Nelson Kerr Thompson (November 18, 1888 – September 20, 1968) was an American football, basketball and baseball coach. He served as the head football coach at Ursinus College from 1916 to 1917 and Slippery Rock State Teachers College—now known as Slippery Rock University of Pennsylvania—from 1920 to 1945, compiling a career college football coaching record of 133–64–5.[1][2] Thompson was the head basketball coach at Ursinus from 1916 to 1918 and Slippery Rock from 1919 to 1926 and from 1930 to 1946, tallying a career college basketball mark of 269–144.[3]
| Biographical details | |
|---|---|
| Born | November 18, 1888 Butler County, Pennsylvania, U.S. |
| Died | September 20, 1968 (aged 79) Grove City, Pennsylvania, U.S. |
| Alma mater | Slippery Rock (1908) |
| Playing career | |
| Football | |
| 1912 | Ursinus |
| Coaching career (HC unless noted) | |
| Football | |
| 1916–1917 | Ursinus |
| 1920–1945 | Slippery Rock |
| Basketball | |
| 1916–1918 | Ursinus |
| 1919–1926 | Slippery Rock |
| 1930–1947 | Slippery Rock |
| Baseball | |
| 1948–1955 | Slippery Rock |
| Head coaching record | |
| Overall | 133–64–15 (football) 269–144 (basketball) |
| Accomplishments and honors | |
| Championships | |
| Football 1 PSTCC (1939) | |
Thompson was born on November 18, 1888, in Butler County, Pennsylvania, to Nelson and Jessie Kerr Thompson. He graduated from Ursinus in 1912 and later earned a degree from the University of Pittsburgh. Thompson died on September 20, 1968, at Bashline Memorial Hospital in Grove City, Pennsylvania.[4][5]
Head coaching record
editFootball
edit| Year | Team | Overall | Conference | Standing | Bowl/playoffs | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ursinus Bears (Independent) (1916–1917) | |||||||||
| 1916 | Ursinus | 4–3–2 | |||||||
| 1917 | Ursinus | 3–3–2 | |||||||
| Ursinus: | 7–6–4 | ||||||||
| Slippery Rock (Independent) (1920–1933) | |||||||||
| 1920 | Slippery Rock | 6–1 | |||||||
| 1921 | Slippery Rock | 5–3 | |||||||
| 1922 | Slippery Rock | 3–3 | |||||||
| 1923 | Slippery Rock | 9–1 | |||||||
| 1924 | Slippery Rock | 9–0 | |||||||
| 1925 | Slippery Rock | 4–3–2 | |||||||
| 1926 | Slippery Rock | 7–1–1 | |||||||
| 1927 | Slippery Rock | 8–1 | |||||||
| 1928 | Slippery Rock | 7–2 | |||||||
| 1929 | Slippery Rock | 6–2 | |||||||
| 1930 | Slippery Rock | 5–3–1 | |||||||
| 1931 | Slippery Rock | 4–5 | |||||||
| 1932 | Slippery Rock | 3–5–1 | |||||||
| 1933 | Slippery Rock | 7–0–1 | |||||||
| Slippery Rock Rockets (Pennsylvania State Teachers Conference / Pennsylvania State Teachers College Conference) (1934–1935) | |||||||||
| 1934 | Slippery Rock | 2–4–1 | 1–2 | T–8th | |||||
| 1935 | Slippery Rock | 5–4 | 2–1 | 5th | |||||
| 1936 | Slippery Rock | 6–3 | 3–1 | 4th | |||||
| 1937 | Slippery Rock | 3–6 | 0–3 | T–10th | |||||
| 1938 | Slippery Rock | 6–2–1 | 3–0–1 | 2nd | |||||
| 1939 | Slippery Rock | 8–0 | 5–0 | 1st | |||||
| 1940 | Slippery Rock | 4–3–1 | 1–1–1 | T–6th | |||||
| 1941 | Slippery Rock | 2–4–1 | 1–3 | 10th | |||||
| 1942 | Slippery Rock | 4–2 | 2–2 | T–4th | |||||
| 1943 | No team—World War II | ||||||||
| 1944 | No team—World War II | ||||||||
| 1945 | Slippery Rock | 3–0–1 | |||||||
| Slippery Rock: | 126–58–11 | 20–14–2 | |||||||
| Total: | 133–64–15 | ||||||||
| National championship Conference title Conference division title or championship game berth | |||||||||
References
edit- ^ "All-Time Results" (PDF). Ursinus Bears football. Retrieved January 13, 2019.
- ^ "N. Kerr Thompson". Slippery Rock University of Pennsylvania. Retrieved December 30, 2018.
- ^ "Men's Basketball Records". Slippery Rock men's basketball. Retrieved December 30, 2018.
- ^ "N. K. Thompson died after illness". New Castle News. New Castle, Pennsylvania. September 21, 1968. p. 3. Retrieved May 21, 2023 – via Newspapers.com
.
- ^ "Rite Tuesday For Ex-Coach". The Pittsburgh Press. Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. September 22, 1968. p. 2, section 3. Retrieved May 21, 2023 – via Newspapers.com .
