Jerome Thomas
Jerome was one of the outstanding basketball players to come out of Coach Eddie McCluskey's program at Farrell High School.
He was a key substitute on the 1971-72 state championship team when the Steelers defeated Chester, 56-55. A starter at center as a junior and senior, he scored 234 and 307 points respectively those seasons and was a fierce rebounder. He was All-Section 3 his senior year after honorable mention as a junior. He and 2020 posthumous inductee Judson Flint were two of the main cogs in Farrell's romp to the school's 10th WPIAL championship in 1974.
Jerome played in the Dapper Dan and Quaker State All-Star Games in 1974. He also played in the Hoyle Tournaments. He was named Most Promising Player as a junior and Best Appearance as a senior. He was a member of the championship team in the Everyday E.A.C. Tournament. In 1971-72, he helped his team win the Lions Invitational Tournament, and in 1973 he was high scorer in the Farrell Summer League.
He went on to letter all four years at Edinboro in basketball. He was an outstanding rebounder- averaging about 9 a game - and helped the team reach the NAIA 'Final Eight' at Kansas City Kemper Arena. He held a season field-goal percentage record at Edinboro University that lasted several years. He was invited back to play in the Edinboro Alumni Games for several seasons.
In independent basketball in 1980-81, he helped lead his team to the McGuffey Tournament Championship. He played Little League and Babe Ruth baseball in Farrell and was a member of All-Star teams in both - as a pitcher, first-baseman and outfielder.