24S | SUNDAY, JULY 23, 2023 | THE REPOSITORY

PRO FOOTBALL HALL OF FAME CLASS OF 2023

JOE THOMAS

Browns great a Pro Bowler on a team with no bowls

Dieken: Enduring tackle’s
work ethic hard to miss
Nate Ulrich
Canton Repository
USA TODAY NETWORK

Doug Dieken thought Joe Thomas

would become a special Browns player
not only because of the younger offen-
sive lineman’s talent but also the re-
spect he showed for the sport and its
combatants.
As an NFL rookie in 2007, Thomas
checked with Dieken to ensure the long-
time Browns left tackle and radio color
analyst didn’t mind Thomas wearing
No. 73 on his jersey. Dieken had donned
the number with the Browns from 1971-
84.
During a recent phone interview,
Dieken said Thomas was “just being
Joe, a polite guy.”
The gesture differentiated Thomas
from other players, though, and Dieken
got a kick out of it.
“I’m thinking, ‘Most of these guys
don’t have any clue I even played for the
Browns,’ ” Dieken said. “I mean, I had
one guy stop me in the locker room after
the game and go, ‘I didn’t know you
played for the Browns.’ And I said, ‘Well,
how’d you figure it out during the
game?’ He says, ‘You were a trivia ques-
tion on the scoreboard.’ I said, ‘What the
f*** are you watching the scoreboard
for?’ ”
Since the moment Thomas spent
draft day fishing with his father, Eric,
when the Browns selected him third
overall out of the University of Wiscon-
sin, everyone involved with the fran-
chise knew he was different.
Few appreciated it as much as Die-
ken. He’s thrilled Thomas will be en-
shrined Aug. 5 as a first-ballot member
of the Pro Football Hall of Fame, espe-
cially because the individual excellence
Thomas displayed as an elite left tackle

See JOE THOMAS, Page 25S Former Browns left tackle Joe Thomas blocks against the New York Jets in October 2017 in Cleveland. DAVID RICHARD/AP