Thompson, Doug

Doug Thompson – (2002)

 

Doug Thompson, an outstanding athlete who became the
winningest coach in Lorain High School football history, credits
much of his success to being associated with top-flight coaches
throughout his career.

Doug was elected captain of both the football and track teams
during his senior school year (1949-50) at Toledo Waite High. His
head coaches at Waite were Jack Mollenkopf (later Purdue
mentor) and Frank Pauly in football and Bill Fetters in track.

Doug ran in the 1950 state track meet at Columbus and played
fullback for Canton McKinley Coach Bup Rearick’s North Yankees
in their big 33-7 win over the South in the 1950 Ohio All-Star grid
game at Toledo.

Doug enrolled at Miami University of Ohio, the “Cradle of Coaches.”
He played varsity football there under legendary coaches Woody
Hayes in 1951 and Ara Parseghian in 1952 and 1953. The
Redskins won 22 games and lost only five in those three seasons.

Doug earned a Bachelor of Science degree from Miami in 1954, then was promptly hired as a
graduate assistant at Bowling Green State University under coaches Bob Whitaker and Doyt Perry.
Sandwiched between coaching and getting his Master’s degree at Bowling Green in 1957 was
military service as a captain in the U.S. Air Force.

Thompson’s next stop was Toledo Woodward High, where he capably assisted eventual fellow Ohio
Football Coaches Hall of Fame inductee Lou Mezaros from 1958-60. Doug was then recommended
for the head job at Fostoria High, a position he converted into Great Lakes League grid titles in 1962
and 1963.

Hired by late City Schools Athletic Director and LSHF inductee Ed Cinniger in 1965, Thompson,
known as a superb organizer, carved a 94-62-2 mark for LHS over the next 16 seasons in one of
Ohio’s toughest leagues – the Buckeye Conference.

Thompson’s 94 wins rank ahead of such LHS coaching legends as Earl McCaskey
(82 wins), George Daniel (67), Hal Pryor (66) and Art Lave (61). Doug’s teams were
BC runners-up six times. During his tenure, he was named Northeastern Ohio AA District coach or
co-coach of the year and Amvets Post 47 City Coach of the year, each three times.

Thompson, with 115 career victories, was elected to the Ohio Football Coaches Hall in 1991. Earlier,
he was enshrined in the Lorain County Football Coaches and Waite High Athletic Halls. Doug was a
grid aide in the 1976 North-South game at OSU Stadium.

Doug helped develop more than 20 All-Ohioans and coached five high school or college All-
Americans, including Kurt Schumacher, Jim Svoboda, Ray Felton and Wade LaForce at Lorain and
Grant Jackson at Fostoria. As a veteran head track coach at LHS, Doug’s spikers broke all existing
event school records except one and they ruled the Class AA District meet at Ely Stadium in 1969
and 1970. Doug directed the Lorain County Relays, as well as City Recreation Department Junior
Olympics summer track meets.

Thompson, whose wife Peg passed away last year, has two sons, Matt and Mark; a daughter Juli Brown;
and four grandchildren. He now resides in the Columbus area.