EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. (AP) — After a protracted illness, Aaron Thomas, 86, passed away last week at his Corvallis, Oregon, home. He was one of the most productive receiving tight ends in New York Giants history.

Thomas passed away on April 26, according to the Giants, who made the announcement on Friday.

Between 1962 and 1970, Thomas participated in 116 Giants regular-season games. With 254 receptions, 14th-placed 4,253 yards, and a tie for sixth-place total of 35 touchdown catches, he is ranked 17th in franchise history. Throughout his career, Thomas missed just seven games due to injury.

His son Robb Thomas, who spent ten seasons in the league, said of his father, “He is almost like the early version of (Kansas City Chiefs tight end) Travis Kelce.” “He was a tight end and flanker, but he really ran good routes and had a good feel about getting into open space.”

Following two games in 1962, Thomas—a fourth-round draft pick in 1961—was traded to the Giants, where he led the team with 43 receptions for 624 yards and six touchdowns, earning him a trip to the Pro Bowl. In 1967, he set a career-high with 51 catches, 877 yards, and nine scores; he retired after the 1970 season.

Following his NFL career, Thomas worked as a stockbroker in Los Angeles before he and his father purchased a restaurant, bar, and bowling alley in Yreka, California. Three years later, Thomas moved to Oregon, where he spent the first three years of the 1980s as the head football coach at Klamath Falls High School before returning to Oregon State to serve as the assistant director of the Beaver Club until 1989.

Thomas is survived by his children Troy, Robb, Lance, and Leslie, as well as his wife Joan.