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George Edward Thomas
Detroit Tigers
Outfield
Born: November 29, 1937, Minneapolis, MN
Signed: Signed by the Detroit Tigers as an amateur free agent, August 5, 1957
Major League Teams: Detroit Tigers 1957-1958, 1961; Los Angeles Angels 1961-1963; Detroit Tigers 1963-1965; Boston Red Sox 1966-1971; Minnesota Twins 1971
A bonus baby signing by the Tigers, George Thomas appeared in one game in each of 1957 and 1958 before spending all of the 1959 and 1960 seasons in the minor leagues. When he returned in 1961, Thomas was a versatile multi-position player who played in 11 seasons for the Tigers, Angels, Tigers again, Red Sox and Twins. During his career, he played every position around the diamond except pitcher, playing mostly the outfield and third base. His best season was 1964 when in 105 games for the Tigers he hit .286 with 12 home runs and 44 RBIs. He had his best power season a few seasons earlier, hitting career highs in home runs (13) and RBIs (59) for the first Angels team in 1961.
Thomas was later a member of the 1967 "Impossible Dream" Red Sox, filling a utility role and appearing in 65 games. In his lone postseason appearance he went 0 for 2 in the Series won by the Cardinals in seven games. Thomas retired following the 1971 season and a short stint with the Twins. In 685 games, he batted .255 with 46 home runs. Thomas served as assistant baseball coach and later head baseball coach at the University of Minnesota between 1972 and 1981.
Building the Set
November 19, 2020 from Brunswick, OH - Card #178
I hit a lull with our 1965 Topps set additions in the September, October and November timeframe as the postseason ended and we faced another long winter without baseball. This late fall/early winter would be different of course as we were still dealing with the pandemic and unable to gather inside without being safely masked up and without social distancing measures in place. Our family continued to find happiness in small things, catching up on television shows together (The Mandalorian, Amazing Race), watching movies and planning for things we'd do in 2021 once things started to approach some sense of normalcy. Like most of the country, we were glued to our TV in early November as the election results slowly arrived and like most of the country we celebrated the outcome with a sense of genuine relief and hope. It felt good to be able to hope again.
The Card / Tigers Team Set
I have no way of knowing, but I suppose this photo could have come from Thomas' first stint with the Tigers before he was sold to the Angels in June 1961. He spent just under two years with the Angels, with his 1962 season interrupted by a stint in the Army. Flipping to the back, Topps omitted a few positions that Thomas had played through the 1964 season - 4 games at first base, only 1 at second base, 50 at third base, 50 games in left field, 113 in center and 114 in right.
1965 Season
Other Notable Baseball Cards
First Mainstream Card: 1961 Topps #544
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (9): 1961-1967, 1969, 1971
Most Recent Mainstream Card: 2020 Topps Heritage Real One Autographs #ROA-GTH
34 - Thomas non-parallel baseball cards in the Beckett online database as of 11/25/20.
Sources:
Baseball Reference
Beckett Database
SABR
The Trading Card Database
November 19, 2020 from Brunswick, OH - Card #178
I hit a lull with our 1965 Topps set additions in the September, October and November timeframe as the postseason ended and we faced another long winter without baseball. This late fall/early winter would be different of course as we were still dealing with the pandemic and unable to gather inside without being safely masked up and without social distancing measures in place. Our family continued to find happiness in small things, catching up on television shows together (The Mandalorian, Amazing Race), watching movies and planning for things we'd do in 2021 once things started to approach some sense of normalcy. Like most of the country, we were glued to our TV in early November as the election results slowly arrived and like most of the country we celebrated the outcome with a sense of genuine relief and hope. It felt good to be able to hope again.
In mid-November, straddled with a case of general ploppiness, my wife Jenna suggested I look for some new baseball cards to help raise my spirits. I gladly obliged and decided to try to knock a few more cards off our first series checklist. I had set a goal for myself to try to complete the first series by the end of 2020, and while I won't accomplish the goal I did come relatively close. As of this writing, we need 22 of the 88 cards from the set's first series and I'd like to pick up the pace a little once the calendar turns to 2021.
This is one of five cards from the first series purchased from Robbies Cards via eBay and this Thomas card cost $3. Our remaining additions to the set for the year would arrive in the form of Christmas presents.
The Card / Tigers Team Set
I have no way of knowing, but I suppose this photo could have come from Thomas' first stint with the Tigers before he was sold to the Angels in June 1961. He spent just under two years with the Angels, with his 1962 season interrupted by a stint in the Army. Flipping to the back, Topps omitted a few positions that Thomas had played through the 1964 season - 4 games at first base, only 1 at second base, 50 at third base, 50 games in left field, 113 in center and 114 in right.
1965 Season
Thomas appeared in 79 games for the Tigers, playing all three outfield positions and second base. His average dropped to .213 in what was most likely his worst season in baseball. On October 4, 1965, the Tigers traded Thomas, George Smith (#483) and a player to be named later (Jackie Moore - #593) to the Red Sox for Bill Monbouquette (#142).
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First Mainstream Card: 1961 Topps #544
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (9): 1961-1967, 1969, 1971
Most Recent Mainstream Card: 2020 Topps Heritage Real One Autographs #ROA-GTH
34 - Thomas non-parallel baseball cards in the Beckett online database as of 11/25/20.
Sources:
Baseball Reference
Beckett Database
SABR
The Trading Card Database
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