Elvis Thomas
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Elvis Thomas | ||
| Date of birth | July 27, 1972 | ||
| Place of birth | Scarborough, Ontario, Canada | ||
| Height | 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) | ||
| Playing position | striker | ||
| Youth career | |||
| Neil McNeil Maroons | |||
| 1990–1994 | Hartford Hawks | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1996 | Connecticut Wolves | 12 | (1) |
| 1997–1998 | Toronto Lynx | 50 | (12) |
| 1998 | Montreal Impact | 3 | (0) |
| 1999–2000 | Toronto Olympians | 31 | (30) |
| 2002–2003 | Toronto Lynx | 37 | (4) |
| 2003 | Vaughan Sun Devils | 6 | (0) |
| Total | 139 | (47) | |
| National team‡ | |||
| 1999–2000 | Canada | 3 | (0) |
| * Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 29 November 2009. ‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 29 November 2009 |
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Elvis Thomas (born July 27, 1972) is a former Canadian soccer player.
He spent the majority of his soccer career in North America, primarily playing for clubs in Canada. Thomas' greatest achievements were spent with the Toronto Lynx, and the Toronto Olympians, where he won a league title and two Open Canada Cups with the Olympians; he was also awarded the Canadian Professional Soccer League MVP Award.
Internationally, Thomas has represented Canada at the senior level, by being capped a total of three times. He holds the distinction of being first CPSL player to be called up for the national team, while playing in the league.
Thomas began playing soccer during his tenure at the University of Hartford. During his four-year tenure at Hartford Thomas' accomplishments were being named All-New England and First Team All-Conference in 1993 and 1994, and serving captain in both those seasons. Also helped the Hawks earn a spot on the All-Conference Championship postseason team in 1991, 1992, and 1994. He was the Championship MVP in 1992. Upon graduating from Hartford Thomas was drafted by the Connecticut Wolves of the USISL Select League in 1996.
The following season the USISL Select League merged with the A-League, which resulted in Thomas returning to his hometown to sign with the newly expansion franchise Toronto Lynx. The signing of Thomas was announced in a press conference where the Lynx unveiled their roster for their debut season. Thomas made his debut on April 12, 1997 in a match against Jacksonville Cyclones, where he made history by scoring the franchise's first goal; unfortunately the match ended in 3-1 defeat. On May 3 Thomas in a match against the Worcester Wildfire Thomas contributed by scoring the second goal in a 3-1 victory, which marked the first victory for the Toronto side. Thomas would continue his fine form by recording another goal in a 3-0 victory over the Richmond Kickers on May 11. He helped the Lynx to set a franchise and A-league record of ten straight wins; their streak came to an end with a 1-0 defeat to Long Island Rough Riders on June 22. He finished his rookie season with six goals that helped the Lynx clinch a playoff spot. During the club's playoff run Thomas started in the first leg of the semi-final match against the Montreal Impact where the Lynx were defeated 2-1. Unfortunately for the Lynx they were defeated 4-0 in the second leg of the semi-final match, which resulted in a 6-1 victory on aggregate for Montreal. In 1998 Thomas recorded his first goal of the season in a 2-1 defeat to his former club Connecticut. On August 26 the Toronto Lynx traded Thomas to rivals Montreal Impact for future considerations and an undisclosed amount of cash. In Montreal Thomas appeared in only three matches and led the Impact to the Conference Semi-finals. In the post season, Thomas recorded two goals for the Impact in the Eastern Conference semifinals against Rochester Rhinos.
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