 Thompson on a 1948 Bowman football card | |
| No. 10, 11 | |
| Quarterback | |
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Date of birth: August 15, 1918 | |
| Place of birth: Hutchinson, Kansas | |
| Date of death: April 21, 1989 (aged 70) | |
| Place of death: Calico Rock, Arkansas | |
| Career information | |
| College: Tulsa | |
| Undrafted in 1940 | |
| No regular season or postseason appearances | |
| Career history | |
* Pittsburgh Steelers ( 1940)
| |
| Career highlights and awards | |
* 2× NFL champion (1948, 1949)
| |
| TD–INT | 91–103 |
| Yards | 10,385 |
| Passer rating | 66.5 |
| Stats at NFL.com | |
| Stats at pro-football-reference.com | |
Thomas Pryor Thompson (August 15, 1918 – April 22, 1989) was an American football quarterback in the National Football League and Canadian Football League. He was blind in one eye, from a childhood incident, but nevertheless served in the U.S. Army for two years during World War II, which put his professional career on hold.[1]
Born in Hutchinson, Kansas, Thompson graduated from R. L. Paschal High School in Fort Worth, Texas, and played college football at the University of Tulsa.
Thompson was an off-and-on starter for the Philadelphia Eagles, and led them to three consecutive NFL championship appearances, including the 1948 and 1949 title-winning seasons.[2] His 25 touchdown passes led the league in 1948 and he led to victory in the championship game over the defending champion Chicago Cardinals in a snowstorm, avenging their loss in the previous year.[3] Thompson also played on in the Canadian Football League for the Winnipeg Blue Bombers in 1953.[4][5]
Thompson is one of three eligible inactive NFL quarterbacks with multiple championships who were not inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame, along with Jim Plunkett and Jack Kemp.[6] Ray Didinger of CSNPhilly ranked him in the Top 5 all-time Eagles quarterbacks, citing his contribution to the championship teams.
Thompson battled brain cancer for over a year and died in 1989 in Calico Rock, Arkansas.[7][8]
Career statistics[]
| Denotes seasons in which Thompson won an NFL championship | |
| Led the league |
- Regular season
| General | Passing | Rushing | ||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | GP | GS | W–L | Comp | Att | Pct | Yds | Y/A | Y/G | TD | Int | Rate | Sck | Att | Yds | Y/A | Y/G | TD | Fum |
| 1940 | PIT | 11 | 2 | —[lower-alpha 1] | 9 | 28 | 32.1% | 145 | 5.2 | 13.2 | 1 | 3 | 22.8 | —[lower-alpha 1] | 40 | 39 | 1.0 | 3.5 | 0 | 0 |
| 1941 | PHI | 11 | 5 | —[lower-alpha 1] | 86 | 162 | 53.1% | 959 | 5.9 | 87.2 | 8 | 14 | 51.4 | —[lower-alpha 1] | 54 | −2 | 0.0 | −0.2 | 0 | 0 |
| 1942 | PHI | 11 | 10 | —[lower-alpha 1] | 95 | 203 | 46.8% | 1,410 | 6.9 | 128.2 | 8 | 16 | 50.3 | —[lower-alpha 1] | 92 | −32 | −0.3 | −2.9 | 1 | 2 |
| 1945 | PHI | 8 | —[lower-alpha 1] | —[lower-alpha 1] | 15 | 28 | 53.6% | 146 | 5.2 | 18.3 | 0 | 2 | 38.7 | —[lower-alpha 1] | 8 | −13 | −1.6 | −1.6 | 0 | 3 |
| 1946 | PHI | 10 | 3 | —[lower-alpha 1] | 57 | 103 | 55.3% | 745 | 7.2 | 74.5 | 6 | 9 | 61.3 | —[lower-alpha 1] | 34 | −116 | −3.4 | −11.6 | 0 | 8 |
| 1947 | PHI | 12 | 1 | —[lower-alpha 1] | 106 | 201 | 52.7% | 1,680 | 8.4 | 140.0 | 16 | 15 | 76.3 | —[lower-alpha 1] | 23 | 52 | 2.3 | 4.3 | 2 | 6 |
| 1948 | PHI | 12 | 4 | —[lower-alpha 1] | 141 | 246 | 57.3% | 1,965 | 8.0 | 163.8 | 25 | 11 | 98.4 | —[lower-alpha 1] | 12 | 46 | 3.8 | 3.8 | 1 | 0 |
| 1949 | PHI | 12 | 9 | —[lower-alpha 1] | 116 | 214 | 54.2% | 1,727 | 8.1 | 143.9 | 16 | 11 | 84.4 | —[lower-alpha 1] | 15 | 17 | 1.1 | 1.4 | 2 | 4 |
| 1950 | PHI | 12 | 12 | 6–6 | 107 | 239 | 44.8% | 1,608 | 6.7 | 134.0 | 11 | 22 | 44.4 | —[lower-alpha 1] | 15 | 34 | 2.3 | 2.8 | 0 | 3 |
| Career | 99 | 46 | 6–6 | 732 | 1,424 | 51.4% | 10,385 | 7.3 | 104.9 | 91 | 103 | 66.5 | —[lower-alpha 1] | 293 | 25 | 0.1 | 0.3 | 6 | 24 | |
| Source:[9] | ||||||||||||||||||||
Notes[]
- ↑ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2012-07-24. https://archive.is/20120724152450/http://www.csnphilly.com/09/08/09/Didingers-Top-Five-Eagles-Quarterbacks/landing.html?blockID=73673&feedID=2227. Retrieved 2010-08-30.
- ↑ https://www.pro-football-reference.com/players/T/ThomTo21.htm
- ↑ "Thompson key to Eagles' win". Lewiston Daily Sun. Associated Press (Maine): p. 12. December 20, 1948. https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=TpU0AAAAIBAJ&sjid=SmgFAAAAIBAJ&pg=1665%2C8162734.
- ↑ http://www.justsportsstats.com/footballstatsindex.php?player_id=thomptom001
- ↑ "Big time football parade in full swing this weekend". Ottawa Citizen. Canadian Press (Canada): p. 42. August 29, 1953. https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=n4wwAAAAIBAJ&sjid=Wt8FAAAAIBAJ&pg=7184%2C5789278.
- ↑ Anderson, Dave (February 6, 2010). "It’s about the quarterbacks, and it always has been". New York Times. https://www.nytimes.com/2010/02/07/sports/football/07anderson.html. Retrieved January 15, 2016.
- ↑ https://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=950DE5D81038F931A15757C0A96F948260
- ↑ "Tommy Thompson, champion quarterback". Daytona Beach Sunday News-Journal (Florida): p. 7C. April 23, 1989. https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=IAEqAAAAIBAJ&sjid=5NEEAAAAIBAJ&pg=2617%2C5389492.
- ↑ "Tommy Thompson Stats". Pro-Football-Reference. Sports-Reference. https://www.pro-football-reference.com/players/T/ThomTo21.htm. Retrieved February 22, 2018.
References[]
External links[]
- Career statistics and player information from NFL.com • Pro-Football-Reference • Databasefootball.com
- Tommy Thompson (quarterback) at Find a Grave
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