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Frank Joseph Thomas
Philadelphia Phillies
First Base-Outfield
Born: June 11, 1929, Pittsburgh, PA
Signed: Signed by the Pittsburgh Pirates as an amateur free agent, July 23, 1947
Major League 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
Slugger Frank Thomas was a three-time All-Star with the Pirates in the 1950s, and hit at least 20 home runs in 10 of his 16 seasons in the Majors. He finished fourth in voting for the N.L. MVP in 1958 when he hit .281 with 35 home runs and 109 RBIs, both career highs. He bounced around between 1959 and 1961, playing for the Reds, Cubs and Braves, but maintaining his annual power output. In 1962, he was a member of the original Mets, leading the team in both home runs (34) and RBIs (94) as their regular left fielder. His single-season home run mark stood as a Mets franchise record until broken by Dave Kingman in 1975.
Thomas, who was given the nickname "The Big Donkey," appeared in 1,766 career games, hitting .266 with 286 home runs and 962 career RBIs. His career home run tally is currently 170th on the all-time list.
February 13, 2020 from Los Angeles, CA - Card #54
The Card
This is Thomas' 10th and final appearance in a Topps flagship set, and the photo used is most likely from the same photo session in 1962 that yielded the photos for his 1963 and 1964 Topps cards. Those are blue Mets pinstripes on the hatless Thomas on this card.
I haven't added a player's card that is all statistics and no narrative on the back yet, but this one comes close. His six home runs in three games performance came on August 1st, 2nd and 3rd against the Phillies and Reds when he had three, two-home run games in a row.
This card was reprinted the first time for the 2001 Topps Archives set, and reprinted again for Thomas to sign as part of the 2014 Topps Heritage Real One Autographs insert set.
Phillies Team Set
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| Wes Covington, Thomas, Allen and Johnny Callison |
Thomas was acquired from the Mets on August 7, 1964 for Wayne Graham, Gary Kroll (#449) and cash and he immediately paid dividends for the pennant seeking Phillies. In his first month with the club, Thomas hit .302 with 7 home runs and 26 RBIs, but he'd miss crucial time down the stretch after breaking his thumb in a September 8th game. By the time he returned to the lineup, the historic Phillies collapse and their season, was almost over.
He returned to the Phillies in 1965, initially serving as a pinch-hitter or late inning defensive replacement in the outfield or at first base. Prior to the game on July 3, 1965, and according to various accounts, Thomas and Dick Allen (#460) got into a fight. Different reports have Thomas using racial slurs or swinging a bat in Allen's direction after Allen had taken a swing at him. Whatever truly happened marked the end of Thomas' Phillies career as he was put on waivers following the game and sold to the Astros on July 10th.
There's a great article, linked here and authored by Frank Fitzpatrick, that appeared in The Philadelphia Inquirer in 2015 to mark the 50th anniversary of the fight.
With the Astros, Thomas appeared in 23 games and hit .172 (10 for 58) with 3 home runs. His time in Houston was short as he was traded to the Braves on September 1st for a player to be named later (eventually Mike Sinnerud). Thomas appeared in 15 games for the Braves, mostly as a pinch-hitter, and batted .212 (7 for 33) with three doubles.
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First Mainstream Card: 1954 Bowman #155
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (10): 1956-1965
Most Recent Mainstream Card: 2014 Topps Heritage Real One Autographs #ROA-FT
112 - Thomas non-parallel baseball cards in the Beckett online database as of 2/16/20.
Sources:
Baseball Reference
Beckett Database
The Phillies Room
SABR
The Trading Card Database
In some cases, the first and last cards listed above are subjective and chosen by me if multiple cards were released within the same year. Most recent mainstream card may also be subjective and does not include extremely low serial numbered cards, buybacks or cut autograph cards.
Prior Card: #122 Bill Pleis - Minnesota Twins
Next Card: #124 Tom Satriano - Los Angeles Angels
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