Roy High School named its baseball field after the program’s winningest coach, Fred Thompson, during a community event and ceremonial pitch following Friday’s home game against Box Elder. Featured speakers Mike Puzey, Justin Mansfield, Fred Fernandes, Eric Gallegos, and sons Bryant and Erik Thompson paid tribute to the coaching icon earlier in the evening.

The eldest Thompson coached baseball, football and basketball in Roy for 20-plus years, winning five region championships as the Royals head baseball coach from 1975 to 1994. Thompson served as Roy’s head football coach from 1984 to 1994 and assisted basketball coaching legend Ted Smith in that frame.

Both Roy greats — Thompson, the state’s No. 12 winningest baseball coach, and Smith, who won three region championships and delivered a state runner-up finish in 1980 — have their names forever inked on two Royals programs. Thompson and Smith are both Utah High School Sports Hall of Fame inductees, and the school’s largest gymnasium bears Smith’s name.

“What it means to me, it shocked me,” Thompson said. “When (Puzey) came to my son’s house and showed me a picture of it, it was unbelievable for me and tremendous for our family. When they told me, I went right to Roy High and their yearbooks and went back 20 years, and I wanted to look at all the kids that played for me in 20 years. You can’t imagine how many that is.”

CONNER BECKER, Standard-Examiner

Thompson has numerous hands he’d like to shake, but Steve Boyson’s hand is high on the list. When first starting at Roy in 1974, Thompson assisted Boyson in winning a region championship that same year and became the team’s head coach a season later.

One assistant coaching gig blossomed into three, and soon enough, Thompson, a self-described “baseball junkie,” caught the bug.

“As a youngster, I fell in love with baseball,” Thompson said. “I loved it so much when I played at Weber State and Weber High, and decided I wanted to coach others. Back in those days, all the coaches were good, they were my best friends, and what I call a ‘golden era’ because all the teams were very good and made it difficult for anybody to go to state and do well.”

During his time as Roy’s head football coach, Thompson molded another unforgettable Royal coach, Fred Fernandes, who coached offenses in the Thompson era and later, as Roy’s head coach, went 77-39 with four region titles from 2011 to 2022.

Fernandes linked up with Thompson’s son, Erik, as an assistant at Northridge during the early 2000s.

Courtesty of Bryant Thompson

“You don’t see it too often when state championship coaches come into the same staff like that, and I think we all owe it to Fred,” Fernandes said. “(Thompson) hired a bunch of guys, let us coach and a lot of us went on to coaching careers after coaching for him.

“The family’s good as gold. I got the chance to coach with Erik as well, and they’re just great humans.”

Today, Fred Thompson continues observing officials and serving as a mentor to colleagues and administrators, including current Roy athletic director and alum Mike Puzey.

“He’s just always involved,” Puzey said. “He’s such an example to me. Most people, you know, they retire, and we have a few Royals that we’re lucky to have around; they help out with stuff, and that’s what’s special about (Thompson). I know somewhere is Ted Smith smiling down on this, seeing his good buddy and friend.”

Puzey was at the center of Roy’s effort to rename the baseball field as a lasting salute to the Thompson family.

Courtesy of Bryant Thompson

“It goes beyond our baseball team and beyond our school, it’s our Roy community,” Puzey said. “It’s a special place and now to have the other legend, Fred Thompson, have the baseball field name, that’s special to me. I worked with both individuals; both were great mentors to me.”

Connect with sports reporter Conner Becker via email at cbecker@standard.net and X @ctbecker.