Joe Thomas was the last of nine inductees into an almost four-hour Pro Football Hall of Fame enshrinement ceremony. Much of the crowd had departed, leaving the stands with a lot of brown and orange.
The Browns celebrated Thomas becoming the first player from the team who played in the 21st century to earn induction into Canton, which is a stone’s throw from Cleveland.
“It’s the greatest honor of my career to be able to accept this lifetime award on behalf of all of Browns Nation,” Thomas said to end his nearly 20-minute speech. “Cleveland, you could always count on me. Thank you so much for allowing me to count on you. Don’t forget to show up for each other.”
The former Browns left tackle started 167 of 167 games, earned 10 Pro Bowls in 11 seasons and made the 2010s all-decade team. He played a record 10,363 consecutive snaps in his career.
“I want to start by quickly talking about a random number — 10,363,” Thomas said. “That’s not too random, but that’s how many consecutive snaps I had during my career. From my first snap in 2007 to my last snap [in 2017] when I tore my triceps tendon, that’s how long this journey has been. That number 10,363 is special to me in a lot of ways, and not just because it’s an NFL record but because it shows I was there for my brothers 10,363 times in a row. They could count on me. Being an offensive lineman is also about being a servant. . . . Loyalty, consistency, doing something bigger than yourself, showing up for the man next to you. Those are the values I learned at an early age, and those are the values that I took onto the football field.”
Thomas blocked for six head coaches and 20 quarterbacks, poking fun at those who didn’t play long enough for Thomas to learn their names. He also apologized to all the left tackles he didn’t allow to see the field during his streak.
“Count on me was my motto,” Thomas said. “It still is my motto to this day.”
