John Thompson (American football executive)
American football executive (1927–2022)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
John Albert Thompson (May 19, 1927 – May 24, 2022) was an American football executive. He served as the first general manager of the Seattle Seahawks from 1976 to 1982.
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| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Born | May 19, 1927 |
| Died | May 24, 2022 (aged 95) Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S. |
| Career information | |
| College | Washington |
| Career history | |
| |
| Awards and highlights | |
| Executive profile at Pro Football Reference | |
Early life and education
Thompson was born on May 19, 1927, and grew up in South Bend, Washington.[1] In high school, he was valedictorian of his class. Thompson attended the University of Washington, but left before receiving a degree.[2]
Executive career
Thompson worked as an assistant to University of Washington sports information director Bert Rose and replaced him when Rose joined the Los Angeles Rams in 1955.[3] He left after their win in the 1961 Rose Bowl over the Minnesota Golden Gophers.[4]
In 1961, Thompson reunited with Rose, who was then the general manager of Minnesota Vikings of the National Football League (NFL).[3] Thompson served as the team's publicity director until he was promoted assistant general manager in 1966.[5]
In 1971, Thompson was named assistant to the president of the National Football Conference (NFC), who at the time was George Halas.[2][4] After a few months in that position, he moved to the NFL management council in November 1971.[2][4] He served as the executive director of the management council, the collective bargaining agent of the NFL, from 1971 to 1975.[2][4]
In March 1975, Thompson was named the general manager for the new Seattle NFL franchise, which began play in 1976.[2][4] Wellington Mara, a Pro Football Hall of Famer and owner of the New York Giants, said "Seattle could not have made a better choice. He has experienced success at every level of professional football. When my opinion was asked by the Seattle people, he was my only choice."[4] Among the first tasks of Thompson was to pick the name of the team and colors.[2] He decided to hold a fan vote to decide the name.[2] The "Seahawks" had the most votes out of 20,365 entries with 1,741 different names.[2] Thompson later oversaw the hiring of Jack Patera as head coach on January 3, 1976.[2]
In his first season as general manager, the Seahawks compiled a record of 2–12.[6] They went 5–9 in the following year, which was at the time the best record for an expansion team in their second season.[2] The 1978 Seahawks were 9–7, at the time the best record for a third-year expansion franchise.[2] For this, Thompson was named NFL Executive of the Year by Sporting News and Patera was named Coach of the Year.[7][2] Seattle went 9–7 again in 1979, but declined in the following years, going 4–12 in 1980 and 6–10 in 1981, leading to the firing of both Thompson and Patera mid-season in 1982.[2][6][8]
Later life and death
Thompson was never again a member of an NFL team but did have a stint with the Sports and Events Council of the Greater Seattle Chamber of Commerce before announcing his retirement.[2]
Thompson had three children with his wife Marilyn and was married to her for 71 years. He remained a fan of the Seahawks for the rest of his life after his stint with the team. He was a resident of the Seattle area until 2018, when he moved to Las Vegas, Nevada. Thompson died in Las Vegas on May 24, 2022, five days after his 95th birthday.[2]
