While attending high school in Modesto, Moose Thompson was a nationally ranked age-group shot putter in 1937 and 1938. He moved on to Modesto Junior College and won the National Junior College Title in 1939 and 1940, but on enrolling at Southern Cal success did not come immediately and it was not until 1946, after Thompson returned from war service, that he made any sort of impact in the senior ranks. In 1946 he placed second in the NCAA championships and, although he never won an AAU title, he was a comfortable winner at the 1948 Olympics. Three of his marks were superior to Jim Delaney’s best effort in second place and Thompson’s winning put of 56-2 (17.12) was an Olympic record and a career best. He was world ranked #2 in 1948, after being ranked #6 in 1947, and he would finish career after 1950, with rankings of #3 in 1949 and #4 in 1950. After college and earning a masters’s degree in petroleum engineering at USC, Thompson worked initially in the oil business and later with the California State Lands Commission.
Personal Best\: SP – 17.12 (1948).
United States