Milton Thompson

Milton O. Thompson “Milt” is a sports, entertainment, entrepreneurial and business attorney, prolific civic leader, and philanthropist who calls the great city of Indianapolis, home. The City of Indianapolis awarded Milt with the Whistler Award in 2020; the award is the highest award a citizen can receive and is reserved for a visionary who has played a leading role in shaping the Indianapolis of today by bringing together the public and private sectors in the name of civic improvement. Sports are not just his career; they are his passion. Starting from his days as a varsity high school football player and All-American collegiate baseball player, Milt turned down a career in professional baseball for one in law.

After his career as a deputy prosecutor where he won each of the 100 cases he tried and following the success of the 1984 Olympics in Los Angeles, in 1987 Milt was the former Vice President for Corporate Development and General Counsel to the Pan American Games, where he traveled the world and negotiated with world leaders including Fidel Castro, to bring athletes from 47 nations to the city of Indianapolis. President Reagan signed a joint resolution of Congress designating 1987 as the “National Year of the Americas,” while the United States was proud to welcome the games to the heartland. With the success of the games, Indianapolis was now primed to become the “Amateur Sports Capital of the World.”

Milt is currently of counsel with the law firm of Bleeke Dillon Crandall and is the President and CEO of Grand Slam – a sports, entertainment, and recreation planning and management consulting firm. He is the co-founder of Indiana RBI, the MLB program to revive inner cities and provide opportunities for at risk youth with baseball. As a Contract Advisor with the NFL and NBA Players Association, he represented athletes nearly every sports industry. He has conducted Parks and Recreation plans for Indianapolis, Philadelphia, Dallas, and others and helped endeavors such as Atlanta’s National Black Arts Festival and Festival 2000 in San Francisco. He was the federal appointee to the Indianapolis Foundation, and in 1997 he was the Inaugural Chair of the newly created Central Indiana Community Foundation, which has now grown to over $1B in assets. He’s the former Executive Director of Big Brothers and Big Sisters, an Emeritus Trustee for Wittenberg University, and a current Commissioner for the Hoosier Lottery. Milt has been a local TV and radio personality since 1979 and has served on hundreds of boards, committees, and in countless advisory roles.