HONORING TALLEY
September 22, 2011 05:14 PM | General
Many West Virginia fans still remember Thurman Thomas’ four-TD performance against the Mountaineers out in snowy El Paso, Texas in the 1987 Sun Bowl.
Well this weekend, Thomas is in town to help honor Buffalo Bill teammate Darryl Talley, who is being recognized by West Virginia University as its newest member in the College Football Hall of Fame.
Friday’s luncheon will take place at noon at the Waterfront Place Hotel in downtown Morgantown.
When Thomas was a Bills rookie back in 1988, Talley was one of the first veteran players to take Thomas under his wing. Thomas says those things are never forgotten.
“The relationship that we built has continued through the years, even after our playing days,” Thomas said. “He was a guy who I looked up to. I heard about Darryl Talley when he was at West Virginia, and I knew some things about him, but once I got there and I saw the type of person and the type of player that he was, he was a guy that was going to lead. And I was going to be a guy who followed him.”
Thomas said Talley had instant respect in the locker room by the way he played on the field and by the way he led his teammates off of it.
“He always played hard; he always wanted the hardest assignment on the football field, and not only is he one of the best players the Bills has ever had, he was also one of the great leaders in the National Football League,” Thomas said. “He was just an outstanding individual to be around both on and off the field.”
The tight bond those great Bills teams had led to five AFC championship game appearances and four consecutive trips to the Super Bowl from 1990-93 – a feat that will likely never be duplicated.
“Sure we wanted to win one but we didn’t, but you know what, it was a heck of a run and we’re proud of what we tried to accomplish,” Thomas said. “The system doesn’t fit for players to stay with the same team now for 10-11 years. I played with Bruce (Smith) for 12 years. That’s unheard of now. You have players who get drafted by different teams for different reasons and they’re gone four-five years after that. That was one of the things (Bills coach) Marv Levy wanted us to be like – he wanted us to be a family and that’s why we stuck together there for so long.”
Talley was on a team full of superstars – quarterback Jim Kelly, wide receiver James Lofton, defensive end Bruce Smith and Thomas are all members of the Pro Football Hall of Fame – and Thomas is glad other key players like Talley are finally beginning to receive their just due.
“Think about it, Darryl lined up next to Bruce Smith. That’s a lot,” Thomas explained. “Had that been somebody else besides Bruce Smith, Darryl would probably be in the Pro Football Hall of Fame, because he would have been over there doing the job that Bruce was doing.
“But he played next to Bruce and some of the credit went away from him, but it’s great to see him get his due and be inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame,” Thomas said.
As for Thomas’ 157-yard, four-touchdown performance against West Virginia in the 1987 Sun Bowl, he admits that was one of his more enjoyable afternoons as a college football player even if everyone there froze their butts off.
“You mean the 1987 Snow Bowl?” he laughed. “I tell everybody that was probably one of the reasons why I got drafted with Buffalo because they saw me play in cold weather in the snow.
Of course Thomas is only teasing, but he does have clear memories of that game.
“I remember that game well,” he said. “Major Harris was the quarterback at that time. Even though I ended up playing the following year with Darryl in Buffalo, I played against John Talley (Darryl’s younger brother) before he got hurt early in the game.”
The Cowboys had a 14-7 lead after the first quarter before West Virginia erupted for 17 second-quarter points to take a 24-14 lead into the locker room at halftime. In the second half, Thomas scored a pair of touchdowns to help the Cowboys pull out an exciting, 35-33 victory over WVU on Christmas day.
“It was an exciting football game,” he said. “We jumped ahead very quickly, West Virginia came back, and we pulled it out there in the end. It was one of the most exciting bowl games I have ever been in.”
Well this weekend, Thomas is in town to help honor Buffalo Bill teammate Darryl Talley, who is being recognized by West Virginia University as its newest member in the College Football Hall of Fame.
Friday’s luncheon will take place at noon at the Waterfront Place Hotel in downtown Morgantown.
When Thomas was a Bills rookie back in 1988, Talley was one of the first veteran players to take Thomas under his wing. Thomas says those things are never forgotten.
“The relationship that we built has continued through the years, even after our playing days,” Thomas said. “He was a guy who I looked up to. I heard about Darryl Talley when he was at West Virginia, and I knew some things about him, but once I got there and I saw the type of person and the type of player that he was, he was a guy that was going to lead. And I was going to be a guy who followed him.”
Thomas said Talley had instant respect in the locker room by the way he played on the field and by the way he led his teammates off of it.
“He always played hard; he always wanted the hardest assignment on the football field, and not only is he one of the best players the Bills has ever had, he was also one of the great leaders in the National Football League,” Thomas said. “He was just an outstanding individual to be around both on and off the field.”
The tight bond those great Bills teams had led to five AFC championship game appearances and four consecutive trips to the Super Bowl from 1990-93 – a feat that will likely never be duplicated.
“Sure we wanted to win one but we didn’t, but you know what, it was a heck of a run and we’re proud of what we tried to accomplish,” Thomas said. “The system doesn’t fit for players to stay with the same team now for 10-11 years. I played with Bruce (Smith) for 12 years. That’s unheard of now. You have players who get drafted by different teams for different reasons and they’re gone four-five years after that. That was one of the things (Bills coach) Marv Levy wanted us to be like – he wanted us to be a family and that’s why we stuck together there for so long.”
Talley was on a team full of superstars – quarterback Jim Kelly, wide receiver James Lofton, defensive end Bruce Smith and Thomas are all members of the Pro Football Hall of Fame – and Thomas is glad other key players like Talley are finally beginning to receive their just due.
“Think about it, Darryl lined up next to Bruce Smith. That’s a lot,” Thomas explained. “Had that been somebody else besides Bruce Smith, Darryl would probably be in the Pro Football Hall of Fame, because he would have been over there doing the job that Bruce was doing.
“But he played next to Bruce and some of the credit went away from him, but it’s great to see him get his due and be inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame,” Thomas said.
As for Thomas’ 157-yard, four-touchdown performance against West Virginia in the 1987 Sun Bowl, he admits that was one of his more enjoyable afternoons as a college football player even if everyone there froze their butts off.
“You mean the 1987 Snow Bowl?” he laughed. “I tell everybody that was probably one of the reasons why I got drafted with Buffalo because they saw me play in cold weather in the snow.
Of course Thomas is only teasing, but he does have clear memories of that game.
“I remember that game well,” he said. “Major Harris was the quarterback at that time. Even though I ended up playing the following year with Darryl in Buffalo, I played against John Talley (Darryl’s younger brother) before he got hurt early in the game.”
The Cowboys had a 14-7 lead after the first quarter before West Virginia erupted for 17 second-quarter points to take a 24-14 lead into the locker room at halftime. In the second half, Thomas scored a pair of touchdowns to help the Cowboys pull out an exciting, 35-33 victory over WVU on Christmas day.
“It was an exciting football game,” he said. “We jumped ahead very quickly, West Virginia came back, and we pulled it out there in the end. It was one of the most exciting bowl games I have ever been in.”
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