Home > Baseball > MLB Hall of Famers > Sam Thompson

Sam Thompson

Baseball is an outdoor sport in which a pitcher pitches a hard, fist sized ball to the hitting area of a batter. The batter hits the hard ball with a tapered, smooth, cylindrical bat made up of wood or metal. The batsman scores by running counter-clockwise within the four markers called the bases arranged at the corners of a diamond. Baseball is sometimes called hardball to differentiate it from similar games such as softball.

It is a popular game in North America, parts of Latin America, the Caribbean and East Asia. The modern game initially developed in the United States from an early bat-and-ball game called rounders, and now it has become the national sport of United States.

Sam Thompson was born on March 5, 1860, in Danville, Indiana. He Died on 11 July 1922. Thompson was 25 years old when he broke into the big leagues on July 2, 1885, with the Detroit Wolverines. His Nickname Big Sam. His Height six foot two inches and weight 207 pounds. First Game was played on 07 February 1885 at Age 25 and Last Game on 09 October 1906.

Thompson was a 24 year old carpenter when he began playing professional ball in 1884. He was acquired by the Detroit Wolverines of the National League the following year, hit more than 0.300 for the first of nine seasons and, sporting a powerful throwing arm, won the right field job. He was to become one of the best at his position for the next decade, a consistent long ball threat in the dead ball era.

In 1887 Thompson led the NL with 545 at bats, 203 hits, 23 triples, 166 RBI the highest RBI total in the 19th century, a 0.372 batting average, and a 0.571 slugging percentage. On May 7, 1887 he hit two bases-loaded triples. Though he lost most of the 1888 season to an injury, he made a successful comeback with the Philadelphia Phillies in 1889, leading the league with 20 home runs. His power slipped in 1890, but his 172 hits and 41 doubles were both league highs. Thompson's final great season was 1895, when his 18 homers, 165 RBIs, and 0.654 slugging percentage and were NL highs. He didn't lag in the average department either, hitting at a 0.392 clip. On June 29 and July 1, he tied a major league record for most consecutive doubles in two games, with six.

Back to MLB Hall of Famers