Tiny Thompson

Tiny Thompson
Hockey Hall of Fame , 1959
Date of birth	May 31, 1903
place of birth	Sandon , British Columbia , Canada
date of death	February 9, 1981
Place of death	Calgary , Alberta , Canada
size	178 cm
position	goalkeeper
Catch hand	Left
Career stations
1919-1920	Calgary Monarchs
1920-1921	Calgary Alberta Grain
1921-1922	Bellevue Colts
1922-1924	Bellevue Bulldogs
1924-1925	Duluth Hornets
1925-1928	Minneapolis Millers
1928-1938	Boston Bruins
1938-1940	Detroit Red Wings
1940-1941	Buffalo bison
1942-1943	Calgary RCAF Mustangs

Cecil R. "Tiny" Thompson (born May 31, 1903 in Sandon , British Columbia , † February 9, 1981 ) was a Canadian ice hockey goalkeeper who played from 1928 to 1940 for the Boston Bruins and Detroit Red Wings in the National Hockey League .

Career

Thompson began his career in Calgary with the Monarchs and Alberta Gain, and also played with several other teams in Alberta. In 1924 he moved to the United States to join the Duluth Hornets to further develop. Three excellent years with the Minneapolis Millers followed. Now 23 years old, he moved with Cooney Weiland from Minnesota to the Boston Bruins . It was surprising that he was used for the first game, but he paid back the trust. With 1.15 goals conceded in 44 games, he played an outstanding rookie season and led the team to their first Stanley Cup win. In the final against the New York Rangers he met his brother Paul. Also in the following years Thompson was one of the outstanding goalies in the league. But above all the Montréal Canadiens stood in the way of another Cup victory again and again. He played a legendary game on April 3, 1933. The longest playoff game to date was 0-0 after regular time and Thompson and Toronto's goalie Lorne Chabot kept their goal clean for over 100 minutes . After 104 minutes and 45 seconds, Thompson had to let a shot by Ken Doraty pass. In the 1935/36 season Thompson put his teammate Babe Siebert before a goal and was the first NHL goalkeeper to score a point. In 1938 the Bruins gave Thompson to the Detroit Red Wings and relied on a younger goalkeeper with Frank Brimsek . Thomson played another season in Detroit.

Immediately after his playing career, he trained the Buffalo Bisons in the American Hockey League for two years .

In 1959 he was honored with the induction into the Hockey Hall of Fame .

NHL statistics

	Seasons	Games	Victory cut	Conceded goal	Shutouts
Regular season	12	553	0.514	2.08	81
Playoffs	10	44	0.455	1.88	7th

Awards

• NHL First All-Star Team : 1936 and 1938
• Second All-Star Team : 1931 and 1935
• Vezina Trophy : 1930, 1933, 1936 and 1938

Web links

• Tiny Thompson in the database of the Hockey Hall of Fame (English)
• Tiny Thompson at hockeydb.com (English)