As he stood all alone at the end of the field, he watched the ball lift up and start spiraling through the night sky. A quick glance showed the other 21 players on the field racing back toward him. Looking back up he zeroed in on the ball now descending toward him.

Grabbing the pigskin out of the air he broke toward the right sideline before suddenly darting up the middle through the thinnest of creases. The gap was so small that it looked like he would be drowned in a sea of opponents but not a sole laid a finger on him as he blew past the large throng of players who were desperately reaching and lunging to get a hand on him. A few strides later he was clear, sailing all by himself toward the end zone.

It was a sight to behold!

How was this young man able to get by the opposing eleven players that had only the goal to stop him in mind? He must have been lucky, right?

Maybe if this happened one time you could classify it as such. When a player does it over and over and over again, luck has nothing to do with it. 

A coach can teach a player to be good. A special few are born with a natural gift that can’t be taught. When you combine such talent with the determination to be the best then what you have is something marvelous. 

Introducing “Marvelous” Marvin Thomas.

It is hard to put into words the unique ability that “Marvelous Marvin” had but it all related to his ability to “read the field”. Thomas could see things that weren’t there. Then they were.

Like a 5G computer modem told to run a progression he could not only see where players were in the present but also visualize where they would be a few seconds later. Some people could look at a scene like that for days and not see what the “Marvelous One” could see in two tenths of a second. 

His incredible field vision led to Thomas setting a JHHS record during his playing years of 1979-81 of returning eight punt/kickoff returns for a touchdown, including an amazing six in one year (1980). They both still stand today over 40 years later. 

This unique player was no “one trick pony” though. His special ability to find the open spaces on a football field also led him to holding the JHHS single season and career record holder for receiving yards and receiving touchdowns when he graduated. 

“Marvelous Marvin” showcased his skills during a period when there was no “social media” that today allows for the incredible exploits of small school players to be seen all over the nation. As result, legendary coach Eddie Robinson at Grambling State University was the beneficiary as Thomas became a G-Man where he continued to excel earning All-Conference honors as a split end. 

No one who played at Jonesboro-Hodge High School before and no one since has been able to see the field like “Marvelous” Marvin. As result, on October 7th we will get to see him inducted in the Jackson Parish Sports Hall of Fame.