 Following a routine pre-season physical the day before his 26th birthday, Thompson was called in for additional tests and diagnosed with granulocytic leukemia in early February 1973, but he continued his major league career for the next four seasons.He was awarded baseball's annual Hutch Award in Seattle following the 1974 season, and batted .270 in 1975, leading all American League shortstops.Thompson appeared in 98 games in 1976, and went 1-for-3 in his final start for the Rangers on September 29, appropriately at shortstop in Minnesota's Metropolitan Stadium.