Frank Thomas (outfielder)

For the American League player with the same name, see Frank Thomas (designated hitter).

Frank Thomas
Left fielder / Third baseman / First baseman
Born: (1929-06-11) June 11, 1929 Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Batted: Right Threw: Right
MLB debut
August 17, 1951, for the Pittsburgh Pirates
Last MLB appearance
October 2, 1966, for the Chicago Cubs
MLB statistics
Batting average	.266
Home runs	286
Runs batted in	962
Stats at Baseball Reference
Teams
Pittsburgh Pirates (1951–1958) Cincinnati Reds (1959) Chicago Cubs (1960–1961) Milwaukee Braves (1961) New York Mets (1962–1964) Philadelphia Phillies (1964–1965) Houston Astros (1965) Milwaukee Braves (1965) Chicago Cubs (1966)
Career highlights and awards
3× All-Star (1954, 1955, 1958)

Frank Joseph Thomas (born June 11, 1929) is an American former professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball as a left fielder, first and third baseman for the Pittsburgh Pirates (1951–58), Cincinnati Reds (1959), Chicago Cubs (1960–61, 1966), Milwaukee Braves (1961, 1965), New York Mets (1962–64), Philadelphia Phillies (1964–65), and the Houston Astros (1965). He batted and threw right-handed.

Career

Thomas signed with the Pittsburgh Pirates as an amateur free agent in 1947. He debuted with the Pirates in 1951. With the Pirates, he made three All-Star Games, and finished fourth in the voting for Most Valuable Player in 1958, when he batted .281, finished second in the National League to Ernie Banks with 35 home runs, and had 109 RBIs. Thomas appeared on the cover of the July 28, 1958 issue of Sports Illustrated. He also won his only NL Player of the Month award in June, batting .275, with 9 HR, and 29 RBI.

In 1959, he was traded by the Pirates with Whammy Douglas, Jim Pendleton and John Powers to the Cincinnati Redlegs for Smoky Burgess, Harvey Haddix and Don Hoak. Due to a shattered nerve in the thumb of his right hand, Thomas home run output fell from 35 to 12 in 1959. Following the season, he was traded by the Redlegs to the Chicago Cubs for Bill Henry, Lou Jackson and Lee Walls. In 1961, he was traded by Cubs to the Milwaukee Braves for Mel Roach.

Thomas was traded by the Braves with a player to be named later (Rick Herrscher) to the New York Mets for a player to be named later (Gus Bell) and cash. Despite the team's historically poor inaugural season, Thomas led the expansion Mets with 34 HRs and 94 RBIs. His home run mark would last as a Mets' team record until 1975, when Dave Kingman broke it.

In 1964, Thomas was traded by the New York Mets to the Philadelphia Phillies for Wayne Graham, Gary Kroll and cash. He was purchased by the Houston Astros from the Phillies in July 1965 shortly after taking part in a fight with Dick Allen, but was traded to Braves for a player to be named later (Mickey Sinnerud) in September 1965.

On April 5, 1966, Thomas was released by the Braves. He signed with the Cubs on May 14, 1966, and after recording five plate appearances without a hit, he was released on June 4, 1966.

In a 16-season career, Thomas posted a .266 batting average with 286 home runs and 962 RBIs in 1766 games.

Thomas spent four and one half years studying for the priesthood in the Roman Catholic Church. His physical stature (6'3" and 205 lbs.) was larger than the average player at that time, and one of his nicknames as a player was "The Big Donkey."

Family life

Frank was married to his late wife Dolores for 60 years and they had 8 children: Joanne (Dick) Harrison, Patty Cain, Frank (Dianne) Thomas, Peter (Barb) Thomas, Maryanne (Jimmy) Pacconi, Paul (Linda) Thomas, and Father Mark Thomas. They also have 12 grandchildren and 5 great-grandchildren.

See also

• List of Major League Baseball career home run leaders

External links

• FrankThomasTheOriginalOne.com – Official website of Frank Thomas "The Original One"
• Profile and chronology Baseball Library

• Career statistics from Baseball Reference, or Baseball Reference (Minors)