Top 10 Kansas City Chiefs achievements of all time

Emmitt Thomas – His 12 Interception Season

"“Using today’s term ‘shut down’ corner, Emmitt could do it as well as anyone playing today.  You show your excellence by your dominance.” – Willie Lanier"

As with many people who accomplish great things in life, Emmitt Thomas was a true underdog. He played his college ball at Bishop College, a small historically black college in Texas that produced 12 NFL players between 1964 and the end of the program in 1988. Inarguably, Emmitt Thomas will be remembered as it’s greatest.

The Kansas City Chiefs discovered Emmitt Thomas seemingly by accident when Lamar Hunt and Chiefs scouts traveled to a Prairie View A&M game to scout future franchise great and Hall of Famer Otis Taylor. The Panthers coincidentally had Bishop College on the schedule that weekend and the Chiefs brass were so impressed they returned the following season and offered Thomas an opportunity to sign with the team as an undrafted free agent.

Thomas would have a spectacular career with the franchise. He was a key cog in a Chiefs defense stacked with future Hall of Famers that was pivotal in the franchise winning two AFL Championships and one Super Bowl during the 1960s.

Arguably his best season, and the one that lands him on this list, was his 1974 campaign. Though the Chiefs as a franchise had begun to decline precipitously, finishing that season with a record of 5-9, Thomas had the best season of his career logging 12 interceptions, 214 return yards, and two touchdowns.

For these exploits Thomas was named First Team All Pro for the first time in his career and was voted to his fourth Pro Bowl. His 12 interceptions are the most in a single season in team history and are tied for third all time in NFL history, just two shy of the record set by Richard “Night Train” Lane in 1952.