Sidney Thornton
Sidney Thornton
Born: September 2, 1954
New Orleans, LA USA
Deceased: January 28, 2023
Position: RB
Height: 5'11"
Weight: 230
College: NW State (LA)
High School: Capitol (Baton Rouge, LA)
Career: 1977-1984
Drafted: 1977 in Round 2, #48 overall by the Pittsburgh Steelers
Sidney Thornton played from 1977 to 1984 during his career with the Oklahoma Outlaws and Pittsburgh Steelers. Thornton ran for 1,800 yards in his career on 457 attempts, scoring 22 rushing touchdowns. He also caught 71 passes for 690 yards and 7 receiving touchdowns..
Click on column headings to sort.
Rushing:
| Year | Team | No. | Yds | Avg. | Long | TDs |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1977 | NFL Pittsburgh Steelers | 27 | 103 | 3.8 | 18 | 2 |
| 1978 | NFL Pittsburgh Steelers | 71 | 264 | 3.7 | 27 | 2 |
| 1979 | NFL Pittsburgh Steelers | 118 | 585 | 5.0 | 75 | 6 |
| 1980 | NFL Pittsburgh Steelers | 78 | 325 | 4.2 | 28 | 3 |
| 1981 | NFL Pittsburgh Steelers | 56 | 202 | 3.6 | 17 | 4 |
| 1982 | NFL Pittsburgh Steelers | 6 | 33 | 5.5 | 13 | 1 |
| 1984 | USFL Oklahoma Outlaws | 101 | 288 | 2.9 | 34 | 4 |
| NFL | 356 | 1512 | 4.2 | 75 | 18 | |
| USFL | 101 | 288 | 2.9 | 34 | 4 | |
| Totals | 457 | 1800 | 3.9 | 75 | 22 |
Receiving:
| Year | Team | No. | Yds | Avg. | Long | TDs |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1977 | NFL Pittsburgh Steelers | 1 | 5 | 5.0 | 5 | 0 |
| 1978 | NFL Pittsburgh Steelers | 5 | 66 | 13.2 | 24 | 1 |
| 1979 | NFL Pittsburgh Steelers | 16 | 231 | 14.4 | 32 | 4 |
| 1980 | NFL Pittsburgh Steelers | 15 | 131 | 8.7 | 29 | 1 |
| 1981 | NFL Pittsburgh Steelers | 8 | 78 | 9.8 | 30 | 0 |
| 1982 | NFL Pittsburgh Steelers | 1 | 4 | 4.0 | 4 | 0 |
| 1984 | USFL Oklahoma Outlaws | 25 | 175 | 7.0 | 19 | 1 |
| NFL | 46 | 515 | 11.2 | 32 | 6 | |
| USFL | 25 | 175 | 7.0 | 19 | 1 | |
| Totals | 71 | 690 | 9.7 | 32 | 7 |
Kick Returns:
| Year | Team | No. | Yds | Avg. | Long | TDs |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1978 | NFL Pittsburgh Steelers | 1 | 37 | 37.0 | 37 | 0 |
| 1980 | NFL Pittsburgh Steelers | 1 | 15 | 15.0 | 15 | 0 |
| 1981 | NFL Pittsburgh Steelers | 1 | 1 | 1.0 | 1 | 0 |
| NFL | 3 | 53 | 17.7 | 37 | 0 | |
| Totals | 3 | 53 | 17.7 | 37 | 0 |
Defense and Fumbles:
| Year | Team | Tackle | Brup | Fum | F Rec | FYds | FTD | FF |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1977 | NFL Pittsburgh Steelers | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |||
| 1978 | NFL Pittsburgh Steelers | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | |||
| 1979 | NFL Pittsburgh Steelers | 7 | 1 | 0 | 0 | |||
| 1980 | NFL Pittsburgh Steelers | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | |||
| 1981 | NFL Pittsburgh Steelers | 6 | 1 | 0 | 0 | |||
| NFL | 0 | 22 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| Totals | 0 | 0 | 22 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Total Scoring:
| Touchdowns | Other | Total | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Team | Rush | Rec | Punt | Kick | MFG | Int | Fum | Other | FG | X/C | Single | 2Pt | Saf | Points |
| 1977 | NFL Pittsburgh Steelers | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 12 | ||||||||
| 1978 | NFL Pittsburgh Steelers | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 18 | |||||||
| 1979 | NFL Pittsburgh Steelers | 6 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 60 | ||||||||
| 1980 | NFL Pittsburgh Steelers | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 24 | |||||||
| 1981 | NFL Pittsburgh Steelers | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 24 | |||||||
| 1982 | NFL Pittsburgh Steelers | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | ||||||||
| 1984 | USFL Oklahoma Outlaws | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 30 | ||
| NFL | 18 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 144 | |
| USFL | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 30 | |
| Totals | 22 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 174 | |
Playing Career:
| Year | League | Team | GP | GS |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1977 | NFL | Pittsburgh Steelers | 13 | 0 |
| 1978 | NFL | Pittsburgh Steelers | 16 | 0 |
| 1979 | NFL | Pittsburgh Steelers | 13 | 10 |
| 1980 | NFL | Pittsburgh Steelers | 12 | 5 |
| 1981 | NFL | Pittsburgh Steelers | 16 | 6 |
| 1982 | NFL | Pittsburgh Steelers | 4 | 0 |
| 1984 | USFL | Oklahoma Outlaws |
