The Third Man
Posted: Tue Apr 14, 2015 11:17 pm
68 years ago Jack Roosevelt Robinson played his first game for the Brooklyn Dodgers.
The actions of Robinson that day as a baseball player and a black man cannot be over-stated. He created an impact upon the game and in America that are still being felt today.
I think it would be fair to say that there isn't an American over the age of 12 that hasn't heard of Jackie Robinson. They might not all know exactly who he is, or the particular details surrounding what he did, but they have heard of him.
Baseball fans are a little different, they all know what Jackie did and why he is important, but even many fans aren't particularly sure of the year and team he did it with.
When it comes to the second black man to break baseball's color barrier, Larry Doby is basically unknown to the general public and only some hardcore baseball fans can name him off the top of their head.
But this post isn't about either of those men. This post is about the third black man to play Major League Baseball in 1947.
Asking people who the third black player in baseball was is like asking who was the third man to set foot on the moon or the third man to break the 4-minute mile; we know someone did it, but they weren't first and we don't know.
Well, that third man was Hank Thompson.
Hank Thompson was just 17 years old when he began playing baseball with the KC Monarchs of the Negro League in 1943. Although records are unofficial at best, the stats we do have show that Thompson hit .378 in limited at-bats.
The promise of his career was put on hold though in the spring of 1944 when Thompson, like most other 18 year old boys at the time, was drafted into the Army.
Hank spent the next several years in the Army until his discharge in July of 1946. While he was gone, another player that had returned from the war joined the Monarchs, that player was Jackie Robinson.
With his return to the States, Thompson immediately rejoined the Monarchs.
But by that time Jackie Robinson had been signed by the Brooklyn Dodgers and was playing minor league baseball in Montreal.
Hank Thompson started the 1947 season with the Monarchs while Jackie Robinson made his Major League debut with the Dodgers on April 15th. Nearly three months later on July 5th, Larry Doby played his first game with the Cleveland Indians.
Hank was having a great 1947 season, hitting over .400, when his contract, along with that of teammate Willard Brown, was purchased from the Monarchs by the American League St Louis Browns in July.
The GM of the Browns at the time was Bill DeWitt. DeWitt had worked for Branch Rickey in St Louis when Rickey was an executive with the Cardinals. Rickey, of course, was the man that signed Jackie Robinson.
Hank Thompson made his Major League debut against the Philadelphia Athletics on July 17th. He went 0-4 and made an error in the field.
Three days later, Thompson and Willard Brown became the first black teammates to play on the field at the same time as the Browns beat Boston. Hank was 2-5 with a run scored and RBI.
On August 9th, the Browns played the Indians. Hank Thompson and Larry Doby became the first African American players to take the field for opposing teams.
Despite hitting .256, including .333 over his last 9 games, Hank Thompson was released by the Browns in late August.
Hank returned to the KC Monarchs for the remainder of the 1947 season and again for the 1948 season, both times hitting well over .300.
Prior to the 1949 season, the NY Giants signed both Thompson and Monte Irvin.
Both men were assigned to play for the AAA Jersey City Giants. Thompson hit .296 while Irvin hit .373
On July 4th, 1949, both Irvin and Thompson were called up by the Giants and they both made their first appearance for the team on July 8th.
They were the first black players to play for the Giants.
It also made Hank Thompson the first black player to play in both the American and National League.
The Giants were playing the Dodgers that day and Don Newcombe was pitching for Brooklyn. When Thompson came to the plate, it marked the first time that a black pitcher faced a black batter. Thompson popped up to 3B.
Thompson played 75 games with the Giants that season, hitting .280 with 9 HR's.
Hank Thompson remained with the Giants for the next 7 years.
During his 9 year career, Thompson hit .267 with 129 HR's
He also played in two World Series.
In 1951 he went 2 for 14. He also joined Willie Mays and Don Mueller in the outfield during Game 1 of the series. It was another first for Thompson as it marked the first time three black players played all three outfield positions for the same team in one game.
Hank also played in the 1954 WS, setting a record for walks (7) in a four game series.
Hank Thompson played his last game on Sept 30, 1956
Just to put some perspective on Thompson's place in the game. When he and Jackie Robinson played their last games in 1956, three of the original 16 teams that made up the Major Leagues in 1947 still had not played a black player.
The Boston Red Sox were the last to use an African American player when they played Pumpsie Green on July 21, 1959, more than 12 years after Robinson played his first game.
The actions of Robinson that day as a baseball player and a black man cannot be over-stated. He created an impact upon the game and in America that are still being felt today.
I think it would be fair to say that there isn't an American over the age of 12 that hasn't heard of Jackie Robinson. They might not all know exactly who he is, or the particular details surrounding what he did, but they have heard of him.
Baseball fans are a little different, they all know what Jackie did and why he is important, but even many fans aren't particularly sure of the year and team he did it with.
When it comes to the second black man to break baseball's color barrier, Larry Doby is basically unknown to the general public and only some hardcore baseball fans can name him off the top of their head.
But this post isn't about either of those men. This post is about the third black man to play Major League Baseball in 1947.
Asking people who the third black player in baseball was is like asking who was the third man to set foot on the moon or the third man to break the 4-minute mile; we know someone did it, but they weren't first and we don't know.
Well, that third man was Hank Thompson.
Hank Thompson was just 17 years old when he began playing baseball with the KC Monarchs of the Negro League in 1943. Although records are unofficial at best, the stats we do have show that Thompson hit .378 in limited at-bats.
The promise of his career was put on hold though in the spring of 1944 when Thompson, like most other 18 year old boys at the time, was drafted into the Army.
Hank spent the next several years in the Army until his discharge in July of 1946. While he was gone, another player that had returned from the war joined the Monarchs, that player was Jackie Robinson.
With his return to the States, Thompson immediately rejoined the Monarchs.
But by that time Jackie Robinson had been signed by the Brooklyn Dodgers and was playing minor league baseball in Montreal.
Hank Thompson started the 1947 season with the Monarchs while Jackie Robinson made his Major League debut with the Dodgers on April 15th. Nearly three months later on July 5th, Larry Doby played his first game with the Cleveland Indians.
Hank was having a great 1947 season, hitting over .400, when his contract, along with that of teammate Willard Brown, was purchased from the Monarchs by the American League St Louis Browns in July.
The GM of the Browns at the time was Bill DeWitt. DeWitt had worked for Branch Rickey in St Louis when Rickey was an executive with the Cardinals. Rickey, of course, was the man that signed Jackie Robinson.
Hank Thompson made his Major League debut against the Philadelphia Athletics on July 17th. He went 0-4 and made an error in the field.
Three days later, Thompson and Willard Brown became the first black teammates to play on the field at the same time as the Browns beat Boston. Hank was 2-5 with a run scored and RBI.
On August 9th, the Browns played the Indians. Hank Thompson and Larry Doby became the first African American players to take the field for opposing teams.
Despite hitting .256, including .333 over his last 9 games, Hank Thompson was released by the Browns in late August.
Hank returned to the KC Monarchs for the remainder of the 1947 season and again for the 1948 season, both times hitting well over .300.
Prior to the 1949 season, the NY Giants signed both Thompson and Monte Irvin.
Both men were assigned to play for the AAA Jersey City Giants. Thompson hit .296 while Irvin hit .373
On July 4th, 1949, both Irvin and Thompson were called up by the Giants and they both made their first appearance for the team on July 8th.
They were the first black players to play for the Giants.
It also made Hank Thompson the first black player to play in both the American and National League.
The Giants were playing the Dodgers that day and Don Newcombe was pitching for Brooklyn. When Thompson came to the plate, it marked the first time that a black pitcher faced a black batter. Thompson popped up to 3B.
Thompson played 75 games with the Giants that season, hitting .280 with 9 HR's.
Hank Thompson remained with the Giants for the next 7 years.
During his 9 year career, Thompson hit .267 with 129 HR's
He also played in two World Series.
In 1951 he went 2 for 14. He also joined Willie Mays and Don Mueller in the outfield during Game 1 of the series. It was another first for Thompson as it marked the first time three black players played all three outfield positions for the same team in one game.
Hank also played in the 1954 WS, setting a record for walks (7) in a four game series.
Hank Thompson played his last game on Sept 30, 1956
Just to put some perspective on Thompson's place in the game. When he and Jackie Robinson played their last games in 1956, three of the original 16 teams that made up the Major Leagues in 1947 still had not played a black player.
The Boston Red Sox were the last to use an African American player when they played Pumpsie Green on July 21, 1959, more than 12 years after Robinson played his first game.