Bobby Thompson

Thompson was a speedy halfback who played seven years with the Saskatchewan Roughriders from 1969 to 1974 and in 1977.  With George Reed on the team, Thompson was not going to get to see the ball too much as a rusher, but he provided a speedy counterpunch to the big fullback, and was a dangerous receiver and kickoff returner.  In fact, Thompson actually had more yards receiving in hive of his six years with the Riders in his first stint.  Thompson joined the Riders in 1969 and had 467 yards rushing and nearly double that receiving with 45 catches for 891 yards.  Thompson also led the West in Kickoff return yards with 600 and a nifty 30.0 yard average.  Injuries limited Thompson to just 8 games in 1970, but he still had 336 yards rushng and 379 receiving.  Thompson played all 16 games in the next four seasons, with his career high in rushing coming in 1973 with 737 yards  which was the only year his rushing exclipsed his receiving yards (626).  A quick glance at Thompson's longest pass receptions show how dangerous he was with  longest catches of 85, 94, 97, 91 and 94 yards in his first five seasons.  Add to that a 115 yard kickoff return for a TD in 1971 and you can see what a threat Thompson posed to opposing teams.  Thompson finished his career with 2961 yards rushing and 4207 yards receiving on 266 catches.