Elmer Thompson
Encyclopedia
Elmer Thompson was an American football
player. He played for Cornell University
from 1905 to 1907 and was selected as a first-team All-American in both 1906 and 1907.
and played three years of football at Andover
. He was also a "weight man" for Andover's track team, competing in the hammer throw and shot put. Thompson was the captain of Andover's football team as a senior, and in April 1903, the Boston Evening Transcript reported that he had been "much sought after" due to "his splendid" work on the Andover football team. He initially committed to attend Yale University
, but changed his mind and enrolled at Cornell University
. He played at the guard
position for Cornell football
team from 1905 to 1907, and was selected as a first-team All-American in 1906 and 1907. He weighed "close to 250 pounds," and The New York Times described him as "one of the largest men who ever played on a college gridiron." Despite his large size, Thompson was also known for his speed as reflected in the following 1907 newspaper story:
In 1927, the New York Sun named Thompson to its first-team list of the greatest football players in Cornell history. In explaining its selection, the Sun emphasized Thompson's ability to scatter the opposing team's line:
In February 1908, Thompson was "dropped from the Cornell College of Law on account of deficiencies in his studies." According to reports at the time, Thompson "was 'busted' out after failing to pass enough subjects at the close of the first term." Thompson appealed his case in a petition to the faculty, but they refused to reopen his case. Under Cornell rules, Thompson lost his eligibility to play football at Cornell.
After leaving Cornell, Thompson applied to President William Howard Taft
to be a special Secret Service guard. In 1909 and 1910, he worked as the football coach for Polytechnic Preparatory High School in New York.
In 1929, Thompson died at his home after a short illness.
In 1955, Thompson was selected by The Cornell Daily Sun as one of two guards on Cornell's all-time football team.
American football
American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...
player. He played for Cornell University
Cornell University
Cornell University is an Ivy League university located in Ithaca, New York, United States. It is a private land-grant university, receiving annual funding from the State of New York for certain educational missions...
from 1905 to 1907 and was selected as a first-team All-American in both 1906 and 1907.
Biography
Thompson grew up in Waterbury, ConnecticutWaterbury, Connecticut
Waterbury is a city in New Haven County, Connecticut, on the Naugatuck River, 33 miles southwest of Hartford and 77 miles northeast of New York City...
and played three years of football at Andover
Phillips Academy
Phillips Academy is a selective, co-educational independent boarding high school for boarding and day students in grades 9–12, along with a post-graduate year...
. He was also a "weight man" for Andover's track team, competing in the hammer throw and shot put. Thompson was the captain of Andover's football team as a senior, and in April 1903, the Boston Evening Transcript reported that he had been "much sought after" due to "his splendid" work on the Andover football team. He initially committed to attend Yale University
Yale University
Yale University is a private, Ivy League university located in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701 in the Colony of Connecticut, the university is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States...
, but changed his mind and enrolled at Cornell University
Cornell University
Cornell University is an Ivy League university located in Ithaca, New York, United States. It is a private land-grant university, receiving annual funding from the State of New York for certain educational missions...
. He played at the guard
Guard (American football)
In American and Canadian football, a guard is a player that lines up between the center and the tackles on the offensive line of a football team....
position for Cornell football
Cornell Big Red football
The Cornell Big Red football team represents Cornell University in National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I Football Championship Subdivision college football competition as a member of the Ivy League. It is one of the oldest and most storied football programs in the nation...
team from 1905 to 1907, and was selected as a first-team All-American in 1906 and 1907. He weighed "close to 250 pounds," and The New York Times described him as "one of the largest men who ever played on a college gridiron." Despite his large size, Thompson was also known for his speed as reflected in the following 1907 newspaper story:
"Big Elmer Thompson in the guise of a sprinter was the novel sight which the enthusiasts at the football practice were treated to yesterday afternoon. The Cornell left guard, who weighs about 220, surprised the coaches by the way he got down under punts, sometimes beating out Van Osman, the fleet end."
In 1927, the New York Sun named Thompson to its first-team list of the greatest football players in Cornell history. In explaining its selection, the Sun emphasized Thompson's ability to scatter the opposing team's line:
"Elmer Thompson's one weakness was his good-natured, easy-going temperament. This burly, frizzle-haired blonde weighed 240 pounds—all of it solid bone and muscle. Tommy loomed up like Gibraltar. He didn't make a hole in the opposing line; he simply scattered it. His touseled yellow head gleamed through the melee like Henry of Navarre's white plume."
In February 1908, Thompson was "dropped from the Cornell College of Law on account of deficiencies in his studies." According to reports at the time, Thompson "was 'busted' out after failing to pass enough subjects at the close of the first term." Thompson appealed his case in a petition to the faculty, but they refused to reopen his case. Under Cornell rules, Thompson lost his eligibility to play football at Cornell.
After leaving Cornell, Thompson applied to President William Howard Taft
William Howard Taft
William Howard Taft was the 27th President of the United States and later the tenth Chief Justice of the United States...
to be a special Secret Service guard. In 1909 and 1910, he worked as the football coach for Polytechnic Preparatory High School in New York.
In 1929, Thompson died at his home after a short illness.
In 1955, Thompson was selected by The Cornell Daily Sun as one of two guards on Cornell's all-time football team.
See also
- 1906 College Football All-America Team1906 College Football All-America TeamThe 1906 College Football All-America team is composed of college football players who were selected as All-Americans by various organizations and writers that chose College Football All-America Teams for the 1906 college football season...
- 1907 College Football All-America Team1907 College Football All-America TeamThe 1907 College Football All-America team is composed of various organizations that chose College Football All-America Teams that season. The organizations that chose the teams included Collier's Weekly selected by Walter Camp.-Key:...