1996 Greater Flint Afro-American Hall of Fame Inductee
Category: FOOTBALL
Parents: Joseph and Lois Thrash
Wife: Gloria D.
Daughter: Erica J.
Arthur J. Thrash, a Flint native, attended Elm Park, Clark elementary, Whittier Jr. High and graduated from Flint Central in 1959. Arthur became interested in sports at an early age. At Flint Central in 1956, Arthur started to make his mark on the football field. He was the teams leading scorer with 10 touchdowns and 60 points. The teams leading rusher, and second on the team in passes caught (7) and yards gained (177), and an average of 25.3 yards a catch. In 1958 the Central football team was the city, valley and state champions. Arthur was the second leading rusher on the team with 742 yards. He was second on the team in touchdowns scored, 12.
In the classic 1958 Thanksgiving Day Game against cross town rival, Flint Northern, Arthur had the longest run from scrimmage in Central’s history, of 71 yards and most yards gained of 144 yards, which was also the second most yards gained against Northern in a Thanksgiving day game. Arthur had a Central career touchdowns of 24, Central career rushing of 1,271 yards. Arthur could perform with the best whenever the occasion presented itself. His performances made coaches marvel at his ability. On the field he was a competitor extraordinaire.
After graduating from Central in 1959, Arthur attended the University of Detroit, where he played football. He is employed at GM Grand Blanc Stamping as a General Supervisor.
