John “Cat” Thompson
(1906-1990)
Hall of Fame Induction: 1962
Card Shown:
1986-2002 Basketball Hall of Fame Metallic
Position: F
Height: 5’10”
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John “Cat” Thompson was one of the top scorers in the early days of basketball. Thompson led his high school team to a state championship and his college team to a national championship. After his college career, he had a very brief amateur career before becoming a high school coach. After his coaching career ended, Cat got into the sporting goods business.
Awards and Honors
- Thompson played his high school basketball at Dixie High School in Utah from 1923-1926. He led his team to the Utah State High School championship in 1925. They went on to finish second in the national tournament in Chicago.
- Cat played college basketball at Montana State University. He led the Golden Bobcats to two consecutive seasons, 1927-28 and 1928-29, with single season records of 36-2. In each season Thompson was named All-Rocky Mountain Conference and All-America.
- Thompson led Montana State to the Rocky Mountain Conference Championship in 1928-29 and the Golden Bobcats were named Helms Athletic Foundation National Champions.
- Cat was named the Helms Foundation College Player of the Year in 1928-29.
- At Montana State, Thompson was scored 1,539 career points and was named an All-American three times in as many years.
Points of Interest
- In one high school game, Thompson scored 56 points, an incredible total for that era.
- Montana State coach G. Ott Romney compared Thompson to a cat because of his superior quickness and conditioning. The nickname “Cat” stuck.
- Cat averaged 15.4 points per game in college at a time when most teams scored about 40 points in a game.
- After college, Cat played one year of AAU basketball.
- Thompson went on to coach high school basketball at Idaho Falls High School from 1931-1946, leading the team to two state championships.
John “Cat” Thompson – Cut Signature Card
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