . August 6, 1931 . April 25, 2020 . newspapers.com.