Three-time All-Star Frank Thomas has passed away, according to announcements from the Mets and Pirates. Thomas, not to be confused with the Hall of Fame designated hitter who played 16 seasons with the White Sox, played for seven teams between 1951-66.
A Pittsburgh native, Thomas signed with his hometown Pirates out of high school in 1947. He spent three-plus seasons in the minors before making his MLB debut at the tail end of the 1951 campaign. Thomas saw sporadic playing time for his first couple years before getting his first extended action during his age-24 season in 1953.
Listed at 6’3″ and 200 pounds, the right-handed hitting outfielder quickly cemented himself as an excellent power hitter. He connected on 30 home runs with a .255/.331/.505 line during his first full season, earning some down-ballot MVP votes as a result. He’d remain a staple on MVP ballots throughout his run in Pittsburgh. Thomas secured at least some support in five of the six seasons from 1953-58, earning All-Star nods in ’54, ’55 and ’58. He peaked at fourth in the voting in 1958, finishing behind Ernie Banks, Willie Mays and Henry Aaron.
Thomas topped 20 longballs every year from 1953-58. His 161 homers over that time ranked 10th in the majors, with seven Hall of Famers in the group of nine players with more. Thomas had a cumulative .277/.335/.480 line in a little less than 3700 plate appearances for the Bucs in that time. He twice finished among the National League’s top ten in slugging and runs batted in, including a second-place finish with 109 RBI in 1958.
Over the 1958-59 offseason, Pittsburgh traded Thomas to the Reds as part of a seven-player deal that landed catcher Smoky Burgess and starter Harvey Haddix in the Steel City. He played one year in Cincinnati but struggled. The Reds dealt him to the Cubs for a three-player package headlined by reliever Bill Henry the next offseason. Thomas spent a bit more than a year with Chicago but continued to scuffle, with the Cubs dealing him to the Braves in May 1961. He righted the ship with 25 homers in 124 games for the then Milwaukee-based franchise.
The next winter, the Braves traded Thomas to the Mets. He joined the expansion club for their inaugural campaign in 1962 and connected on a team-leading 34 homers that season. Thomas would spent around two and a half seasons in Queens before being traded to the Phillies. He firmly settled into journeyman status to wrap up his career, playing with Philadelphia, Houston and second stints as a Brave and Cub before his playing career concluded in 1966.
All told, Thomas appeared in parts of 16 big league campaigns. He hit .266/.320/.454 across 1766 games. Thomas connected on 286 home runs, tying him for 177th on the all-time leaderboard. He doubled 262 times, drove in 962 runs and scored 792 times. His most productive seasons came with his hometown Pirates, though he played multiple seasons for five different clubs.
MLBTR sends our condolences to Thomas’ family, friends, former teammates and loved ones.
Gosh not the Frank Thomas I thought it was.
The title couldn’t have been more clear…
Sounds like this Frank Thomas earned a comfortable spot in the Hall of Very Good. Very nice career. Rest easy.
Still no need to be a tool. Sometimes, when the mind See’s something shocking, you lose site.
@SalaryCapMyth: And when the mind SEES, you also lose SIGHT.
He was a notorious racist who attacked Dick Allen with a baseball bat when he was with the Phillies. Folks like Jay Jaffe have written about this.
Caucasian Frank Thomas
The entire city of Philadelphia was the notorious racist. Thomas was just a product of his time.
Yes – there has been a lot of discussion around this in Philly for decades (with excellent source material), and Frank was quite the racist and instigator. Not a name remembered fondly in Philly.
That being said RIP
It’s pretty rich for Jay Jaffe to call someone out for having abhorrent opinions
Still probably not as racist as Stephen A Smith
I wasn’t aware of that side of him. Hopefully his views evolved for the better over the years. The game back in the day was no doubt filled with many less-than-enlightened players. It’s a bit funny that Ty Cobb is the poster boy for racism, yet all indications are he wasn’t a racist and was quite progressive for his times.
RIP Mr. Thomas.
To this day, Philly is the most racist town I’ve ever been in for any extended period of time. The terms I’ve heard used openly since moving here are astonishing.
Everyone was prejudiced at that time. All races against all others.
Don’t be pissin’ on another man’s grave like the jackass known as Al Stump.
Should tear his statue down
Aaaannnd…cue the fake racism allegations.
@GaryHarris, I’d say most people today are prejudiced too in varying degrees, although they probably don’t realize it. It’s part of the human condition that we all should fight against.
I just saw “Frank Thomas” trending on Twitter without any context so I was like “Huh?” until I landed here .
In what context is Stephen A Smith a racist? Because he despises the Cowboys with a passion and a lot of white people like the Cowboys ???
Hmmm didn’t know Jaffe had controversial remarks in the past, will have to fire up the old Googler machine and see what’s up with that.
calling someone racist on their death day in a public forum on a post supposed to honor them:
acceptable.
spittin str8 fax:
awaiting moderation.
I wasn’t. I was 5 years old, jackass.
Yeah that was a very odd comment, even more odd that it was so well liked. I have never, not one time thought to myself that anything Stephen A has ever said was even remotely racist. I’ve been watching him regularly for 20 years. No, I’m not an even a fan of his; he just happens to be on ESPN all the time. Just another talking head.
It was, like most of America was in the 1960’s and 1970’s. I live here too and realize there is racism everywhere but Philadelphia today is far from the most racist and doesn’t mirror what it was when Frank Thomas played here. Thomas would be considered a villain on the 1964 roster. He fought with Dick Allen. It tore the clubhouse apart and was a major distraction during a pennant run that led to the 1964 Phillies historic collapse. Frank Thomas is of an era of people that were close minded, uneducated on issues and afraid of differences. That was tolerated in 1964, it isn’t today and thank God it isn’t. I like to think people, including people in Philadelphia evolved to be more diversity and acceptance of different everything. Later in Dick Allen’s career, he came back to Philadelphia and although he was not the same player, the fans gave him a more of a welcome. Today, the Phillies organization has come full circle from the days of antagonizing Jackie Robinson to the Thomas and Allen fight to today. I think players like Gary Maddox, Gary Matthews, Milt Thompson, Doug Glanville, Jimmy Rollins, Ryan Howard, Andrew McCutchen and Eagles like Brandon Graham, Fletcher Cox, and more would tell you that Philly is a great place to live and play. Demanding and passionate but great. Just don’t ask Ben Simmons lol. I hope you get to see the good Philadelphia that so many love. I’m also sorry if anyone’s rudeness has misrepresented a great city.
Read!
Cobb was a racist, but he was a product of his time. Thomas played at a time when he should have known better.
Well said, libertybell444. Thank you.
Appreciate your words liberty, that really is an uplifting statement about present day Phillie and it’s nice to hear someone stating pride in their city and not just knee-jerk cynicism/negativity for a change.
No one is as racist as Stephen a Smith. He cannot go a segment without something about race.
No one is as racist as Stephen a Smith. He cannot go a segment without something about race
No one is as racist as Stephen a Smith. He cannot go a segment without something about race..
So Stephen A is a racist because he brings up racial issues on his show?? So your definition of a racist is just somebody who talks about race?? Interesting definition.
@libertybell I wasn’t saying anything other than what I said. Of all the places I’ve been for any meaningful amount of time (not necessarily my permanent address but not a vacation) Philly is the most open about it.
I’m not saying it isn’t getting better. I can’t really comment on that. I’ve only been here about 8 years. I’ve been in the building trades for about 25 years. Most places the racist things are said at a whisper but here, normal speaking voice. Neither is better than the other and depending on the situation determines my comeback. I never understood disliking someone for something out of their control. The fact that no one really tries to hide it though means they feel more comfortable saying it and that is why I said what I said.
@CP – Racism is everywhere for sure. Philly has its areas where the overt racism is more pronounced (well-entrenched demographics still rooted in place) than most of the rest of the metro area.
The readily visible racism is far less in your face in Philly than it is where I am now in the Mid-South. Racism wears many guises however.
Well of course Jay Jaffe has written about it. That dude is obsessed with two things, racism and Curt Schilling. He can’t wait for Curt to commit another alleged offense, so he can add it to the list when he writes his next Hall of Fame article.
Yeah but you, Bart Harley Jarvis, are one of the most aggressive babies that Dr. Skull has ever met.
@differentbears,
I cannot argue this point. As you know, I am the bad boy of the competition.
Don’t judge too harshly. 1964 was a lot closer to Ty Cobb’s time than it is to your time.
I’m with you about Philly today, but are you getting your years confused. Thomas was not a villain in the 64 clubhouse. his fight with Allen was in 65 and he was immediately traded.
@Avenger, Cobb was a product of his times. That’s true. We all are. He had elements of his personality that would not be accepted today, but weren’t anything unusual then. That said, on the bigger issue of racism, there is little evidence. Cobb came from a family of abolitionists. His family would be regarded as upper middle class today. He was well read, not just by standards then, but by today too. The Cobb-as-racist-monster view was created by a hack sportswriter after his death, which unfortunately was used for the movie Cobb and what Ken Burns used as his source material for his otherwise excellent Baseball documentary.
Church Pans,
Please tell us which little slice of equal rights sunshine you arrived from? I’m sure someone will share some equally valuable anecdotes about its wonders.
@Bart Harley
You know what really helps? YOUR “valuable anecdotes.” They truly make the world a better place. Thank god for your opinion. We were all clamoring for it.
Thanks, SODOM. You inspire me, and I truly love you for that. All my best.
You don’t have to lie. You don’t have to pipe up and whine every time something bothers you, either. Just keep your thoughts to yourself.
You are the wind beneath my wings. Did you ever know you are my hero?
Thomas had a habit of making racial comments at Allen, including asking Allen: ““Hey boy, can you carry my bags to the lobby?”” A couple of weeks later, Thomas got into another argument with Allen, and Thomas went after Allen with the bat. Thomas was rightfully released the next day … and then loudly and frequently claimed that Allen had gotten him released.
@Bart Just making an observation from my experiences but it is pretty well documented too. I am sorry if I offended you however.
Church Pan,
Your anecdote is hardly documentation. You paint with a broad stroke, which isn’t wise or fair, and provides little value.
Frank Thomas was blamed for the comment Johnny Callison made.
Isn’t it? A person who evaluates everything based on race…
@GarryHarris,
I don’t believe your Johnny Callison story is correct.
inquirer.com/sports/frank-thomas-obituary-phillies…
Particularly considering that there were only 16-20 teams when he played. A hitter these days would have been pretty highly thought of hitting .266 with twenty homers per season. If he could turn on a 100 mph heater.
It was clear. It says an OUTFIELDER* from 1951. That should have told anyone confused by it who is was and not the Frank Thomas we know.
Probably meant “at first glance”. Same thing happened to me until I read the full description.
My heart stopped for a moment.
Change the article title please!
How, by changing his name? Title couldn’t be any more clear…
Yes, change the name to Trank Fhomas pls.
except that the headline including the years he played should have been a hint
I guess it’s true, Cub fans aren’t very smart
It definitely caught my eye but I hadn’t heard of another Frank Thomas, so I was caught off guard. I knew something was up with that title though.
the Phillies picked him up in early August of 1964, He was hitting a ton for them but then broke his thumb with a few weeks left. I’ve often wondered if a healthy Thomas could have prevented the Phillies huge collapse down the stretch.
Bruh…
I’m sure that had you Big Hurt for a second
You rang?
It did indeed.
I had Big Hurt baseball for Super Nintendo in the day. Then I got married, divorced and moved to Alaska.
Is baseball even a thing in Alaska? Are there even diamonds or Little League teams? I mean, theoretically, during the summer they could play all day and night.
Big Frank. May he rest in peace
Anthony Franco: Excellent job at *not* causing unnecessary confusion, unintended rumor, & unnecessary concern by titling this article with a very clear description of the person about whom the article was written.
My Heartfelt sympathies to Thomas’ friends & family.
Yankee Clipper… I am a born and raised Red Sox fan (going on 59 years) and literally live 2 miles from the WooSox’ home, Polar Park in Worcester, MA.
With that being said… I do respect & enjoy your posts. They are well thought, nicely written and to the point. You know your baseball (most of the time…lol).
Lol, thank you! That’s really kind, man.
Don’t let it go to your head, Clip!
I say this seriously. If fans of all teams here were more like you, the threads would be a better place. You’re a big Yankee fan, just as everyone here is a fan of some team, but you’re enthusiastic about wanting a better team. You’re the polar opposite of someone like Samuel, whose goal seems to belittle and insult. We need less of that.
Hey, I feel left out. 🙂
Suzie Samuel? Don’t talk about Suzie like that. It will smite you with its mute button.
Thanks, Rob. And don’t worry, I won’t let my head get any bigger than Bonds’ (okay, maybe you should worry).
But seriously, it’s all the good fans on here that make it enjoyable. We all love baseball. And honestly, if not for my fellow Yankees fans like you, L99, YBC, Ducky, C99, Hayzee (ha!) Darth, TTO, and so many others that like to converse and keep me in line, I’d be totally out of luck, man.
It is good to hear people enjoy the discussion points though. Okay, you guys talked me into it, autographs for everyone (for just a small recurring monthly charge of $99.99) – PayPal, Venmo, & credit cards accepted.
L99: Because They would never insult you by putting you at my level. When you get a compliment, it’s going to be an Anthony Franco article with a members-only chat!
Ducky!! Respond!!
There’s always one idiot in the comments, Clip, sadly it had to be in this specific article.
Fresh: If that’s for L99, he’s a really good dude. He’s just kidding around. We are bro’s.
Hey, man, you guys got Cutch back! That’s gotta be pretty cool as a Pirates Faithful, right? I loved Cutch in his short stint on the Yankees. Seems like a great guy to have on any ball club.
No not him, someone else I saw in the comments, and yes very happy we got Cutch we’ll be good in 2025-2026-2027 sometime probably.
You’re right clip, cutch would be great on the Yankees. Certainly preferable over the beloved Aaron hicks. I guess Cashman didn’t see him when he was diving in his dumpsters for players.
I’m sure like a lot of people, when I first saw this headline I skipped past the outfielder part, and having that never heard of this Frank Thomas anyway,I thought my god, this guy was pretty young ,and I see him on all those commercials for that over the counter product that allegedly boosts testosterone, and he looks pretty hale and hearty on those commercials.
Once I started reading the comments, which honestly I preferto the articles anyway in most cases, I realize it was not the Hall of Fame Frank Thomas. This player must’ve been pretty old in his 90s.
Rest in Peace to a good ballplayer.
RIP Frank Thomas who I just saw this Summer at the Mets Old Timers Day looking pretty good I might add.
Those ‘62 Mets may not have won 30 without his bat
Very true. He was one of the very few bright spots on the inaugural Mets. RIP to a great one.
RIP Big Donkey, may his friends and family find peace in his passing.
Whenever I think of this guy, I think of his feud with Dick Allen.
Didn’t Frank hit him with a bat in the locker room or something? Vague second-hand memory here…
I just read about the story the other day. Apparently Johnny Callison made a comment toward Allen which Allen thought came from Thomas. Allen said something to Thomas and Thomas hit Allen in the shoulder with his bat. The Phillies released Thomas the next day even though Allen asked them not to. So the word “feud” is really not the right word. Although this was the incident that really caused the city of Philadelphia to hate Allen and vice versa. Although they really hated him before that because he was the first black Phillies player.
…and a damn good HR hitter. Scared the Hell out of me when Dick Allen strode to the plate!
Hiflew, possibly accounts vary. But from what I’ve read, things were very ugly between Thomas and Allen. Thomas made what Allen considered to be a racist comment, and he attacked Thomas. Thomas was past his prime, and Allen was a young star. So they got rid of Thomas.
The other players were threatened with heavy fines if they spoke to the media. That left Thomas free to give his side of the story to anyone who would listen. He painted Allen as an unstable headcase (a description that would follow Allen for the rest of his career).
Oh I am sure that a fair amount of “he said, he said” occurred. But I do believe that someone stated several years later that Allen fought for Thomas to not be released as he considered just a minor infraction between teammates. I wasn’t there, so I really don’t know what happened and never will, but I like to believe the best in all people until proven wrong.
A very good ballplayer. RIP.
RIP, great guy, great TTM signer, he will be missed
Great guy other than being a known racist POS.
No he wasn’t.
RIP. An original ‘62 Met who lead the team with 34 HRs and was briefly the Mets franchise all-time HR king (1962-1965).
My recollection is that Frank Thomas held the Club Record for HRs until 1975 when Dave Kingman clubbed 36 HRs.
RIP to an underrated player that I didn’t know enough about.
Finished behind three HOF’ers for MVP. And Mays and Aaron are inner, inner circle HOF’ers with Banks also a legend.
RIP
He pre-dated my life as a Pirate fan, traded before I was born. But a semi-regular on the Pirate alumni circuit, always with a big smile and friendly story to tell. I have his autograph, “Frank Thomas, The Original One.”
Just couldn’t stand that a black man took his spotlight
Frank was my first baseball hero. LGM in peace big guy!
MrMet62,
You go back further than I as the ’62 Mets preceded my Baseball watching however I did meet Ed Kranepool sometime in the mid 60’s when he attended my Little League Baseball banquet along with Roy White of the Yankees. Of course I remember Jimmy Piersall who was on the ’63 Team but as a colorful White Sox Broadcaster with Harry Caray.
Best broadcast team ever! You didn’t tune in for the woeful White Sox but for Jimmy and Harry.
Avenger65,
I attended University during those years in Hyde Park where the Veecks and Muhammed Ali lived and the Future President and I listened to most of the White Sox Games on the Radio. I remember quite well when Jimmy Piersall became highly critical of Tony La Russa’s managing especially when they played the A’s and he was schooled by Billy Martin and Rickey Henderson. He got under La Russa’s skin so much that he along with Jim Leyland confronted him in his Broadcast trailer and Jimmy then insulted him even more.
news.wttw.com/2017/06/06/colorful-white-sox-broadc…
For sure more interesting than the Cubs announcer Jack Brickhouse who I occasionally listened to especially during Dave Kingman’s 1979 career year.
He pre-dated my life as a Pirate fan, traded before I was born. But a semi-regular on the Pirate alumni circuit, always with a big smile and friendly story to tell. I have his autograph, “Frank Thomas, The Original One.”
I cancelled my Order for Nugenex, Then I read further.
She’ll love it too
Heck of a career. Condolences to his family.
Always my first thought when I think of the first Frank Thomas, metspolice.com/2011/09/10/yo-la-tengo/. Although I also remember him as a solid hitter.
Thanks for sharing! I knew this story–I’m a big fan of the band–but I had forgotten that Frank Thomas was involved.
DUUUUUUUUUDE
My first thought as a Braves fan was Frank combining with Eddie Mathews, Henry Aaron, and Joe Adcock to hit four homers in a row against the Reds. Mathews homered again in his next at bat and the Braves still lost. The things we remember.
RIP
RIP Big Hurt.
You will be missed.
He will be. When he passes.
Very good player, and person, RIP All Star.
Was absolutely floored when I seen this headline before reading
“He peaked at fourth in the (MVP) voting in 1958, finishing behind Ernie Banks, Willie Mays and Henry Aaron.”
I can’t imagine too many players would be ashamed to be fourth on that list…
Definition of a Hall of Famer. Too bad he never got in. Oh, well, the Hall is a corrupt institution.
Yeah, the HOF needs a redraft. Half the players in it don’t deserve to be there.
C’mon. He was a good player, but not even close to HOF material.
Never hit 40, never hit .300, only 2 100 plus rbi seasons. Less than 300 tota HRs less than 1000 tota rbis.
I have to agree, @Thonolan. Absolutely nothing about that resume says HOF to me. Good player? Absolutely
His career bWAR of 17.3 is also a dead giveaway.
And according to Bill James’ Win Shares, he was the worst defensive third baseman of all-time, at least among the 300 guys with the most innings at third base.
Dick Allen should be a Hall of Famer. Frank “The Bug Hurt” Thomas is rightfully a Hall of Famer. The first Frank Thomas doesn’t belong in the conversation. Solid at his peak, but not anywhere near Hall level.
RIP
286 career HRs was a decent number back in the day. Still is.
Ninety-three is a good run. RIP.
RIP to quite a ballplayer. I heard stories about how he could absolutely crush the ball. That trade the Pirates made with Cincinnati is quite unbelievable. Burgess, Hoak and Haddix all played roles in their WS championship.
On July 3,1964, my dad took my 6 year old self to the Astrodome, which had opened earlier that year. It was my first major league game. Frank Thomas entered the game in the 8th, according to my dad’s scorecard and hit a homer in his only at bat. I found out later he was traded a couple of days later to the Phillies. RIP. Thanks for the memory.
The AstroDome must have seemed quite amazing to a six-year-old.
Like a big space saucer of some kind!
Awesome memory thnx for sharing !
RIP Frank…..
If Thomas hadn’t gotten hurt with the Phillies in August, 1964, the Phillies would have won the NL pennant and never endured that 10-game losing streak in the waning days of September that allowed St. Louis to pass them.
That article should get an award for ethical journalism.
In an Era of clickbaiting and misleading headlines the author put up a very clear headline that probably did cost the website clicks but saved many fans of the big hurt a shock.
He could have easily just written “frank Thomas passes away” and nobody could have blamed him but he decided to put in the extra bit of decency and put in the clear title.
That’s the opposite of what most do in this world of journalism (I don’t even fully blame the journalists because with the flood of free information you have to generate interest to even get a click and make a living) but ideally everyone should have a higher standard.