Brian Tom

The Husky Legend for today's game against Montana is one of the most unique to be honored on Alaska Airlines Field at Husky Stadium. Steve Thompson meets all the typical prerequisites to serve as a Husky Legend. He was a two-time All-Conference defensive lineman, went on to play in the National Football League and was a pillar in the community after his playing days were finished. What distinguishes Thompson from other Husky Legends is that at the age of 72, the retired senior pastor of Victory Foursquare Church in Marysville, Wash., is pursuing a graduate degree.Thompson turned over the reins of the church to his son, Aaron, in 2015 after almost 30 years of leading the congregation and felt a different calling. Instead of settling into retirement by kicking back in a rocking chair, Thompson is working toward a doctorate in transformational leadership from Bakke Graduate University."I just felt this desire to further my education," Thompson said. "I got my degree from the University of Washington back in 1967 and so I thought 'let's take a look at this' and called up some people and pastors that had been to graduate school. It kind of got me stirred up and I realized, maybe I'm not too old to do this."I knew that if I did this now in my 70s that when I'm 80 or 90 I'll be glad I did. If I waited until I'm 80 to do it, I'd wish I would have done it when I was 70."In his pursuit to prove that it is never too late to teach an old Dawg a new trick, Thompson started his latest endeavor by first taking a couple of online classes through Bakke. He then took six more classes at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary back in Boston where he met several professors in their 70s that further confirmed that his path was the right one.The ultimate goal for Thompson is to one day soon advise brokers, traders, financial advisers and bankers on Wall Street. He has found that many in the cutthroat financial business associated with Wall Street are yearning to make an ethical living."There is a battle for who is going to control the finances of our nation," Thompson explained. "Is it going to be people that are good stewards and have a good heart, or will it be people who are greedy and selfish."Despite taking graduate classes and preparing to embark on a post-retirement career, Thompson is still finding time to enjoy his golden years. Earlier this year he and his wife sold their house in Marysville and hit the road in their RV. He is enjoying the freedom of living on the road and is still able to keep up with his graduate classes via the internet.Thompson's current life is a far cry from his time as a Husky from 1964 through 1967. While at UW, Thompson led a very structured life under the militaristic coaching style of legendary Husky coach Jim Owens.Basketball was his forte while at Lake Stevens High School, but the Husky coaches saw a lot of promise in him on the gridiron. Thompson arrived on campus standing 6-foot-5 and was maybe 200 pounds soaking wet. He worked diligently over four years and slowly added weight to his frame each season. By his junior season, he molded himself into a fine player. Thompson used his quickness and unrelenting motor to wreak havoc on the offensive linemen in front of him. He capped the season by earning 1966 All-Coast and All-Pac-8 first-team honors, plus honorable mention All-America accolades."I loved to tackle," Thompson recalled of his early days of playing for the Huskies. "I loved to hit guys hard and then make moves on them, so most of my play was like in a six-or seven-yard area with my quickness and power that allowed me to move and handle big guys. The bigger the offensive linemen were, the more I liked it."Thompson capped his Husky career with another All-Pac-8 and All-Coast season – the third Husky defensive lineman at that time to twice earn those honors during their career – and played in the 1967 East-West Shrine Game. He also developed into quite a professional prospect and parlayed his talents into being a second-round draft pick of the New Jets. He was the 44overall selection that year, ahead of several eventual Hall-of-Fame players, including Ken Stabler, Charlie Sanders, Elvin Bethea and Art Shell.In his first professional season with the Jets, Thompson suffered an early season knee injury that kept him sidelined until the last regular season game. Fortunately for Thompson, the Jets would make it all the way to Super Bowl III where, behind their glitzy quarterback Joe Namath, they upset the heavily-favored Baltimore Colts. Thompson saw action mostly on special teams, but he did see some time on defense. While most of the world thought the Jets had very little chance, Thompson says behind "Broadway Joe" Namath, the team believed they could beat the big, bad Colts."We were great underdogs facing Baltimore, but to listen to Namath and the other leaders on the team they'd act like a coach, stand up and actually show us how our particular style of play would be effective against the Colts," Thompson remembered.Thompson played five more seasons with the Jets before continuing his pro career with stints in the World Football League with Portland and the BC Lions of the Canadian Football League. After he hung up his cleats, he spent 10 years at Gossard and Associates in Eugene, Ore., consulting businesses on communication and leadership.At age 39, Thompson moved back up to the Seattle area and started working in the ministries and was active in the community. He still is an ardent supporter of Husky Football and has had season tickets for numerous years. But, today, he won't be in the stands for the whole game. He gets to step back on to the field where his football career took off and you can bet he'll enjoy every moment of his day."I loved college football," Thompson said. "I loved the pressure of it because there was tremendous talent and energy that went in to playing. I played hard. I had a high motor. I was going for the whole 60 minutes or however long I was in there, so as the game went on, I also got stronger as I'd wear guys down."Thompson's 60 minutes may be up on the field, but as life goes on for him, he is clearly not letting time get in his way. Like on the football field, his peers may be slowing down, but Thompson just keeps getting stronger.