Bob Thomas, Southeast great, will be honored for hall selection at state tournament

Even at the pinnacle of his success, Bob Thomas found a way to be his own harshest critic.

It was 1993 and Southeast High School was among the best teams in Florida with three wrestlers in state championship matches and a narrow lead on Flagler Palm Coast entering the final round of the state tournament.

A few hours later, the Seminoles finished what still stands as their best season ever. The Noles finished second in the state behind Flagler when the Bulldogs won two individual state championships.

Thomas still has a picture from the trophy ceremony, one which has gained iconic status in Southeast’s wrestling history.

“You would’ve thought we were on our way to our best friend’s funeral,” Thomas said.

Thomas was never able to claim an elusive state championship during his 30 years as the head coach of the Seminoles, but this weekend at the state wrestling tournament in Kissimmee he will be honored for his career nonetheless. Later this year, Thomas will be inducted into the state chapter of the National Wrestling Hall of Fame and Museum, an honor that will be recognized Friday and Saturday at Silver Spurs Arena where his Noles will be competing in the Class 1A tournament.

Thomas is humble about his selection to the hall of fame. He knows he doesn’t have the win totals of some coaches or the state championship accolades of others. What he instead prides himself on is longevity. For 30 years he led Southeast to consistent relevance in Florida and is one of wrestling’s most important figures in Manatee County.

“You have teams that have placed lots of firsts, lots of state champions and so on, but that’s not always necessarily the criteria,” Thomas said. “I think I’d be a good example of that.”

Not that Thomas was missing that sort of success. Sixty-seven wrestlers under his tutelage reached the state tournament. Five of those won state titles. He guided the Seminoles to five Manatee County championships — only Manatee has more.

Just as important, though, is the role he played, either directly or indirectly, in growing the sport in the county. Palmetto, which just matched the Noles with its fifth county championship this season, has been coached by former Southeast wrestler Bryan Wilkes since the program’s inception. Charlie Higdon, a former state champion for the Seminoles, was the first head coach in Lakewood Ranch’s history. Daniel Bradshaw, the Noles’ current athletic director, was an assistant for Thomas and then succeeded the soon-to-be Hall of Famer as head coach until he took over as the school’s athletic director in 2014.

It’s also fitting that all three schools with ties to Thomas will be at Osceola Heritage Park when Thomas is recognized despite their being spread among the state’s three classifications. In 1988, the Bradenton Area Convention Center in Palmetto, then known as the Manatee Civic Center, hosted the first state tournament that brought all classifications under one roof. Thomas, along with other coaches in the area, played a role in making it the format that has stood for nearly 30 years.

“We made a little history here in Manatee County,” Thomas said. “And ever since it’s just taken off.”

This story was originally published March 1, 2017 at 6:30 PM with the headline "Bob Thomas, Southeast great, will be honored for hall selection at state tournament."