Just call him ‘Mr. Mike’
Carmichaels’ John Thomas has become something of a celebrity in the town he loves
It doesn’t matter if it’s a WPIAL title game or basketball practice for fourth graders; if it happens in Carmichaels and involves the Mighty Mikes, John Thomas will be there.
“I’ve been doing it for a long time,” Thomas said. “I do all I can to help [Carmichaels Athletic Director] John Krajnak out.” Thomas’ devotion to Carmichaels athletics (he is also very visible and busy at American Legion and Fayette County League baseball games) is so strong that if you cut him, he’d probably bleed Blue and Gold.
For almost 30 years Thomas, a native of the Blackhawk area, has been shagging foul balls for the baseball teams, helping in basketball and football and generally doing anything Krajnak or anyone else has asked of him.
“John is basically my assistant,” Krajnak said. “I’m going on 26 years as the athletic director at Carmichaels and he has been with me since day one.”
Krajnak and Thomas’ relationship has become so close that the veteran AD doesn’t even have to give Thomas a task anymore. The loveable and devoted Mikes supporter seems to always know what needs to be done.
“Sometimes he starts doing things for me before I even ask him,” Krajnak said with a laugh. “It’s almost scary.”
Carmichaels head baseball coach Dave Bates remembers Thomas from his own playing days as a youth in the Carmichaels American Legion program. The pair’s baseball careers have intertwined as long as Bates has been with the Mikes.
“John’s a good guy,” Bates said. “He’s kind of our super fan. He’s shown a dedication to our sports programs and our kids that few people will ever do. He’s about as motivated an athletic supporter that I’ve seen and he speaks volumes about Carmichaels.”
However, Thomas doesn’t limit his interaction with young athletes to just the more highly competitive situations. The school district runs a basketball program for fourth, fifth and sixth graders which is run by high school students.
The program is free and also provides tee shirts and other goods to those who participate, all free of charge to the players. However, the school encourages donations to help make the program more cost efficient to the district and its students.
As with anything else in Carmichaels, Thomas is always willing to lend a hand and when he does, it usually increases the success of the young hoopsters.
“We have a donation box out during the program to help pay for some of the costs,” Krajnak said. “When John holds the box, people tend to give more and it makes a huge difference in donations.”
Perhaps Thomas’ most endearing quality is not so much his ardent support of the Mikes and anything associated with them, but it’s the way that he does it in such a consistently positive manner.
“In all this time that I’ve been around John, I have never heard him say one negative thing about anyone,” Krajnak said. “I’ve also never heard him say a bad word. He’s always positive about everything.”
During his decades-long support of the Mikes, Thomas himself has built up quite a fan base.
“There are always people taking him with them,” Bates said. “He’s just got such a loyal group of groupies and I don’t know how much else you can say about that guy.”
While he’s most known for his work as “Foul Ball Johnny,” as Bates affectionately refers to him, Thomas’ dedication to the Carmichaels area stretches beyond the fields and courts.
Thomas is also heavily involved with the Carmichaels American Legion, the Carmichaels Volunteer Fire Department and VFW organizations among others on his laundry list of people to help out.
“Even though he lives alone, John has family all around Carmichaels in the people who know him,” Krajnak said. “I have about three numbers I can call him at because I know that if he isn’t home he’s out helping someone.”
Though he is certainly never one for the spotlight, preferring to cheer on his beloved Mikes, Thomas is about to have his contributions to the community preserved on film.
Next year, according to Bates, production will begin on a film about Thomas and all that he does for the Carmichaels area.
“We’re doing a documentary on him,” Bates said. “It’s called ‘John Thomas, A Man for All Seasons.’ The Carmichaels TV program will be handling it.”
While many towns have their die-hard loyal supporters, it would be hard to find one that is as loved and respected as Thomas.
“It’s one of those things that’s kind of funny,” Bates said.
“Every community has at least one person who is constantly at every event and is always there for the kids and ours is John Thomas. He walks in and immediately everyone knows who he is.”
Bates went as far as to call Thomas an “icon” of Carmichaels athletics.
Whether it’s watching the gate at the Carmichaels football field, helping kids find foul balls around the Mikes’ baseball and softball diamonds or shouting words of support to all Blue and Gold athletes, John Thomas has become a truly integral piece of Carmichaels athletics.
No matter the sport, the venue or the importance of the contest, Thomas will be there doing what he’s always done; cheer on the Mikes and do whatever he can to help them out.