Introduction of David Thompson, presented by Frank Roche, Athletics Civic Engagement Coordinator at Tufts, 2020 Graduate and Former Football Player

Tufts legend and Hall of Famer “Pop” Houston was one of the first collegiate sports leaders to promote the concept of “student-athlete”. As Director of Athletics at Tufts for more than three decades from 1921–1954, Pop was an ardent believer that collegiate athletes should achieve as much in the classroom as they do on the field of play. 

Tonight's first inductee is David Thompson, and I have no doubt David would have been one of Pop’s all-time favorite Jumbos. David delivered academic and athletics excellence in equal measure, and even to this day, David remains one of the finest SCHOLAR-athletes in the long history of Tufts Athletics. 

An outstanding football and track athlete at Brookline High School, David enrolled at Tufts and joined the football team in the fall of 1958. Playing under Hall of Fame Coach Harry Arlanson, David lettered in football from 1959 to 1961 as a tackle. During his football career, he earned All-New England and All-East recognition, and he was awarded the team's Most Valuable Player honor in 1961.

As was the case in high school, one sport wasn’t enough for David at Tufts, so he joined the Tufts track & field team led by Tufts Hall of Fame Coach Ding Dussault. David displayed his incredible athleticism by exceling in the broad jump and sprints, and he won a New England championship in the hurdles. 

During his senior year, David became the first Tufts athlete to be honored by the National Football Foundation as one the organization's eight Scholar-Athlete Award recipients. The achievement was hailed on campus and in alumni circles as one of the greatest tributes ever earned by a Tufts athlete. At the awards ceremony held at the Waldorf-Astoria in New York City on December 5, 1961, David received his award from none other than President John F. Kennedy, who was at the event to receive the National Football Foundation’s Gold Medal.

Among David’s many academic achievements at Tufts, he was a regular on the Dean’s List, was a member of the Senior Honor Society and the Ivy Society, and graduated at the top of his class in the School of Engineering. He was also a member of Tower Cross, an honor society that was seen as one of the highest honors an undergraduate could receive. 

As evidence of his leadership and high character, David was selected team captain for both football and track, and he received the University's Bennett Memorial Prize Scholarship for the student who best exemplifies the qualities of true sportsmanship. 

I started this intro by mentioning how much Pop Houston would have loved David Thompson. Well, quite fittingly, David capped off his Tufts career by receiving one of the highest honors an athlete at Tufts can receive – the Pop Houston Award for Male Athlete of the Year. 

To no one’s surprise, David’s accomplishments at Tufts were only the beginning. After graduation, David joined the United States Marine Corps, earned the rank of Captain, and served his country with honor during the Vietnam War. During his service, David was co-captain of the Marine Corps Football Team, joined the Inter-Service All Star Team in 1962, and played in the Service Super Bowl in Seoul, Korea in 1963.

After his active duty concluded, David served two more years in the Marine Corps Reserves while simultaneously attending graduate school at Tufts. David earned his master's degree in civil engineering at Tufts in 1968 before embarking upon a very successful professional career with a Boston-based, nationally-renowned engineering firm where he would eventually serve as both CEO and Chairman of the Board.

Sadly, David passed away in October of 2022….but tonight, as the head football coach of the Jumbos, it’s my great honor to remember, recognize and celebrate David Thompson as we induct him into the Tufts Athletics Hall of Fame.