Wrestling: Blue Streaks lose legend in Thompson

It's impossible to start a conversation about the all-time greatest wrestlers at the former Washington High School, now Warren Hills, without Arnie Thompson being heavily involved in the discussion.

Thompson, a two-time state champion for the Blue Streaks at 148 pounds in 1965 and at 157 in '66, was a pillar in one of New Jersey's most storied programs.

Arnie Thompson and John Goles with Dan Slack after the '77 finals.

Sadly, Edward Arnold Thompson, who also served as an assistant coach for his alma mater during the 1970s, died on Monday at the age of 70. He was laid to rest on Saturday during services near his home in Bethlehem Township, Pa.

"There never would have been a state championship [for me] without Arnie Thompson," said former heavyweight great Dan Slack, who became the last state champ under legendary head coach John Goles -- who died in 2003 -- and the program's 40th as a senior when he pinned Wall Township's Ted Vitale in 1977.

"No one ever got to see some of the best matches I ever wrestled, because they were in the practice room [against Thompson]. My sophomore year, he dominated me. My junior year, we went back-and-forth. When I came back for my senior year, he [jokingly asked], 'Didn't you graduate yet?'"

Slack said one of his first memories coming off the mat after his state title win was Arnie's wife of 43 years, June Ann, jumping into his arms to congratulate him.

Thompson's sudden passing caught many of us off guard, including former state champion Jim Popinko, who also credits Thompson for helping him win the 170-pound title in 1976.

Warren Hills' holiday tournament champs in 1975.

"It's a sad day. I owe everything to [Thompson]," said Popinko, who was the next-to-last state champ under Goles before Slack won the following season. "He was awesome, and he saw something in me that I didn't know. He was tough on me in practice and made me a better wrestler. He brought out the best in me."

Thompson, a two-time district and region champion who went 54-6-1 overall and is among 12 Blue Streaks to win multiple state titles, went onto a fine collegiate career at Bloomsburg University, where he was a two-time Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference champion. But Thompson was equally impressive off the mat. According to his obituary, Thompson, after being ordained in 1985, spent the second half of his life serving as a pastor at Shiloh Baptist Church in Easton, Pa., and then Second Baptist Church in Bethlehem, Pa.

"His sermons were very passionate and he kept your attention throughout the sermon," said Slack, who attended several of Thompson's services over the years. "He used to point to the back of room [where I was sitting] and say, 'That big guy back there, there was nobody tougher.'"

Thompson's Wall of Fame plaque.

Former Warren Hills coach Rich Kerr, a state runner-up for the Streaks in 1963, was a senior captain when Thompson was a freshman at Washington. Kerr, who went to wrestle at the University of Nebraska, recalled watching Thompson, a tough mat wrestler with tremendous quickness, strength and hips, wrestle as a senior.

"He was tough," said Kerr, who also coached with Thompson on Goles' staff. "He was a really, really good athlete who wrestled. What made him so good was working out with Corky [two-time state champion Lee Castner], and [James] Coleman [third in the state at 178 in 1966] was at the next weight."

Thompson, who was inducted into the Blue Streak Wall of Fame that is on display outside the high school's gym, was on the heralded 1965-66 squad at Washington that finished 12-0, one of just two unbeaten teams (along with the 19-0 Streaks in 1989-90) in the program's 80 seasons. The '66 team featured two state champions (Castner at Thompson), along with two state third-place finishers (Coleman and Phil Friese), along with district champions Dave Detrick and Richard Muessig, a region runner-up. Kerr said that first undefeated team is without a doubt the best, and he ranks Thompson among the Top 10 wrestlers ever produced by the Warren County school.

"By far, not even close," Kerr said of the 1965-66 squad. "They embarrassed teams."

Thompson remained a staple in the program after graduation as an assistant coach for teams that featured his nephew Ray "Hip" Thompson, a three-year starter and a district champion and region runner-up as a senior in from 1978.

Arnie Thompson also made an impression on Jim Miller, a state runner-up in 1978 and fourth in '79, and still widely considered to be among the best to never win a state title at Warren Hills.

Arnie Thompson and John Goles with their wrestlers.

Miller logged a career mark of 71-5-1 in his three high school seasons -- freshmen weren't allowed to compete on the varsity team during that time -- and his .934 winning percentage ranks only behind state champions Doug Detrick (100-7-1, .935 from 1988-92) and Slack (.962) -- among the school's wrestlers with a minimum of 50 wins. Thompson is among just seven (ranking seventh at .900) to win 90 percent of their matches.

"He was a nice, respectable coach," Miller said of Thompson. "Everybody respected him. He was a motivator of everybody. He taught me a lot the three years I had him [as an assistant coach]. He helped Hip and I a lot with our success. He lived a good life."

Warren Hills, which is the No. 3 seed, hosts No. 6 Morris Hills in the opening round of the North 2, Group 3 sectional tournament on Monday. Let's hope the school honors Thompson's memory before the match. It would be a fitting tribute for one of the Streaks' best.

Godspeed Arnie.