Sports
Tiny Thompson
1903–1981 · ice hockey goaltender, scout
Four-time Vezina Trophy winner and Hockey Hall of Famer who closed his 12-season NHL career with two seasons in Detroit after a decade starring for Boston.
- Born
Sandon, British Columbia- Died
Calgary, Alberta
aged 77- Birth name
- Cecil Ralph Thompson
- Detroit years
- 1938–1940
- Field
- Sports
01 / The Detroit story
The Detroit story
Thompson had already won a Stanley Cup and four Vezina Trophies as Boston's goaltender when, at 35, the Bruins traded him to Detroit in November 1938 to make room for a young Frank Brimsek. He played out the 1938–39 season and one more full year with the Red Wings, both playoff seasons though Detroit posted losing regular-season records, before retiring in 1940. Across his two Detroit seasons he made 85 regular-season appearances with seven shutouts. Thompson is also credited as one of the first goaltenders to use the glove save and, in 1936, the first to be credited with an assist. He was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1959.
Highlights
- Traded to Detroit by Boston in November 1938 after four Vezina Trophies
- Played two seasons with the Red Wings, both reaching the playoffs, before retiring in 1940
- Credited with 81 career NHL shutouts, sixth-highest total ever
- Inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1959
02 / Their Detroit places
Their Detroit places 1
Where they lived, worked, performed and liked to hang out. Closed and demolished places stay here too, because they are part of the city's history.
Played here · 1938–1940
Olympia Stadium
Demolished · 1927–1979
The Red Wings' home ice for his final two NHL seasons; demolished in 1987.