Weegie Thompson
{{Short description|American football player (born 1961)}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=October 2023}}
{{Infobox NFL biography
| name = Weegie Thompson
| number = 87
| position = Wide receiver
| birth_date = {{birth date and age|1961|3|21}}
| birth_place = Pensacola, Florida, U.S.
| height_ft = 6
| height_in = 6
| weight_lb = 212
| high_school = Midlothian
(Midlothian, Virginia)
| college = Florida St.
| draftyear = 1984
| draftround = 4
| draftpick = 108
| pastteams =
- Pittsburgh Steelers ({{NFL Year|1984|1989}})
| statlabel1 = Receptions
| statvalue1 = 79
| statlabel2 = Receiving yards
| statvalue2 = 1,377
| statlabel3 = Touchdowns
| statvalue3 = 11
| pfr = ThomWe00
}}
Willis Hope "Weegie" Thompson (born March 21, 1961) is an American former professional football player who was a wide receiver for six seasons for the Pittsburgh Steelers of the National Football League (NFL). He played high school football for Midlothian High School in Richmond, Virginia. He was recruited by Florida State University as a quarterback.
College statistics
- 1981: 2 catches for 73 yards.{{Cite web|url=https://www.sports-reference.com/cfb/players/weegie-thompson-1.html|title = Weegie Thompson College Stats}}
- 1982: 8 catches for 136 yards and 2 TD.
- 1983: 31 catches for 502 yards and 3 TD.
- Second-team All-South Independent (1983)
Professional career
Thompson was selected in the fourth round of the 1984 NFL draft by the Pittsburgh Steelers.{{Cite web |title=1984 NFL Draft Listing |url=https://www.pro-football-reference.com/years/1984/draft.htm |access-date=October 12, 2023 |website=Pro-Football-Reference.com |language=en}} Hall of Fame safety Ronnie Lott gushes when he talks about Thompson. In Thompson's rookie season, 1984, the Steelers were the only team to beat the 49ers. One reason they did was by assigning Thompson to block Lott on every play. "He blocked my butt all day -- and fair," Lott remembered. "Every play, he came after me. And I respect the hell out of Weegie Thompson to this day. He's one of the toughest guys I ever played against."{{cite news |url=http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2000/07/26/SPW40737.DTL&type=printable |title=No. 1: The Vicious Gentleman |accessdate=November 17, 2008 |last=Miller |first=Ira |date= July 26, 2000|publisher=SFGate}}
NFL career statistics
| class="wikitable mw-collapsible mw-collapsed"
! colspan="2"| Legend |
| Bold
| Career high |
= Regular season =
| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center" | |||||||
| rowspan="2"| Year
!rowspan="2"| Team !colspan="2"| Games !colspan="5"| Receiving | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GP | GS | Rec | Yds | Avg | Lng | TD | |
| 1984 | PIT
| 16 || 7 || 17 || 291 || 17.1 || 59 || 3 | ||||||
| 1985 | PIT
| 16 || 0 || 8 || 138 || 17.3 || 42 || 1 | ||||||
| 1986 | PIT
| 16 || 4 || 17 || 191 || 11.2 || 20 || 5 | ||||||
| 1987 | PIT
| 12 || 3 || 17 || 313 || 18.4 || 63 || 1 | ||||||
| 1988 | PIT
| 16 || 11 || 16 || 370 || 23.1 || 50 || 1 | ||||||
| 1989 | PIT
| 16 || 0 || 4 || 74 || 18.5 || 28 || 0 | ||||||
| colspan="2"| | 92 | 25 | 79 | 1,377 | 17.4 | 63 | 11 |
= Playoffs =
Personal
Thompson is called Weegie because his Father, Willis Sr., was nicknamed Weegie when his younger brother couldn't pronounce Willis. It came out Weegie. So, Weegie is Weegie Jr. (Willis).{{cite news |url=http://www.post-gazette.com/sports/other/20030909where0909p6.asp |title=Where are they now? Weegie Thompson |accessdate=January 18, 2011 |last=Emert |first=Rich |date=September 9, 2003 |publisher=PostGazette.com}}
After his playing days, Thompson took a position with Chambers Development before moving on to work as a salesman with Waste Management in Midlothian, Virginia.
References
{{reflist|2}}
{{Steelers1984DraftPicks}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Thompson, Weegie}}
Category:Players of American football from Pensacola, Florida
Category:American football wide receivers