He was also a "weight man" for Andover's track team, competing in the hammer throw and shot put.
[4][5][6][7] 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.
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.
"[9] In 1927, the New York Sun named Thompson to its first-team list of the greatest football players in Cornell history.
[13] After leaving Cornell, Thompson applied to President William Howard Taft to be a special Secret Service guard.