Iconic Giants tight end Aaron Thomas dies at 86 after battle with illness: ‘First version of Travis Kelce’

Aaron Thomas, one of the most prolific tight ends in New York Giants history, died last week at the age of 86 after a long illness.

The Giants announced Thomas died on Friday, saying he died on April 26 at his home in Corvallis, Oregon.

Thomas played 116 regular season games for the Giants from 1962 to 1970, missing only seven games in his career due to injury.

He ranks 17th in franchise history with 254 receptions, 14th with 4,253 yards and is tied for sixth with 35 touchdown receptions.

“He’s almost like the first version of (Kansas City Chiefs tight end) Travis Kelce,” his son, Robb Thomas, who played a decade in the league, told the team’s website.

“He was a tight end and a wing, but he really ran good routes and had a good feel for getting into open spaces.”

Thomas, a fourth-round draft pick in 1961, was traded to the Giants after two games in 1962. Two years later, Thomas led the Giants with 43 receptions for 624 yards and six touchdowns and was selected to the Pro Bowl. .

In 1967, he recorded a career-high 51 receptions, 877 yards and nine touchdowns. He retired after the 1970 season.

“He was very proud and loved his years with the Giants,” Robb added. ‘He really liked the Mara family. They were good to him. He was always a Giants fan.

After his NFL career, Thomas became a stockbroker in Los Angeles before he and his father purchased a restaurant, bar and bowling alley in Yreka, California.

Thomas later moved to Oregon, where he was head football coach at Klamath Falls High School for three years in the early 1980s. He then returned to his alma mater, Oregon State, where he was assistant principal at Beaver Club until 1989.

Thomas is survived by his wife, Joan, and his children Troy, Robb, Lance and Leslie.