Kevin Thomas

[BillyBlue]

Just been announced on the Blackpool forum that Kevin Thomas has just died after a stroke.
Had a few good seasons for us in the mid/late 1970's and was more than a 'bit of a character' as are a lot of goalkeepers.
RIP Kev

[bluessupporter]

R.I.P. the 'Jolly Juggler'.

[pjdaly]

Very sorry to learn of this. He provided a classic example to support the old saying "don't judge a book by its cover". At first sight he didn't look the part, with his tracksuit leggings on in matches and his lethargic gait, but in fact Kevin was some keeper. There was one season in particular (1977-78 perhaps, I'm not sure) where he was outstandingly good and I seem to recall he stopped numerous one-on-ones against opponents through on goal. At the time I remember thinking I'd never seen a keeper save one-on-ones as often as he did. Condolences to all family and friends.

[Suffolk Blue]

Such a sad day, Kevin to me was always one of the legends of our club. A keeper that combined a feisty attitude to life, a "they shall not pass even if have to pull their shorts down" approach and a wicked sense of fun on the pitch.

One of my happiest memories in my entire life as a BAFC supporter was one miserable day at Redditch in 1978/9 with the two clubs languishing at the bottom of the Conference (then Gola league I think) in front of a couple of hundred deluded souls, myself and a mate stood alone behind the Bluebirds goal in the second half, a goal down for most of the game and heading for the bottom. The quality of the football was beyond dreadful.

We maintained a good natured banter with KT throughout the game and he continually berated and chastised the players in front of him to the point whereby I think they thought he was a pain in the proverbial, a few words were exchanged. Then with a few minutes to go Cowperthwaite equalised. Pandemonium ensued in the BAFC penalty area as Kev, myself and my mate ran around dancing and hugging. Two more Barrow goals followed in the dying minutes. It was like someone had breathed life into our corpse of a season and despite it being just a late win against probably one of the worst sides ever seen in that league it was a moment of spontaneous joy repeated only a very few times in 60 years of wins, loses and many abject days out.

I was a third rate keeper myself in those days having just left school so Kev was a bit of an anti-hero. RIP Kev.

[farington blue]

Such sad news.
I remember Kevin well in goals for us in those dark days after being kicked out of the football league.
Latterly I had the pleasure of chatting to him about those days when our paths crossed playing tennis on the Fylde. Kevin was as passionate about tennis as he was football but was always happy to talk about his time at Barrow which I believe he genuinely enjoyed.
RIP Kevin.

[Falstaff]

Very sad news. The first Barrow keeper I remember when I first started going to Holker St in 1980. Always remember he had a green keepers top sponsored by something called 'Super tele' . It was only later when I tried to buy one that I'd seen on sale in Willie Horne's that I found out it was actually a St Etienne kit!

[Jim]

There are several photos of him in the Barrow teams from 1979 to 1981-82 in the excellent book "Barrow AFC - the first 100 years" by Darren Gardner, Tony McWilliams and Phil Yelland. This is the best (in terms of reproduction quality). It looks as though he had had a recent haircut :

KevinThomas.jpg (461.17 KiB) Viewed 4197 times

[DIXIE]

Yes very sad news, a legend of our club for sure.

[stevec00k]

I remember Kevin. A bit of a legend for certain. As mentioned, would always acknowledge us supporters.
Always used to mark out the goal area in line with the posts he was defending as an aid if I recall. Don't suppose that would be allowed now.
Sad news indeed.

[Falstaff]

I remember Kevin. A bit of a legend for certain. As mentioned, would always acknowledge us supporters.
Always used to mark out the goal area in line with the posts he was defending as an aid if I recall. Don't suppose that would be allowed now.
Sad news indeed.

I don't think it was allowed then either . He certainly wasn't the only one who did it though

[blumooncrab]

I have fond memories of big Kev - he was a very good keeper, and definitely a legend. Very sad. Condolences to family and friends.

[behind the goals]

Sad news about Kevin Thomas but a really popular player with the Barrow Supporters, long hair and tracksuit bottoms were his trademark but a very good keeper, I think his goal v Gravesend was a retaken penalty, but from his first League game start of 1977/78 Northern Premier League season up to his last away at Trowbridge Town April 17th 1983 in the Alliance Premier League. RIP Kevin, always a Bluebird.

[xerxes]

A great character. The word 'legend' is overused, but is completely appropriate for Kev. RIP.

[Pedro]

Shame he was a good shot stopper but if I remember right flapped at corners.