OSKALOOSA — Some would call him a living legend.
Gary Thompson, 73, originally of Roland in Central Iowa, is the subject of a biography by author Chuck Offenburger. The two met the public at a book signing in the Book Vault on the Oskaloosa Square Thursday evening.
The book, “Gary Thompson: All-American,” by Offenburger is the biography of one of Iowa’s most legendary men to ever set foot on a basketball court or a baseball field.
From 1950 to 1953, Thompson led the Roland Rockets to high school sports glory in basketball and baseball as “giant-killers” from one of Iowa’s smallest schools. They were able to knock off teams from much larger metropolitan districts, said Offenburger.
Offenburger went on to note that, at the time when Thompson was a high school athlete in the early 1950s, it was a really unique time in high school sports. This positive culture went beyond the basketball court or baseball field, explained Offenburger.
“It was the heyday of the small town, really,” he said. “I was just really intrigued by that.”
Thompson went on to lead Iowa State College from 1953 to 1957, becoming the college’s first two-sport All-American in baseball and basketball. Offenburger, 61, said he remembers when Thompson played for Iowa State quite vividly.
“Iowa State basketball became good in his era,” he said. “It’d been a long time before the Cyclones were very good.”
Thompson said he just wants those who read his life story to realize there are opportunities to be taken advantage of no matter where you’re from. Offenburger agreed saying Thompson is living proof someone from a small town can achieve massive success in the sporting world as well as other fields, citing Thompson’s successes in both the sports broadcasting world and petroleum business.
“Sometimes you think that when you grow up in small schools you don’t have the opportunities,” said Thompson. “Sometimes you have to be lucky like me — to be in the right place at the right time and have great teammates and have great coaches that sometimes other people aren’t as fortunate to have. When you do something, always give it your best.”
Throughout his career as a writer, Offenburger said he had brief interactions with Thompson in Ames.
In 2004, Offenburger was hanging out at the high school boys state basketball tournament while finishing up a book on the history of the Iowa High School Athletic Association, when he ran into Thompson once again.
Once they struck up a conversation, Thompson told Offenburger several authors had approached him for a biography him. Thompson’s humility shone through that day when he asked Offenburger if his life was even worth turning into a book.
“I said, ‘Well, Gary, if your story is not worth a book, there’s no one in Iowa’s story worth a book,’” Offenburger responded.
The author spent the next three years conducting interviews with Thompson, his family, friends, former teammates and even past opponents.
“The one thing that’s been kind of fun about it, it’s re-acquainted me with a lot of classmates, teammates, friends and opponents I’ve played against,” said Thompson. “I wasn’t doing a book to be on an ego trip because I’ve had enough of those prior to a book.”
The book can be found at Offenburger.com or copies may be available at the Book Vault on the Oskaloosa Square. All proceeds from the book will be donated to Iowa State University.
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Oskaloosa Herald City Editor Andy Goodell can be reached at news2@oskyherald.com
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Herald photo by Andy Goodell/Author Chuck Offenburger, left, and legendary collegiate athlete Gary Thompson pose for a photo in front of the Iowa State “psycho bus” parked in front of the Book Vault Thursday afternoon. The pair showed up for a book signing of Offenburger’s biography on Thompson.
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