Countdown to Auburn vs. Baylor: Remembering No. 87 Frank Thomas, the Founding Father of Auburn Football’s Storied Legacy and Standards

As the countdown to the 2025 season opener between Auburn and Baylor ticks steadily toward kickoff, fans of the Auburn Tigers find themselves not just looking forward, but also looking back—revisiting the moments, figures, and legends that define their program. With 87 days left until toe meets leather on the plains, there is no more appropriate figure to honor than No. 87 on our list: Frank Thomas. While jersey numbers from his era were neither memorialized nor aligned the way modern fans know them, Thomas’ significance cannot be overstated. His impact on Auburn’s history, and indeed on the broader framework of Southern football, is both foundational and enduring.

Frank Thomas was not just a coach—he was a builder, a tactician, and a deeply influential mind who shaped the ethos of an era. Though he is more frequently associated with Alabama, where he coached for over a decade, Thomas was first and foremost an Auburn man. He was born in Muncie, Indiana, in 1898, but his formative years as a college football player were spent on the Plains, playing quarterback for Auburn under the legendary coach Mike Donahue. In many ways, Frank Thomas carried Donahue’s methodical approach to the game with him, fusing it with the strategic innovations he would later develop as a coach.

Thomas’ time at Auburn as a player laid the groundwork for his future successes. He played quarterback during the 1910s, a time when the position required far more than passing skill. Quarterbacks of that era were expected to be field generals, leading by example and orchestrating complex schemes in a sport still developing its modern identity. Even then, teammates and observers saw Thomas as cerebral, composed, and sharp-witted. His instincts and football IQ were far ahead of his time, and those qualities foreshadowed the coach he would one day become.

After graduating from Auburn and serving in the military during World War I, Thomas enrolled in law school at Notre Dame. That decision changed his life—and, indirectly, the course of Southern football. While at Notre Dame, Thomas played under none other than Knute Rockne. That experience instilled in him a deep respect for structure, preparation, and innovation, and it helped shape his coaching philosophy when he eventually entered the profession. Though he may have left Auburn as a student-athlete, he never left it behind in spirit. Auburn remained the bedrock of his football foundation, the place where he first saw the game as something worthy of lifelong pursuit.

As a head coach, Frank Thomas made his greatest mark at Alabama, beginning in 1931. That might feel ironic or even controversial for an Auburn-themed countdown, but history often weaves complex patterns. In many ways, Auburn helped birth the greatness that Alabama fans would come to revere in Thomas. His record at Alabama—115 wins, 24 losses, and 7 ties—speaks to his brilliance. His teams were disciplined, efficient, and tough, reflecting a hybrid of Donahue’s grinding style and Rockne’s flair for creative strategy. Thomas coached Alabama to national prominence, winning national championships in 1934 and 1941 and taking the Crimson Tide to multiple Rose Bowls.

But what often gets lost in these broader historical arcs is that Thomas’s legacy is one Auburn can proudly claim as part of its own. Before he ever put on Alabama’s crimson and white, he wore Auburn’s orange and blue. Before he ever called plays from the sideline, he learned how to read defenses and lead men on the Plains. He brought Auburn values—discipline, intelligence, respect for the game—into everything he did.

The 87th day in our countdown, then, isn’t about celebrating an Alabama coach. It’s about acknowledging the roots and reach of the Auburn experience. Thomas didn’t simply coach football—he shaped it. His influence spread across decades, helping form the blueprint of the modern Southern football program. He mentored future coaches, including Paul “Bear” Bryant, another name often linked exclusively with Alabama but whose career was indirectly touched by Thomas’s Auburn pedigree. These connections form a web of football lineage that ultimately elevates the entire region, including Auburn.

Frank Thomas was also a pioneer in preparation and detail. He introduced rigorous film study and implemented advanced scouting techniques. In an era when many coaches still relied on instinct and general schemes, Thomas preferred meticulous planning. His notebooks, which still survive in archives, show the mind of a man obsessed with improvement—every play analyzed, every player’s strengths catalogued. These habits, which began forming during his Auburn playing days, changed the standard of coaching in college football.

Even while coaching Alabama, Thomas maintained a cordial relationship with Auburn. There was mutual respect, even in rivalry. This was a time before the toxic brinkmanship that later defined the Iron Bowl. Back then, Thomas represented a link—a living bridge between two passionate programs whose roots were more intertwined than fans might care to admit today.

Auburn has always embraced its identity as a school that does things the right way—with honor, with effort, with vision. Frank Thomas lived those ideals. His coaching career is a monument to the very characteristics Auburn claims as central to its culture. That he achieved fame elsewhere does not diminish his importance to the Auburn story—it only expands it. He is proof that the lessons taught on the Plains endure far beyond their point of origin.

As Auburn prepares to face Baylor this fall, in a game that promises fireworks and national implications, it’s worth remembering that the pursuit of greatness doesn’t begin with kickoff. It starts years—often decades—before, in the lives of men like Frank Thomas. While today’s stars will make headlines, it is yesterday’s architects who laid the foundation. Thomas played at a time when college football was still taking shape. He coached during the Great Depression and World War II, times when the sport became both escape and unifier. Through it all, he remained steady, thoughtful, and revered by peers and players alike.

In a sport that lionizes brute strength and raw emotion, Thomas brought calculation and composure. He saw the game not just as a contest of wills, but as a battle of ideas. That mental edge, first sharpened at Auburn, became his trademark. He was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1951, a fitting tribute to a man whose impact is still felt, even if his name isn’t always front of mind.

That’s why this countdown is so important. It doesn’t just build excitement for the season ahead—it offers an opportunity to reflect on the giants whose shoulders we stand on. No. 87 is not just a number. It’s a symbol. A marker of time. A moment to remember that football, like history, is made by those who step forward when others are content to stand still.

For Auburn fans, Frank Thomas is a reminder of the program’s deep roots and far-reaching influence. He’s a reason to take pride not just in wins and trophies, but in the culture that makes those victories meaningful. Auburn helped shape Frank Thomas—and in turn, Frank Thomas helped shape the game.

As we inch closer to kickoff against Baylor, with each number falling off the calendar, take a moment to consider the legacy behind that number. In the case of 87, it belongs to a quiet revolutionary—a quarterback, a thinker, a coach, and most of all, an Auburn man.