DENVER — The memories and legacies of Demaryius Thomas and Vincent Jackson, two tremendous receivers who died too young, will live on in the Colorado Sports Hall of Fame.
Thomas and Jackson will be posthumously inducted into Colorado sports immortality during a banquet ceremony Wednesday night at the Hilton Denver City Center. They are part of the class of 2023 that also includes former Denver Nuggets head coach George Karl, former U.S. Olympic Committee administrator Evie Dennis, and U.S. Olympic medalist Jimmie Heuga, who passed away in 2010 after a long battle with multiple sclerosis.
Thomas' induction will feature an added bonus of his former Denver Broncos teammate Peyton Manning presenting the first “18 to 88’’ scholarship award to a local high school senior athlete who has overcome adversity. The $10,000 scholarship grant honors Thomas and is funded by both Manning and the Colorado Sports Hall of Fame.
“Every time I think about it I ask myself, am I dreaming or is this real?’’ said Katina Smith, Demaryius’ mother, who will fly in from Georgia to accompany Demaryius’ father, Bobby Thomas, in accepting their late son’s honor during the Colorado Sports Hall of Fame banquet. “Because one of the things D.T. had said is when I’m done with the sport I don’t want to be forgotten. I don’t want to be just another football player. So Peyton and Ashley (Manning, Peyton’s wife) have given people a chance not to forget him and remember him in a very positive way. So it’s very special, very humbling.’’
Thomas will be remembered for his friendly manner, easy smile and selfless charity work, and as one of the two best receivers in Broncos history. The team’s first-round draft choice in 2010, Thomas is second on the Broncos’ all-time receiving list to Rod Smith in receiving yards and touchdowns, and his 665 receptions were third behind Smith’s 849 and Shannon Sharpe’s 675.
In his four seasons with Manning as his quarterback from 2012-15, Thomas averaged 101 catches, 1,447 yards and 10 touchdowns a year. Together, Manning and Thomas helped the Broncos reach Super Bowl 48 and win Super Bowl 50.
Thomas was just shy of his 34th birthday in December 2021 when he died of seizure complications at his home in Roswell, Georgia.
Besides Thomas’ parents, his sisters Tyeshia and Tonecia will attend the induction ceremony, as will other relatives and friends.
For D.T.’s part of the ceremony, a video presentation of his football and community work will be shown. Katina Smith and Bobby Thomas will then be escorted to the stage to share in their son’s acceptance speech.
What will Katina say?
“I’ve been thinking about that,’’ she said. “The main thing is I was going to speak from the heart. I don’t want to name anyone because I don’t want to leave anyone out because there are so many people whose lives he touched and they touched his life.”
Jackson, who died at 38 in a Florida hotel room in 2021, starred at Widefield High School and the University of Northern Colorado before he became a three-time Pro Bowl receiver with the San Diego Chargers and Tampa Bay Bucs. He had six seasons of at least 1,000 yards receiving and finished his NFL career with 540 catches for 9,080 yards and 57 touchdowns.
Karl never had a losing season in his 9 years as the Nuggets’ head coach with his .622 winning percentage equating to an average record of 51-31. His 2008-09 team that featured Chauncey Billups and Carmelo Anthony won playoff series against New Orleans and Dallas before losing in the Western Conference Finals, 4 games to 2, to the Kobe Bryant-led Los Angeles Lakers, who went on to coast past the Orlando Magic in the NBA Finals.
Evie Dennis, who is four months shy of her 99th birthday, was the USOC vice president from 1981-88 and also headed the United States teams in two Pan Am Games.
Heuga won the NCAA championship for the University of Colorado in slalom in 1963, then joined Billy Kidd as the first two U.S. men’s skiers to capture Olympic medals at the 1964 Games in Innsbruck.
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