A Rabbit Who Dominated As Player & Coach

By Gordon Pynes

As World War II was coming to a close in August of 1945 with the dropping of two atom bombs, the Atlanta Rabbits football team faced an uncertain season. Most of the team was composed of juniors as I suspect a number of seniors had enlisted in the military. Then tragedy struck when Coach Harry Sullivan suddenly died just days before the season’s start. Sullivan had produced two winning seasons in 1943-1944. Assistant Leonard Cannaday had been hired out of TCU as the Rabbit basketball coach. Suddenly as the Head Football Coach, he took a junior laden team and used the talent skillfully.

Two players would guide Cannaday’s Rabbs to back to back District championships with 17 wins and 4 losses in the 1945-46 seasons. Bruising fullback Coulter “Mule” Kennamer and end Duncan Thompson served as Co-Captains both seasons. Kennamer was inducted into the Atlanta Athletics Hall of Fame last Fall in the Class of 2023. This year Duncan Thompson will join his teammate as a member of the Class of 2024.

Duncan and Mule were big boys in the era of mid 1940’s football, weighing in the 200 pound range. When a pass play was called, Thompson was the usual go to target. I find that the most points ever scored in Rabbit football history came in the 1946 season with 475 in eleven games for an average of over 40 points per game. On defense, the Maroon defenders were stingy in giving up only an average of 6 points per game.

As the 1946 season came to a close both Mule and Duncan were recruited by Southwest Conference schools. Arkansas sought Mule while Duncan was a target of Texas A&M. However, the story is that Duncan’s aunt talked him out of being an Aggie and he decided to join Mule with the Razorbacks. Mule suffered a severe knee injury and gave up on a football career. Without his Rabbit sidekick, Duncan grew homesick and departed for home. Arkansas coaches brought him back but he made a final departure back to Atlanta. Thompson then got married and joined a crew in improving Highway 59 between Atlanta and Texarkana. After a year of road building he decided on playing football again. Contacting Tyler Junior College, Duncan became an Apache. After a good year playing with Tyler, he was sought by Florida State but the semester at Arkansas made him ineligible for the Seminoles.  

Staying close to home, Thompson joined the East Texas State Lions in Commerce under coach Milburn “Catfish” Smith. There for three years, he was a key factor in the Lions compiling a 30 - 2 -1 record along with a win and tie in two Tangerine Bowl games in Orlando. Duncan earned All Lone Star Conference honors as an end with the Lions. His college performance brought a contract from the Chicago Bears in the NFL but he turned the pro chance down. Instead, he would remain close to home again and take a high school coaching job. Enrolling in Air Force ROTC at ETXState, he had hoped to be a pilot. However, as the Korean War ended about the time of his graduation there was no longer a pilot shortage.

Now on to short coaching stints at Spring Hill (Longview) and a couple of very successful years at Linden, Thompson was named head coach at Texarkana College for the 1956 season. He quickly turned the Bulldogs into a junior college power. After nine wins that first season, he led the 1957 team to a National Junior College Championship with another nine wins.

Then a chance to be the freshmen coach at Baylor loomed for 1958. However, an offer from Humble OIL (EXXON) to be a distributor in East Texas led him into the business world. For the remainder of his life Duncan would develop a very successful business residing in Atlanta.

As a very successful coach at Texarkana College, Duncan worked hard to recruit talent from East Texas. A number of players from Linden and Atlanta contributed to the two super seasons. Only 33 players were allowed on the roster and the vast majority were East Texas athletes. According to one of his players who played for him both at Linden and Texarkana, Thompson was a super motivator. “You just wanted to win for him, he challenged you to give your all.” Part of the Junior College success came as Thompson put together two eleven - man teams from his 33 players. Both teams played a lot and kept everyone fresh.

One interesting fact in his coaching career happened in 1955 when he was the head coach in Linden. With a 7-0 record he brought the Tigers to play Atlanta with a 3-4 record. Coaching the Rabbits in his first year was “Bull” Johnson, this year’s other inductee to the HOF. This unique meeting resulted in a 19-6 Rabbit upset win over Linden.

Duncan Thompson was among Atlanta’s best players who went on to an outstanding college career and added a notable coaching stint. A prominent businessman in his hometown, he also served as a City Councilman. As an athlete and coach he is most deserving in taking a place in the Atlanta Athletics Hall of Fame Class of 2024.