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George Edward Thomas
Boston Red Sox
Outfield-Catcher
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 1957-58, 1961; Los Angeles Angels 1961-63; Detroit Tigers 1963-65; Boston Red Sox 1966-71; Minnesota Twins 1971
World Series Appearances: Boston Red Sox 1967
A bonus baby signing by the Tigers, George Thomas appeared in one game in each of the 1957 and 1958 seasons 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 11 years 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 years earlier, hitting career highs in home runs (13) and RBIs (59) for the inaugural Angels team in 1961.
A bonus baby signing by the Tigers, George Thomas appeared in one game in each of the 1957 and 1958 seasons 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 11 years 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 years earlier, hitting career highs in home runs (13) and RBIs (59) for the inaugural 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.
Some text for this post originally appeared on my 1965 Topps blog.
Building the Set / Card #456
December 15, 2024 from The Philly Show (Uncle Dick's Cards)
On Sunday, December 15th, Doug and I attended the latest Philly Show, spaciously spread out inside Hall A of the Greater Philadelphia Expo Center in Oaks, Pennsylvania. I wrote a full show report over at The Phillies Room, including some thoughts on attending the show with our oldest son, who first graced the Philly Show floors back in 2012.
The Card / Red Sox Team Set / Accuracy Index +5
1969 Season
Thomas appeared in just 29 games for the Red Sox, losing significant playing time over the summer when he tore ligaments in his knee. Thomas had been named a player-coach in June, and he played in 28 games before his knee injury and in the final game of the season on October 1st. Thomas made nine starts at first base for the third place Red Sox, batting .353 overall (18 for 51) with three doubles, a triple and eight RBIs.
Other Notable Baseball Cards
First Mainstream Card: 1961 Topps #544
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (9): 1961-67, 1969, 1971
Most Recent Mainstream Card: 2020 Topps Heritage Real One Autographs #ROA-GTH
Total Non-Parallel Baseball Cards: 35 in the Beckett online database as of 2/1/25.
Sources:
Baseball Reference / SABR / Wikipedia
December 15, 2024 from The Philly Show (Uncle Dick's Cards)
On Sunday, December 15th, Doug and I attended the latest Philly Show, spaciously spread out inside Hall A of the Greater Philadelphia Expo Center in Oaks, Pennsylvania. I wrote a full show report over at The Phillies Room, including some thoughts on attending the show with our oldest son, who first graced the Philly Show floors back in 2012.
Having had success the prior two shows at Uncle Dick's Cards with his well-organized, neon common binders, I opted to pull up a chair once again at the friendly dealer's array of tables. The aim was simple: Clear out Uncle Dick's 1969 Topps commons, starting off where I had left off the year before with card #501 and going through the end of the set, card #664. In less than 25 minutes, I completed my quest, and this is the 12th of 98 commons pulled from the binder. After a generous dealer discount due to my bulk purchase, this card cost me less than a dollar.
The Card / Red Sox Team Set / Accuracy Index +5
Thomas' position is listed as "OF-C" on this card, despite the super utility player making only three appearances behind the plate since 1966, with none of those appearances coming in 1968. He'd catch the final few innings for the Red Sox in their game on June 14, 1969, a 21-7 blow-out loss to the Athletics. His uniform number #24, a number Thomas last wore in 1967, is peaking through on the back of his jersey. Thomas wore #17 in 1968, and switched to #22 for the 1969 season. (I guess there's a possibility this photo was taken early in the 1969 season, given the traditional opening day bunting seen in the background.)
Accuracy Index: Thomas' card scores a solid +5.
1969 Season
Thomas appeared in just 29 games for the Red Sox, losing significant playing time over the summer when he tore ligaments in his knee. Thomas had been named a player-coach in June, and he played in 28 games before his knee injury and in the final game of the season on October 1st. Thomas made nine starts at first base for the third place Red Sox, batting .353 overall (18 for 51) with three doubles, a triple and eight RBIs.
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First Mainstream Card: 1961 Topps #544
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (9): 1961-67, 1969, 1971
Most Recent Mainstream Card: 2020 Topps Heritage Real One Autographs #ROA-GTH
Total Non-Parallel Baseball Cards: 35 in the Beckett online database as of 2/1/25.
Sources:
Baseball Reference / SABR / Wikipedia
Beckett Database / The Trading Card Database
1965 Topps Blog
1965 Topps Blog
#520 Bob Veale - Pittsburgh Pirates / #522 Joe Horner - St. Louis Cardinals
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