Browns icon Doug Dieken admires Joe Thomas for pushing himself to Hall of Fame amid losing

Doug Dieken thought Joe Thomas would become a special Browns player not only because of the younger offensive lineman's talent but also the respect he showed for the sport and its combatants.

As an NFL rookie in 2007, Thomas checked with Dieken to ensure the longtime Browns left tackle and radio color analyst didn't mind Thomas wearing No. 73 on his jersey. Dieken had donned the number with the Browns from 1971-84.

During a recent phone interview, Dieken said Thomas was “just being Joe, a polite guy.”

The gesture differentiated Thomas from other players, though, and Dieken got a kick out of it.

“I'm thinking, 'Most of these guys don't have any clue I even played for the Browns,'” Dieken said. “I mean, I had one guy stop me in the locker room after the game and go, 'I didn't know you played for the Browns.' And I said, 'Well, how'd you figure it out during the game?' He says, 'You were a trivia question on the scoreboard.' I said, 'What the f*** are you watching the scoreboard for?'”

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Since the moment Thomas spent draft day fishing with his father, Eric, when the Browns selected him third overall out of the University of Wisconsin, everyone involved with the franchise knew he was different.

Few appreciated it as much as Dieken. He's thrilled Thomas will be enshrined Saturday as a first-ballot member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame, especially because the individual excellence Thomas displayed as an elite left tackle was often overshadowed by organizational ineptitude and dysfunction. He played for two ownership groups, six general managers, six head coaches and eight offensive coordinators and blocked for 20 of the 34 quarterbacks who have started for the Browns since 1999.

“You see a guy that great playing on a team that is not having any production, and you feel bad for the guy,” Dieken said. “His team never really won, but he kept making Pro Bowls. It's a business about respect, and he obviously had the respect of his opponents.”

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Thomas made the Pro Bowl in each of his first 10 professional seasons. In his 11th season, he suffered a torn left triceps against the Tennessee Titans on Oct. 22, 2017, and never played again, announcing his retirement in March 2018. His list of accomplishments includes eight All-Pro honors, including six first-team selections, and what the Browns believe is an unprecedented streak of 10,363 consecutive snaps — every offensive play of his career.

The Browns went 48-119 in Thomas' 167 starts. They went 1-15 in 2016, his last full season, and 0-16 a year later. He experienced just one winning season — 10-6 his rookie year — and never tasted even a morsel of the playoffs.

Former Cleveland Browns left tackles Doug Dieken and Joe Thomas formed a close relationship

Yet Thomas remained motivated to deliver on every single one of his plays.

“As far as the Browns, the city didn't have a lot to hang their hat on in regards to the players, and with Joe, you had the best in the business,” Dieken said. “It was kind of amazing to watch somebody play at that high level, yet not reap the rewards that they should have.

“It's just impressive. A, it just tells you how much pride he has in his game. And, B, he was earning his money. Some of these guys, you wonder, but with Joe, you never had a doubt.”

Dieken never missed a game during his 14 NFL seasons, and mutual respect is among the reasons he bonded with fellow ironman Thomas.

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A trophy case in Dieken's Northeast Ohio home features a photograph of him with his Browns left tackle predecessors, Hall of Famer Lou Groza and Dick Schafrath, both of whom are deceased.

It's next to a separate photo of Dieken, 74, and Thomas, 38.

Other pictures of Thomas surfaced around the Hall of Fame earlier this year.

Thomas was voted into the Hall of Fame in January. He was notified later the same month when legendary Seattle Seahawks left tackle Walter Jones knocked on the door of his family's home in Wisconsin to share the news. The public announcement occurred in February.

Joe Thomas is eager to be enshrined in front of many Cleveland Browns fans in Canton

When Thomas visited the Hall of Fame in early March, he described a series of surreal moments surrounding his induction.

The visit from Jones qualified as a dream come true, and meeting other Hall of Famers at the Merlin Olsen Luncheon created similar memories. Thomas noted LeRoy Butler, one of the Green Bay Packers he idolized as a boy, approached him with a congratulatory greeting.

Driving to the Hall of Fame a few months ago provided another unforgettable feeling for Thomas.

“Seeing your face on a huge mural outside of the Hall of Fame in Canton, that was another one of those moments where it was kind of like a, 'Pinch me, whoa, this is really happening — this is not some dream that you're just going to wake up from,'” Thomas said. “And I imagine there will be more moments like that as we get closer to [the enshrinement ceremony], but I'm definitely relishing every single one of those.”

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Although Thomas will become the 18th Hall of Famer in Browns history, he'll be the first from the expansion era.

“It feels awesome,” Thomas said. “It feels like a great responsibility for one of the most proud franchises in NFL history. … To carry that torch is something that I'll remember till the day I die.

“Knowing that there's going to be a lot of Browns fans in Canton [who are] proud of what I did and me being able to be up on stage and represent the values that the city of Cleveland has and the people that are Browns fans throughout the state of Ohio just makes me beam with pride.”

What made Joe Thomas an excellent left tackle in the eyes of Cleveland Browns legend Doug Dieken?

Dieken, who retired from his broadcasting career after the 2021 season, spent more than a decade watching Thomas practice and play.

“He had just unbelievable technique,” Dieken said. “He was just solid in all aspects — the run game, the pass game and the intelligence game.

“There's speed rushers. There's power rushers. There's guys who will line up wide. There are guys who will line up on your head. Wherever they put them, Joe could handle all of them.”

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Thomas explained a “servant mindset” motivated him as a player. He epitomized the selfless nature of the offensive line “in every way,” Dieken said.

“If I was playing for my own individual accolades as a receiver or quarterback or running back or something like that, I think the ceiling is kind of [limited],” Thomas said. “But when you're doing it for your teammates and you're doing it for your city and you're doing it for your franchise and the fans, and you're doing it for your wife and your kids, you find a different gear that you're able to play and give more than you ever realized was even possible.”

Thomas also did it for another No. 73 whose friendship and mentorship he cherished. He gave everything he had, and it proved to be enough for him to be immortalized in Canton.

Nate Ulrich can be reached at nulrich@thebeaconjournal.com. On Twitter: @ByNateUlrich.

This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Doug Dieken: Joe Thomas made Hall of Fame despite bad Browns