Erik Brady
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Thurman Thomas will be honored in New York tonight when the Miami Project to Cure Paralysis holds its annual Great Sports Legends Dinner to raise awareness, and money, for its groundbreaking research.
“They wanted me, but they couldn’t find me, so they reached out to Jim Kelly, who has won the award before,” Thomas says. “And I’m very excited to go and help to raise as much money as we possibly can.”
Today is Marc Buoniconti’s 59th birthday. He was paralyzed 40 years ago making a tackle for the Citadel. His father, the legendary Miami Dolphins linebacker Nick Buoniconti, simply would not accept that his son would never walk again. That’s why he and neurosurgeon Barth A. Green cofounded the Miami Project. Its goal: curing a condition long believed incurable.
“The cause is great,” Thomas says.
Marc Buoniconti remains paralyzed, but also hopeful. The Miami Project conducts research on many fronts, from cell transplantation to brain-computer interfaces to electrical stimulation techniques.
One of the Miami Project’s earliest and most generous benefactors was Ralph C. Wilson Jr., then the owner of the Buffalo Bills. His portrait, etched in glass, is in the lobby of its building at the University of Miami’s Miller School of Medicine.
“I didn’t know Ralph was involved with this,” Thomas says. “Old Ralph, he did so many things. If Ralph was part of it, you know it’s absolutely great, so I’m happy to be a part of it, too.”
Wilson died in 2014. Nick Buoniconti died in 2019. But the Miami Project lives on. And the annual dinner is its biggest fundraiser each year, honoring legendary athletes from a range of sports.
“When I received the invitation, I looked at it, and I realized this isn’t all about football,” Thomas says. “It was golf, basketball, hockey, whatever it is, all different sports. And I’m going to really like meeting some of the other players who I’ve never met before but obviously heard of.”
Tonight’s other honorees include baseball’s Albert Pujols; basketball’s Dominque Wilkins and Dwight Howard; football’s Warren Moon; NASCAR’s Kurt Busch; hockey’s Jeremy Roenick; short-track speedskating’s Apolo Ohno; golf’s Michelle Wie West; and horse racing’s Frankie Dettori.
“Warren Moon, I know from pro football, and I’ve known Dominique Wilkins for a number of years,” Thomas said. “But Albert Pujols is one of my favorite baseball players and I’ve never had the chance to meet him. And I know my wife is going to be really excited to meet Michelle Wie West.”
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When this NFL season began, Thomas and Josh Allen were tied for the most career rushing touchdowns in Bills’ history, with 65. Then, on opening night, against the Baltimore Ravens, Allen scored with his 66th and 67th rushing TDs − and then on Sunday added his 68th against the New Orleans Saints.
Records are made to be broken, and Thomas always knew his would not last forever.
“But it’s funny, because I never thought it would be a quarterback,” he said. “But as the years went on, I thought, ‘You know, Josh is really moving up in this touchdown thing.’ ”
Thomas got a text from Kenny Davis, his backup in the Bills Super Bowl era, when Allen broke the franchise record.
“He said he was sorry, and I said, ‘For what?’ ” Thomas said, laughing. “And he said, ‘Well, Marv (Levy) wanted me to be the goal-line guy to score touchdowns.’ And I thought, ‘Yeah, I am a little pissed about that.’ ”
His tone suggests Thomas is kidding … though maybe not completely.
“I could have had a lot more touchdowns,” he said. “I think Kenny had, like, 23 or 24 touchdowns” − 23 for the Bills, plus four more for the Green Bay Packers − “and a lot of them were on the 1-yard line. Heck, I could have got them one yard.”
But Levy’s philosophy was to keep some of the wear-and-tear off Thomas because Davis was so good as a short-yardage back.
“I was doing so many things,” Thomas said. “Running the football, catching the football out of the backfield, picking up blitzes. So the logic of keeping me preserved and not get me injured was good.”
Besides, Thomas − like the rest of us − loves to watch Allen play.
And run.
“To lose it to a great guy like Josh, I’m happy to let it go,” Thomas said. “He’s such a great kid and such a great part of this organization. And maybe he is going to lead us to that first Super Bowl.”
All of which might very well lead to Allen’s own invitation to the Great Sports Legends Dinner years from now.
If the event organizers can’t find him then, maybe they could just ask Jim Kelly where to look.
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Erik Brady
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