Chiefs to retire No. 58

KANSAS CITY, Mo., June 24 (UPI) -- The NFL's Kansas City Chiefs will retire No. 58 worn by former star linebacker Derrick Thomas posthumously Dec. 6.

Thomas was the fourth-overall selection in the 1989 NFL Draft out of the University of Alabama and recorded 126 1/2 sacks with one interception in 169 games over 11 seasons.

He will be inducted into the NFL Hall Of Fame in Canton, Ohio, in August.

The Miami native died in 1999, two weeks after he was seriously injured in a car accident in Kansas City.

Following his death, Kansas City's yearly MVP Award was named in his honor.

Thomas made more sacks than any NFL player in the entire decade of the 1990s (116 1/2) and established a single-season franchise record for total sacks with 20 in 1990.

He set a single-game record with seven sacks against the Seattle Seahawks in November 1990.

The team added that his family will be given his Hall of Fame ring at halftime during the contest against the Denver Broncos.