Thomas was born in
Swindon,
Wiltshire where he became an
apprentice engineer with
British Rail at the
Swindon Works. Whilst playing for the works team, he caught the eye of a
scout from
Southampton of the
Football League Second Division, joining them as an amateur in 1949. He made his
reserve team debut on 17 December 1949, displacing
Len Stansbridge, and over the next year, he and Stansbridge vied for the role of second choice 'keeper behind Scottish international
Ian Black. Black moved to
Fulham in July 1950, with
Northern Irish international
Hugh Kelly joining the Saints in exchange. On 7 October 1950, Kelly was called into the Northern Irish team for a match against
England and manager
Sid Cann promoted Thomas to the first-team for a match against
Birmingham City. At a month before his 18th birthday, Thomas thus became Southampton's youngest-ever first-team goalkeeper, until the debut of
Bob Charles in 1959. Although the match was lost 2–0, Thomas was not deemed to be at fault for either of the goals. Thomas briefly became the second-choice 'keeper for the first eleven, making four further appearances before Christmas, but the signing of
John Christie in January 1951 relegated him back to the reserves. Thomas was signed as a professional in May 1951, having gained three
England Youth caps. but after three matches Stansbridge took over until the arrival of
Fred Kiernan in October. By November, Thomas has also lost his place in the reserves to Stansbridge and, unable to regain his place, he was released in the summer of 1953. ==Later career==