NATCHITOCHES – It has been nearly 50 years since Ken Meeks took what he recalls as "one of the two hardest hits I ever took on a football field," but the feeling still resonates.
 
The connection was a bit of friendly fire delivered by a man whose nickname was the "Thundering Bull."
 
"I was blocking for him, and my man was off the sideline, but my body was still a little bit in the field of play," said Meeks, who played the 1975 and 1976 seasons with Sidney Thornton at NSU. "Something ripped through my rib cage. I thought I was dead. I got up and looked at Sidney. He looked at me and said, 'Would you rather me run over you or get hit by Roscoe (Lewis)? I told him, 'I would have done what you did, but it wasn't any fun.'"
 
Thornton, a multi-faceted fullback at Northwestern State who later won a pair of Super Bowls as part of the Pittsburgh Steelers' dynasty, died Jan. 29 and will be laid to rest Saturday at 11 a.m. with a service at the Winnfield Funeral Home, located at 3701 Hollywood Ave in Shreveport.
 
A member of the Northwestern State N-Club Hall of Fame, Thornton rushed for 2,662 career yards and was an independent All-American and an All-Louisiana selection as a four-year starter for the Demons. He parlayed his Northwestern State success into becoming the Pittsburgh Steelers' second-round draft choice in 1977.
 
Thornton fit in alongside NFL Hall of Fame running back Franco Harris and standout Rocky Bleier, helping the Steelers capture their third and fourth Super Bowl championships – defeating Dallas and Thornton's fellow NSU alum Jackie Smith, 35-31, in Super Bowl XIII and defending their title with a 31-19 win against the Los Angeles Rams in Super Bowl XIV.
 
Thornton had four carries for four yards and a 22-yard catch in the win against the Rams, showcasing the talent that led the Steelers to draft him after an NSU career that saw him leave the school as its single-season record holder in rushing touchdowns (12 in 1976), its runner-up in career carries (573) and rushing yards (2,662), its No. 3 scorer in season (72 points in 1976), its fourth-leading career scorer (158 and it's No. 5 single-season rusher (945 yards in 1976).
 
Five decades later, Thornton remains fourth in school history in career rushing touchdowns (25), No. 5 in single-season rushing touchdowns and No. 6 in career rushing yards.
 
"He was a great athlete," said former NSU assistant and head football coach A.L. Williams. "As far as a fullback, he was as strong as they came and had the ability to run like a halfback. He'd run over you and hurt you. He could dominate."
 
With Harris and Bleier in the backfield, the Steelers didn't have a need for another ballcarrier, leaving Thornton to make his mark with his physical blocking style.
 
Added Williams: "When you put your pads on and he put that headgear on, you better get ready. I don't care who's on the other side. He was going to hit you. Off the field, wherever else, he was a team player. He wasn't just a runner. He was a powerful blocker."
 
While Thornton's acclaim at NSU and the pros came on the football field, he turned in a memorable short-term performance for coach Herbie Smith's  Demon baseball team in 1973.
 
Smith was also an assistant football coach and was preparing for baseball practice when he saw Thornton headed toward the baseball diamond.
 
"We're halfway through the baseball season, and I've got a very good baseball team," Smith recalled. "We had the national home run champion, a shortstop who at the time became the highest draft pick in NSU history – a pretty good baseball team.
 
"Sidney comes walking over the hill from the fieldhouse, and he comes down to the field and says, 'Coach, I want to play baseball.' My first thought was he was trying to get out of spring practice."
 
After a brief, less-than-impressive round of groundballs at third base, Thornton told Smith he could pitch. It took Thornton just two warmup pitches – with Smith catching – for him to convince his new coach.
 
Pumping fastballs at 94 miles per hour, Thornton slotted in behind fellow N-Club Hall of Famer Dennis Choate in the starting rotation for the final two weeks of the season, helping the Demons capture the 1973 NAIA District 30 championship and make an appearance in the national tournament.
 
Included in Thornton's brief baseball career was a stellar performance against a Southern team that had five future MLB Draft picks.
 
"It was a best-of-three series where we played a doubleheader here and, if Southern won a game, we would play them there for Game 3," Smith said. "Dennis Choate won the first game, and Sidney threw a one-hitter against them. He smoked them. Joe Pittman, their third baseman who was drafted pretty high, hit one over the flagpole. He swung as hard as he could and Sidney threw it up there 94 miles per hour. It was power on power.
 
"I can still remember after that second game was over and Sidney beat them. U.S. Jones, the AD at Southern, was in the stands. He was a great big guy with snow white hair, about 320 pounds with a cigar in his mouth. I'll never forget him saying, 'Coach Herbie, I had no idea Sidney could throw like that.' I told him I didn't know either until two weeks ago."
 
For Thornton, a Baton Rouge native who settled in Shreveport, Northwestern State always held a special place in his heart.
 
Following his first season with the Steelers, who were in the midst of their Steel Curtain Dynasty, Thornton brought numerous Steeler players back to Natchitoches to assist with one of Williams' football camps.
 
"(Jack) Ham, (Jack) Lambert, Joe Greene, they were all there," Smith said. "(Terry) Bradshaw came. (John) Stallworth came. Mel Blount camp. The camp was awesome."
 
The star power that gathered in Natchitoches in the late 1970s was a reflection of Thornton's standing among his Steeler teammates and the place Northwestern State held in his life.
 
"He was a special guy with special talents," Williams said. "He came back and helped us any way he could. He kept in contact with us. He was really dedicated to Northwestern."