Pampa Independent School District honored Class of 1992 graduate and Pro Football Hall of Famer Zach Thomas throughout the day Friday.
During the pre-game festivities on Friday night, Pampa High School honored Thomas with the naming of the Stadium after him. The stadium, now called Harvester Field at Zach Thomas Stadium, also unveiled a new scoreboard with Thomas’ name and Harvester Field.
Thomas, however, said during a media conference on Friday that it’s more than just him being represented on that scoreboard. It’s him, late Pampa Head Coach Dennis Cavalier and all of Thomas’ teammates.
“He (late Pampa Head Coach Dennis Cavalier) would be proud. But I wouldn’t be standing here if not for Dennis Cavalier,” Thomas said.
“He was a tough coach. We won in Valhalla. He toughened me up. His thing to me was to be grateful for all of my teammates. No one was bigger than the team with Coach Cav. Coming over and having him really engrave that into my head.
“That’s special. It’s not tennis, it’s not basketball where there is five guys. There’s 22 guys, and you definitely need to depend on so many other guys than just you. I’m representing Coach Cav up there and vis versa. That guy is special to me and I wouldn’t be standing here today if it wasn’t for Coach Cav and the great staff that he had.”
Pampa ISD Superintendent Hugh Piatt said naming the stadium was a year-long process, starting in the summer of 2023 when Thomas was first being named to the Pro Football Hall of Fame. The scoreboard, just came along at the same time.
“Everyone had heard about Zach being named to the Pro Football Hall of Fame,” Piatt said. “So someone in the community approached the a member of the [Pampa ISD Board of Trustees] about honoring Zach with adding his name to the Stadium. It got tossed around the other board members and there was a lot of excitement about it. We put it on the agenda to talk about it and approved it during the Summer of 2023.”
“From the data we looked up, there are 36 Pro Football Hall of Famers from Texas representing 28 different high schools. We are one of 28 different high schools that has a hall of famer. Pretty elite company in that regard.
“Zach represented showing up, working hard. He was told all his life he was too small but he kept showing up and working hard. He’s a pretty good person to look at and say, ‘if he can do it, maybe I can, too.’”
Pampa Harvesters Head Coach/Athletic Director Floyd White said the naming of the stadium was a long-time coming.
“I think it should have happened probably a long time ago,” White said. “In the current climate, you’ve got to let things take their time and let people come around. For it to come around the way it did and as I was coming in [as head coach/athletic director] was very exciting. I know Zach and his family, for all of that to come together at this time is such a cool thing. I feel like it’s a long time coming and well-deserved.”
The scoreboard is fully-funded by donations gathered by the Pampa High School booster club, and will pay for itself in the long-run through advertising.
“There will be 11 sponsors on the scoreboard tonight,” Piatt said. “Three of them are title sponsors, who put up the lion’s share of the money. The other eight sponsors put up various amounts of money. The money they donated will pay for the board. The installation is also being paid for by the scoreboard.”
The naming of the stadium is just one of several accolades Thomas has accrued over the past year that includes the Pro Football Hall of Fame, the Panhandle Sports Hall of Fame and now the stadium.
“It’s been wild (the last year), but it’s been fantastic,” Thomas said. “I’ve gotten together with old teammates. Even at my induction for Pampa High School (Harvester Hall of Fame) to college to pros. All we did was exaggerate stories and exaggerate times together.
“That locker room is missed. There is nothing like the brotherhood in that locker room. That’s what’s special about football. It was special to me.”
“It’s a team game. Everywhere I went I had great players around me. That’s one thing I’m always proud of. Being a great teammate. It doesn’t matter if your name is up on a sign or in the Hall of Fame, if you’re all about yourself.
“That’s the one thing I was proud about. Nobody is going to respect you if you’re like that. You can go back in 28 years of football and I don’t think you’d find one person who said I was a bad teammate. That’s what I was all about. I didn’t try to play to put my name on a sign. I didn’t try to play to be in the hall of fame. I wanted to be the best I could be. Every day to be a little better every day.”
That selflessness that Thomas expected of himself is now being reflected in Pampa by a Pampa Harvester each week who is selected to wear Thomas’ legendary No. 32.
Each week, the Pampa Harvester coaching staff will select one player who is showing characteristics echoing the legendary Miami Dolphin linebacker.
“I wanted it to represent what I’ve seen personally what Zach represented,” White said. “A person who does well in the classroom and does well on the field. Me and the coaches get together week after week so it’s not going to be just one person [who wears No. 32], it’s going to be a different person every week.
“We want the community to see what we feel like similarly represents Zach’s characteristics and what Zach personified in his daily interactions. He worked hard, always went the extra mile and that’s just what we want to show our community that our kids are doing.”
That player, along with the rest of the team were given a private pep-talk from Thomas prior to Friday’s kickoff against the Plainview Bulldogs. His message: be the best teammate for each other.
“Being the first home game, you don’t need much of a pep talk. But (I’m going to talk to them about) being a good teammate,” Thomas said.
“That’s what you play for. Each other in that locker room. That’s what you’ll remember in the end. It’s not about the rest of it. I don’t remember the score of the first game, I don’t think I remember who we played. But I remember all of my teammates. You never forget them. That’s what’s most important. Who cares about the accolades, if you’re all about yourself.”
Thomas took a moment himself to reminisce about coming out on the field on Friday nights.
“(Running out of the tunnel onto the field) that’s a great feeling,” Thomas said.
“I can still hear the cleats hitting the sidewalk. I don’t remember the score but I remember walking across and hearing those cleats hit, you’re ready to go. You’re ready to hit anybody. We had each others back.
“I don’t remember who we played but they were getting off the bus and we were standing by the locker room staring them down. That’s the best feeling. Those are the moments you remember. We were ready to go fight. That’s what you live for.”
Even with all of the accolades, Thomas said it wasn’t about having a stadium named after him or being in several of the hall of fames he is a part of.
“When you’re playing here (in Pampa), you’re just playing to get to that next game. I wasn’t playing to get into college, or the pros. I was playing to help this team win and for that next game. For that (the Harvester uniform in Pro Football Hall of Fame) to say ‘You’ve come a long way,’ in the hall of fame (it’s special). Or even when I’m driving my ’72 Monte Carlo down Randy Matson, I wasn’t thinking about the Hall of Fame or my name would be on a sign in the stadium.”
While football holds many life lessons for those who played it, whether just in high school or in 28 years like Thomas, Thomas said it’s the lessons learned in Pampa that led to him being successful on and off the field.
“This town is tough. I took this town for granted,” Thomas said. “It’s the over-friendliness that everybody has when you’re here. That means something.
“That gave me opportunities. I worked myself to get better. I learned everything from here (Pampa). It was that window of time. That sacrifice we made in Valhalla with that team that impacted me for life. I’m grateful for that.”
When asked about the current state of the Harvesters, Thomas feels the team is in great position with his on-the-field successor and not to chase his path.
“But man, to represent Pampa and that green and gold [is special],” Thomas said.
“But I think Floyd White wore the No. 32 better. I heard great things about him. He was behind me and Andy Cavalier talked him up. I’m happy we have the real No. 32 here to Coach these Harvesters. I’ll be the fake No. 32, I’m okay with that.”
“Don’t chase what I have. Just be in the moment and get the best out of yourself every day. It’s not going to be easy. Our road wasn’t easy. It wasn’t easy from the beginning. I pretty much had to work every day with my mom to not be embarrassed at school. It was tough all the way through.
“But football is where I found my love and I was good at it. One step at a time. Keep chipping away and working on yourself. The biggest key is working on yourself between the ears first before you work on anything else. When I got the best out of myself was in the pros when you worked on yourself daily. Minimizing outside distractions or being more grateful.”
