Tiny Thompson facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Tiny Thompson
Hockey Hall of Fame, 1959
Thompson with the Bruins in the early 1930s
Born	(1903-05-31)May 31, 1903 Sandon, British Columbia
Died	February 9, 1981(1981-02-09) (aged 77) Calgary, Alberta
Height	5 ft 10 in (178 cm)
Weight	160 lb (73 kg; 11 st 6 lb)
Position	Goaltender
Caught	Left
Played for	Boston Bruins Detroit Red Wings (NHL)
Playing career	1928–1941

Cecil Ralph "Tiny" Thompson (born May 31, 1903 – died February 9, 1981) was a famous Canadian ice hockey goaltender. He played for 12 seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL). He spent 10 seasons with the Boston Bruins and two seasons with the Detroit Red Wings.

Tiny Thompson was a top goaltender. He won the Vezina Trophy four times. This award goes to the NHL's best goalie. He was also added to the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1959. He helped his team, the Boston Bruins, win the Stanley Cup in 1929.

After playing for 10 full seasons with Boston, he moved to the Detroit Red Wings in 1938. He played there for two more seasons before he stopped playing. During his NHL career, Thompson had 81 shutouts. A shutout means the goalie stops every shot and the other team scores no goals. This is the sixth-highest number of shutouts ever for a goalie. After retiring, he coached some teams and became a well-known scout. Thompson also helped make it common for goalies to catch the puck to make a save. He was also very good at using his stick to play the puck. He was the first NHL goalie to get an assist by passing the puck to a teammate who then scored a goal.

Tiny Thompson's Early Life

Thompson was born in Sandon, British Columbia, on May 31, 1903. He grew up in Calgary, Alberta. His younger brother, Paul, also became a professional hockey player.

When Cecil was a kid, he loved playing baseball and ice hockey. He didn't start as a goalie. He became one so that other kids would let him play with them. As a teenager, his teammates started calling him "Tiny." This was because he was the tallest player on the team! He was known as "Tiny" for his whole career.

Thompson began playing junior hockey at age 16 with the Calgary Monarchs. In his first season, he played for the Memorial Cup. This cup is given to the best junior ice hockey team in Canada.

After playing for a few junior teams, Thompson joined the Minneapolis Millers in the American Hockey Association (AHA). He played for the Millers for three seasons. During that time, he played in 118 games and had 33 shutouts. He had a 1.37 goals-against average. This number shows how many goals a goalie lets in on average during a 60-minute game.

Tiny Thompson's NHL Career

Playing for the Boston Bruins

Thompson started playing in the National Hockey League (NHL) in the 1928–29 season. He joined the Boston Bruins because their manager, Art Ross, bought his contract. Ross had heard that Thompson was a very good goalie.

In his very first NHL game, Thompson got a shutout! He is the only goalie in the Hockey Hall of Fame to do this in his first game. In his first season, Thompson played in all 44 of Boston's games. He had 12 shutouts and a super low 1.15 goals-against average. This is the second-lowest goals-against average ever for a full NHL season.

The Boston Bruins finished first in their division and made the playoffs. They won all five of their playoff games, winning the Stanley Cup for the first time! In those five playoff games, Thompson had three shutouts and only let in three goals. That season, Tiny and his brother Paul played against each other in the NHL for the first time. They even played against each other in the Stanley Cup Finals!

In the next season, Tiny played all 44 games again. He had three shutouts and a 2.19 goals-against average. His numbers changed because the rules were changed to allow players to pass the puck forward in the attacking area. This made it easier for teams to score. Even with the rule change, Boston had an amazing season, winning 38 out of 44 games. This is the highest winning percentage for any team in NHL history!

In the playoffs that year, Boston lost two games in a row for the first time all season. They lost the Stanley Cup finals to the Montreal Canadiens. Tiny won his first of four Vezina Trophies that season.

In the 1930–31 season, he played all 44 games again. He was also named to the Second All-Star team. The next season, Boston lost in the playoff semi-finals to Montreal. In one game, Thompson was taken out of the net near the end. This was so Boston could have six attacking players against Montreal's five, giving them a better chance to score. Even though Boston lost, their coach's idea was seen as "amazing" and new.

In the 1931–32 season, Boston missed the playoffs for the first time with Thompson as their goalie. He missed five games that season, which was unusual for him. The next season, Boston made the playoffs again but lost to the Toronto Maple Leafs.

The Longest Game

The last game of the playoff series against the Maple Leafs in 1933 was one of Thompson's best. Boston and Toronto were tied after the usual three periods. The game went into overtime. After five extra periods, the game was still tied! The managers of both teams asked the NHL president to stop the game and finish it later. But he said no.

Early in the sixth overtime period, a pass from Boston player Eddie Shore was stolen. Ken Doraty of the Maple Leafs got the puck and skated alone towards Thompson's net. He scored at 4 minutes and 46 seconds into the sixth overtime period. Even though Thompson lost the game, the fans cheered loudly for him. This game was the second-longest ever played in the NHL.

Thompson won his second Vezina Trophy in the 1932–33 season. He had 11 shutouts and a 1.76 goals-against average. The next season, Boston missed the playoffs. In the 1934–35 season, Boston finished first in their division. Thompson was chosen for the Second All-Star team again. The Bruins won only one of their four playoff games, and that win was a shutout by Thompson.

In the 1935–36 season, Thompson had 10 shutouts. During this season, Thompson made an assist. This means he passed the puck to a teammate who then scored a goal. It was very rare for a goalie to do this back then! At the end of the season, he was named to the First All-Star team for the first time. He also won the Vezina Trophy for his third time.

In the 1937–38 season, Thompson played his last full season with the Bruins. He won 30 out of 48 games. But Boston lost to the Maple Leafs again in the playoffs. At the end of the season, he won his fourth and final Vezina Trophy. He was also named to the First All-Star team for the second time.

Playing for the Detroit Red Wings

Thompson played only five games in the 1938–39 season for the Bruins. This was because the Bruins decided to replace him with a new goalie, Frank Brimsek. Thompson was traded to the Detroit Red Wings for another player and $15,000. Thompson also got $1000 from Boston. The Bruins' manager, Art Ross, thought Thompson would play five more years for Detroit. But he only played two.

Detroit didn't win the Stanley Cup in those two seasons. Overall, Thompson played 85 regular season games for Detroit. He had 32 wins, 41 losses, and 12 ties. He also had seven shutouts and a 2.54 goals-against average. In the playoffs, he played 11 games, with five wins, six losses, and one shutout.

After His NHL Career

After stopping his professional playing career, Thompson became a coach. In the 1940–41 season, he started coaching the Buffalo Bisons in the American Hockey League (AHL). He coached the Bisons for 56 games over two seasons. They didn't make the playoffs either time. In one game in 1940–41, he even played as an emergency goalie for the Bisons.

During World War II, Thompson served in the Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF). He also coached the Calgary RCAF Mustangs hockey team. In March 1943, he had to play again because his team's goalies were hurt. With Thompson in goal, the Mustangs won a game 8–4. He played the final game too, but his team lost.

After the war, Thompson became a chief scout for the Chicago Black Hawks. He was one of the few scouts who tried to learn about a player's personality, not just their playing skills. He would often talk with players to understand them better.

Tiny Thompson's Playing Style

Thompson was a "stand-up" goaltender. This means he rarely dropped to both knees to stop the puck. He was one of the first goalies in the NHL to catch the puck to make a save. He was known as the best puck-catcher of his time. His gloves were smaller than modern ones, so he didn't have a lot of padding when he was in the net.

He often used a similar way to stop pucks. He would drop to one knee with his stick covering the space between his legs. He would then extend his glove to cover the left side of the net. Even though he caught the puck with his glove, he didn't have the big, padded gloves that goalies use today.

Johnny Bower, another famous goalie in the Hockey Hall of Fame, said that Thompson was very good at playing the puck with his stick. He was one of the best at passing the puck during his time. In the 1935–36 season, Thompson became the first goalie to get an assist by purposely passing the puck to a teammate who then scored a goal.

Tiny Thompson's Legacy

Tiny Thompson's record for the highest winning percentage in a season (0.875) from the 1929–30 season is still an NHL record. His 38 wins that season was a Boston Bruins record for many years. It was only broken in the 1982–83 season.

Thompson is the all-time Bruins leader for games played, wins, shutouts, and goals-against average. Throughout his whole NHL career, Thompson had 81 shutouts. This is the sixth-highest number of shutouts in NHL history. When he stopped playing, he was second only to George Hainsworth, who had 94. Thompson also had seven shutouts in the playoffs. He is fifth all-time in goals-against average, letting in only 2.08 goals on average per 60 minutes. He led all goalies in regular season games played 10 times and in regular season wins five times.

In 1959, Thompson was put into the Hockey Hall of Fame. He passed away in Calgary on February 9, 1981. He was remembered by his wife, Edith, and his daughter, Sandra.

Awards and Achievements

NHL Awards

• Tiny Thompson's career stats at The Internet Hockey Database
• Tiny Thompson's biography at Legends of Hockey
• Tiny Thompson's NHL player profile