University of Delaware Athletics
Hall of Fame
Harold "Buck" Thompson
- Induction:
- 1999
- Class:
- 1950
HAROLD “BUCK” THOMPSON
(1922-2006)
Football (1941-42, 46)
One of the great players of the Bill Murray era, Thompson played on Blue Hen football teams that had a three-year record of 25-0-1 and won the 1946 Associated Press Small College National title.
A standout end from Manasquan, N.J., Thompson earned Associated Press honorable mention All-American honors during the 1946 season when he set school records for the longest rush (98 yards vs. Washington College) and longest kickoff return (99 yards vs. Western Maryland). He also led Delaware to a victory over Rollins Collins in the 1947 Cigar Bowl in Tampa, Fla.
He went on to a two-year professional career with the Brooklyn Dodgers of the All-American Football Conference in 1947-48.
A member of the state of Delaware Sports Museum and Hall of Fame (1996), Thompson continued to contribute to the university, serving for several years as a member of the University of Delaware Board of Trustees and as chairperson of the UD Athletic Visiting Committee.
He served in Europe in the 222nd Infantry Regiment of the 42nd Rainbow Division serving in World War II landing on Normandy Beach on D-Day plus one. After the war, he remained active in the Army Reserve, where he was a member of the 446th Military Government Co., Upland, Pa. until he retired as a Lt. Colonel in 1982.
A 1950 graduate of Delaware, he passed away in 2006 at the age of 83.
(1922-2006)
Football (1941-42, 46)
One of the great players of the Bill Murray era, Thompson played on Blue Hen football teams that had a three-year record of 25-0-1 and won the 1946 Associated Press Small College National title.
A standout end from Manasquan, N.J., Thompson earned Associated Press honorable mention All-American honors during the 1946 season when he set school records for the longest rush (98 yards vs. Washington College) and longest kickoff return (99 yards vs. Western Maryland). He also led Delaware to a victory over Rollins Collins in the 1947 Cigar Bowl in Tampa, Fla.
He went on to a two-year professional career with the Brooklyn Dodgers of the All-American Football Conference in 1947-48.
A member of the state of Delaware Sports Museum and Hall of Fame (1996), Thompson continued to contribute to the university, serving for several years as a member of the University of Delaware Board of Trustees and as chairperson of the UD Athletic Visiting Committee.
He served in Europe in the 222nd Infantry Regiment of the 42nd Rainbow Division serving in World War II landing on Normandy Beach on D-Day plus one. After the war, he remained active in the Army Reserve, where he was a member of the 446th Military Government Co., Upland, Pa. until he retired as a Lt. Colonel in 1982.
A 1950 graduate of Delaware, he passed away in 2006 at the age of 83.
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