GEORGE EUGENE THOMAS

JUNE 8, 1971 - NOVEMBER 8, 1987

 

George Thomas was a quiet and unassuming young man who played the saxophone in the Portsmouth High School Band, was interested in martial arts, and more than anything loved the sport of hockey.  In the fall of his sophomore year, in 1986, when the school announced that it was establishing a varsity hockey team to compete in the upcoming season, George signed up to play as one of the team’s two goaltenders.

Unlike most of the other boys on the new team, who began playing hockey with the Newport County Whalers at a young age, George’s experience came largely from playing pond and street hockey.  Despite that seeming disadvantage, his skills on the ice rapidly improved as the season progressed.  Sharing net-minding duties with the squad’s other goalie, he played every other game.  The goalie is a critical member of any hockey team, and George’s performance in the crease for half of the scheduled contests was an important factor in the team’s achievements.  Although the records of that inaugural campaign are no longer available, what is known is that Head Coach Frank Stranick considered the season to be an overall success.  And George Thomas’ contributions were undoubtedly a key part of it.

After Portsmouth’s hockey season ended George was diagnosed with cancer and began receiving treatment at Boston Children’s Hospital.  During one of the times he was at the hospital he met Bobby Orr,  the legendary Hockey Hall of Fame member from the Boston Bruins.  Orr, who returned to Boston after his retirement from the National Hockey League, was well known for his charitable work which included visits to the children’s hospital.  The two reportedly stayed in touch and Orr took George to a couple of Bruins hockey games.

George Thomas lost his relatively short battle with cancer and passed away on November 8, 1987.  He was only sixteen years old at the time of his death.  He was placed in his casket wearing his Portsmouth hockey jersey which had been signed by members of the Boston Bruins hockey team.  His hockey teammates served as pallbearers at his funeral service which was held at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church, and he was laid to rest in the churchyard cemetery.

Today, George’s love of hockey endures for all to see.  To commemorate that most important aspect of his life, his family had the front of his grave marker display simply his last name, and an image of a goalie standing ready in front of the net.

 

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In the season following his death, George Thomas’ teammates and coaches decided to commemorate his participation on Portsmouth’s first hockey team by retiring his jersey which bore the traditional goalie number 1.  George had been buried in one of his jerseys, so the team took the remaining one, placed it on a hanger, and had it displayed in one of the sports trophy cases in the school.  At some later time, no one knows just when, the jersey was removed from the display and placed in storage.

Over the ensuing years, with the jersey gone, the story of George Thomas and his retired number faded, and eventually vanished from the lore of the team.  It is then, perhaps, a mere coincidence that the Patriots never again had a number 1 jersey on the team.  New uniforms were purchased every few years, but the number sequence always began with 2.  The information about George Thomas and the retired jersey was never passed down, yet it seems no one ever questioned why the squad had no goalie wearing number 1 when so many other teams did.  It just happened.

At the start of the 2012-13 season Portsmouth’s hockey team reached a unique milestone when Aiden O’Brien, who was a freshman at that time, joined the squad as its first “second generation” player.  Aiden’s father, Mike O’Brien, had played with the Patriots the first two seasons the school had its hockey team.  It turned out to be a serendipitous event; Mike O’Brien had also been a classmate of George Thomas.

With Mike O’Brien again associated with the team he played for 25 years earlier, the story of George Thomas and his retired jersey began to emerge.  In subsequent seasons the team gained other second generation players.  Jake and Tyler Fagan’s father, Tom, and Mike Alves’ dad, Mike, both played hockey for Portsmouth those first two seasons, as well.  Awareness of the events related to George Thomas grew.

With the revived knowledge of the retired jersey, a search of the high school was conducted in the fall of 2016 in an attempt to locate it.  Unfortunately it was not found.  Enter Nolan O’Brien, Mike’s younger son, and a senior with the Class of 2018 who skated as a member of the varsity team all four of his high school hockey seasons.  Nolan, who had developed a keen interest in the saga of George Thomas and his retired jersey, saw an opportunity for his required Senior Capstone Project.  He coordinated research to learn as much as possible about the life of George Thomas, and had a replica jersey produced to be re-retired by the team.  He combined those efforts with a drive to raise money for a donation, in memory of George Thomas, to the Tomorrow Fund, an organization which provides support to children with cancer, and their families, in association with Hasbro Children’s Hospital in Providence.  He presented the newly retired jersey to the school’s athletic director, and donated the funds raised to a representative of the Tomorrow Fund during a special ceremony held before one of the hockey team’s home games.  The jersey, properly framed this time, was set for display in the high school.

 

Information about George Thomas, beyond what is shown on this page, is exceedingly limited.  It is requested that any reader who has additional information that can be shared about George Thomas’ life or time at Portsmouth High School contact the website manager through the link on this web site’s home page.

 

 

Above left, Sophomore class photo.  Above right, the only known photo of George Thomas in action during a hockey game.  Both pictures from 1987 Porthsmouth High School Yearbook.

 

 

Above left, George Thomas playing in the school band.  George was a member of the Portsmouth High School Class of 1989.  This photo, from the 1989 Yearbook, was part of a memorial page dedicated in his honor by his classmates.  Right, 1986-87 Portsmouth High School Hockey Team - The first Patriots hockey team.  George Thomas is standing at the far left wearing goalie pads.

 

                 

Below left is George Thomas' grave marker at St. Paul's Church Cemetery in Portsmouth, with close-up views of the front (center) and rear (right).

 

 

Left, Nolan O'Brien with replica jersey.  Right, Nolan O'Brien, PHS Athletic Director Mr. Steve Trezvant, and Tomorrow Fund Executive Director Ms. Lisa Abbenate at the pre-game ceremonial presentation of the Jersey on February 1, 2018