Former Cleveland Browns offensive tackle Joe Thomas, 38, participated in a different professional sport than he is traditionally known for on Tuesday evening.
Joe Thomas, Wisconsin native and 2023 Pro Football Hall of Fame inductee, threw out the first pitch tonight!
Joe played 11 seasons with the Cleveland Browns and is a former offensive tackle for University of Wisconsin.#ThisIsMyCrew pic.twitter.com/MdvugfaHko
— Milwaukee Brewers (@Brewers) May 10, 2023
He threw out the first pitch at the Milwaukee Brewers game.
OL Appreciation Post
Joe Thomas, Tackle a.k.a. The 🐐
Browns
10x Pro-Bowler
6x 1st Team All-Pro
NFL 2010s All-Decade Team
Browns Ring of Honor
Skipped the 2007 NFL Draft to fish instead pic.twitter.com/QRYhc1CBh4— Dean Cullison (@CoachCully_ODU) August 13, 2020
Thomas is a native of Wisconsin and was a fan favorite long before he famously stayed home during the 2007 NFL Draft to go fishing with his father.
All Roads Lead To Canton
Thomas, a first-ballot NFL Hall of Famer, will be inducted in August.
It will be a moment of intense pride for Thomas, the lifelong Cleveland Brown, to watch his Browns play in the Hall of Fame Game against the New York Jets as part of the weekend celebration.
In the meantime, Thomas is going through all the necessary preparations for his induction.
Last week, he sat for Ben Hammond, the artist who makes the bronze busts that immortalize the Hall of Fame players.
Joe's path to football immortality is well on its way after he sat for artist Ben Hammond to get the measurements taken for his bronze bust!
📸: @ProFootballHOF pic.twitter.com/Aa3NbajPC1
— Cleveland Browns (@Browns) May 3, 2023
As for his Hall of Fame presenters, after careful thought, Thomas decided to keep it all in the family.
He selected his wife Annie and their four children.
Thomas will likely be the last candidate enshrined, and his family presenting him will bring the Browns fan-packed house down in Canton.
Browns fans are expected to travel in large numbers because the driving distance between Cleveland and Canton is only about 90 minutes.
Browns fans will be buck wild in Canton. We already celebrate as if we won the Super Bowl 10x. This is held right before the season starts, so we are at our freshest and most hopeful. Chests are going to be puffed to the extreme for our HOF Joe Thomas. LFG! pic.twitter.com/Drx5rT8d92
— Yvette (@yvettemlaboy) February 27, 2023
What Thomas Wants
Though Thomas played on some really terrible Browns teams, he is the biggest Browns fan around and has the highest respect for his former team, the coaching staff, and the front office.
If the Browns ever win a Super Bowl they owe Joe Thomas a ring, no matter when
— Noah (@noahanderson25) March 14, 2018
Nothing would make him happier than if the Browns would finally win a Super Bowl in the same season as he enters the Hall of Fame.
Ever since the team made the playoffs in 2020, expectations have been higher than normal.
The past two seasons have been subpar at best, but there is renewed optimism in 2023 with Deshaun Watson as the team’s Week 1 quarterback.
There is also a lot of young talent on the team that needs to perform up to its potential so this team can give the city of Cleveland a much-deserved Lombardi Trophy.
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