Role played in borough: Carson grew up in Collingdale and participated in football and baseball during his years in Collingdale in the 1920s. He was a member of the first football team of Collingdale High School and was mentioned as one of the all stars of the game. Baseball however was where he excelled and garnered recognition. It was after he started coaching basketball and baseball at Collingdale High where he also taught, that the baseball "bug" hit him. He tried out for the Penn Athletic Club and played for them for several seasons. During that time he was invited to try out for the New York Yankees. When he discovered that he would have to play ball on Sunday, he refused due to a promise he made to his dad never to play on Sundays. As a result he was barred from playing baseball in the United States which incredibly led to his being invited to play an exhibition game at the 1936 Olympics.
His accomplishments: Mr. Thompson related two experiences he had while at the Olympics which in that year were held in Berlin, Germany to Fran McCoy in 1987 for the News of Delaware County. One memorable scene that he couldn't forget was meeting Eva Baun, Hitler's mistress outside the Olympic village. She'd been filming the color commentary for German television and wanted some background information on the game. His accomplishment was winning the expedition game by pitching a no-hit game when he came into the game in the fifth inning. His other accomplishments as teacher and coach to many schools throughout the Delaware Valley stemmed from that first accomplishment and he became a legend in the eyes of many sports fans in Delaware County.
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