The Face Behind William Fleming Athletics: Ed Thompson

Ed Thompson has been the familiar face at William Fleming athletic events since 1997.
Head basketball coach Micky Hardy calls Thompson “Mr.Everything.”

If you’re a high school sports fan who has seen a William Fleming team play in the last 18 years, you’ve probably noticed this guy walking the sidelines.

Working on football equipment behind the Fleming bench, sitting on the Colonel bench during a basketball game or handling the details of a track meet, his presence is hard to miss.

The tall, slender fellow with a steady gait, typically wearing the Fleming blue and gold. But, a guy few may know by name.

Meet Ed Thompson.

Thompson has been on the scene at William Fleming since 1997. That’s when former Fleming head football coach, George “Killer” Miller noticed Thompson and started asking questions. Thompson had the answers and the rest is history.

“My nephew was playing football, and I was at Fleming watching practices,” Thompson said of the 1997 events during a recent interview inside the Fleming football locker room. “I was just helping out with anything they needed. Coach Miller got used to seeing me on the sideline and began to ask me, ‘Ed, can you do this’ or, ‘Ed, can you handle that.’ I got to doing more and more.”

Miller then put Thompson to the test, giving him the opportunity to become Fleming football’s answer to Pablo Picasso.

“The football team was going to watch film one afternoon and the sun was pouring through the upper windows of the field house while Coach Miller was getting things ready,” Thompson recalled. “You couldn’t see anything. He looked at me and asked if I thought I could climb up and paint all the windows to block out the sun. Up I went and got ’em painted.”

Next, Miller put Thompson in charge of painting the lines on the football field. “Coach Miller said they looked better than the Redskins field,” Thompson noted. Thompson had his start and others quickly noticed.

Roland Lovelace asked Thompson to help with the basketball team and Rudy Dillard did the same with the Fleming track team.

“I was pretty popular in that 1997-98 season,” Thompson laughed. “I’ve been here year-round ever since.”

That year gave Thompson, now 76, the foundation for a start in an area he loves: athletics and the kids that are part of the programs.

But Thompson grew up facing challenges and obstacles from an early age.

A native of Roanoke and one of eight children, Thompson was in the third grade at the old Gainsboro Elementary School where a life-changing event came with no warning late one night.

“Our father had died when I was very young and they always told us he died from food poisoning,” Thompson said. “Years later, I was 8-years old, and in the middle of the night people came into my room and said, ‘Get up, we’re going on a trip.’ They didn’t tell us what was happening, but they took me, my brothers and my younger sister (two older sisters had already left home) way out into the country. I’m still not sure, but I think it was somewhere in Floyd County. My mother had breast cancer and they had taken us to a foster home.”

If that wasn’t disheartening enough for an eight-year-old child, what would unfold next was just as challenging.

“We were in that foster home for five years and we were never given the opportunity to go to school the entire time,” Thompson recalled with a stare.

After those five years, one of Thompson’s older sisters brought Thompson back to Roanoke.

“I was 13 and hadn’t been to school for five years,” Thompson noted. “They placed me in the fifth grade at Harrison Elementary because of my age, but I was so far behind in my education, everything I learned was pretty much self-taught.”

Thompson stayed in school until he reached Lucy Addison High School, but dropped out to join the service before returning to join the work force in Roanoke.

His first job was a dishwasher at Lendy’s Restaurant near Boxley Hills where he was determined to rise in the ranks despite resistance from management.

“I was one of three dishwashers to start,” Thompson said. “One got fired and one quit, so I was doing it all. I had asked to be given a chance to be a cook to better myself, and the manager said, ‘Sure, we’ll give you a shot.’ But, they hired three other cooks when there was an opening, every time passing me by, so I handed in my resignation. They wanted to know why I was quitting and I told them about the broken promises. They knew I was a hard worker, and immediately moved me into the kitchen. One year later I was the kitchen manager. I stayed at Lendy’s for 13 years.”

Thompson says he saw the end of Lendy’s before the chain actually ceased operations, and he went to work for the City of Salem. He worked there in the sanitation and street departments before retiring after 31 years of service.

“I’ve stayed with the Fleming programs because I like being here with something to do,” Thompson says. “And, I like being around the kids. Most of the kids think I’ve been married because I’m always fussing at them about something.”

“I take my duties seriously and it can lead to long hours, but I’m going to keep going as long as I can,” Thompson notes proudly.. “It’s hardest on Friday nights after a football game.”

“The uniforms have to be washed after every game. When we played in Victory Stadium, we’d get back and they’d be totally covered in mud. I’d stay and keep washing until they looked brand new. Believe me, I’ve still been in the locker room when the sun came up the next morning. Once, I told the security people, ‘I can’t leave until I finish the job.’ “

Over the years, Thompson has saved football cleats left behind after the end of each season. Now, he gives them out to young middle school and upcoming players who cannot afford to buy their own. Another way Thompson gives back to the kids.

Thompson is also a signature figure on the Colonel’s basketball bench, rounding up warmup jerseys, handing out water during timeouts and being a self-proclaimed cheerleader. You’ll find his name listed as an assistant coach in the program.

“I try to keep their minds in the game,” Thompson proclaims. “My biggest memory at Fleming was when the basketball team won the state championship in Richmond.”

Nobody better to assess the value of Thompson than Fleming head basketball coach Micky Hardy. Bringing up Thompson’s name brings a huge smile to Hardy’s face.

“This is my 13th year as the varsity basketball coach and Ed Thompson has been here every step of the way,” Hardy said. “Ed is a volunteer who does so much for us. He’s a genuine guy who gives 110%, especially to the kids.. Ed takes care of the pre-game set-up and the post-game duties. What he does makes a basketball program run smoothly.”

When asked if Thompson could be best described as a coach, manager or a cheerleader, Hardy had a quick response with a huge grin.

“Ed Thompson is Mr. Everything.”

And, Thompson has one simple request for City of Roanoke officials.

“When we opened the new stadium, I was asked for advice, and I told ’em we needed another washer and dryer to get the uniforms done quicker. They told me, ‘No problem, Ed’.  Well, I’m still waiting…”

Meet Ed Thompson. A guy who overcame immeasurable obstacles as a child, stayed focused to better himself in life and continues to give his time to the Fleming program and the kids.

A guy who would be a huge asset to any athletic program.

Bill Turner

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