Hank Thompson (baseball)
| Hank Thompson | |||
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| Third baseman | |||
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Born: December 8, 1925 Oklahoma City, Oklahoma |
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Died: September 30, 1969 (aged 43) Fresno, California |
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| MLB debut | |||
| July 17, 1947, for the St. Louis Browns | |||
| Last MLB appearance | |||
| September 30, 1956, for the New York Giants | |||
| MLB statistics | |||
| Batting average | .267 | ||
| Home runs | 129 | ||
| Runs batted in | 482 | ||
| Teams | |||
| Career highlights and awards | |||
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Henry Curtis Thompson (December 8, 1925 – September 30, 1969), best known as Hank Thompson, was an American player in the Negro leagues and Major League Baseball who played primarily as a third baseman. A left-handed batter, he played with the Dallas Green Monarchs (1941), Kansas City Monarchs (1943, 1946–48), St. Louis Browns (1947) and New York Giants (1949–56). He possessed a powerful throwing arm, covered the outfield with grace, and was well liked by his teammates and the Giants' fans.
Thompson was born in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. At the beginning of his career, he was a hard-hitting star for the Monarchs in the Negro American League, playing both infield and outfield. At 17, he played right field in his first season, batting .300. The following year he was drafted into the Army. Thompson was a machine gunner with the 1695th Combat Engineers at the historic Battle of the Bulge.
Sergeant Thompson was discharged on June 20, 1946, and immediately returned to the Monarchs, who were in the midst of capturing the league title. With the start of the major league 1947 season, history was made when Jackie Robinson broke the color line with the Brooklyn Dodgers.
Thompson played his first game with the Browns on July 17, 1947, integrating the Browns' lineup two days before Willard Brown made his debut as the second black player on the Browns. The following day, July 20, Thompson played second base and Brown played center field for the Browns in a game against the Boston Red Sox. That game marked the first time that two black players appeared in the same major league lineup. Later, in an August 9 doubleheader against the Cleveland Indians, Thompson and Indians outfielder Larry Doby became the first black players of opposing teams to appear on the field at the same time. Thompson was with the Browns a little over a month and hit only .256 in 27 games, mainly at second base. On August 23 he was released, and he rejoined the Monarchs through the '48 season. Thompson batted .375 in his last year with Kansas City, finishing third in the batting race and leading the league in steals with 20.
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