Born February 15, 1895, Prince Albert, Canada. Died April 19, 1971.

Although a Canadian citizen, Earl Thomson achieved his greatest fame in the U.S., both as an athlete and coach.

Thomson, who competed for Dartmouth College and the University of Southern California, was the first man to break 15 seconds for the high hurdles, setting a world record of 14.8 in 1916. He lost the world record to his brother-in-law, Robert Simpson, (also a Hall of Famer) later that year but in 1920 regained it with a 14.4, a record that was to last 11 years. He won the high hurdles gold medal while representing Canada in the 1920 Olympic Games. Although almost totally deaf, he won the national collegiate title in 1921 and took three National AAU titles. He became a coach and was at West Virginia and Yale before taking over at the U.S. Naval Academy, where his team won the 1945 national collegiate title. He was with the Middies 30 years before retiring.