Wednesday, August 18, 2010

Bobby Thomson

Most baseball fan knows about Bobby Thomson and his 1951 playoff winning home run. The Giants win the pennant!! And with his passing Monday, that famous home run has been shown dozens of times.

While his fame came with the Giants, most baseball fans don't know (or remember....or care!) that Bobby spent some time on the north side of Chicago, too. He was one of many past their prime players the Cubs seemed to pick up.

Thomson played for the Cubs in 1958 and 1959.



He's pictured here in a Brave uniform, the team he was with from 1954 - 1957. Topps painted a really big C on his hat!

Thomson had a really nice season in 1958, hitting 21 homers, knocking in 82 runs and batting .283. He hand broken his ankle in 1954 and it took him a while to really regain his form. I guess he was out to prove that he wasn't past his prime.



His 1959 cards shows him in his Cubs uniform....but I really don't like the pink!

But '58 was his last hurrah. His numbers dropped in 1959, as he played in 30 fewer games. His home runs fell to 11 and his average dropped 24 points. Over the winter the Cubs traded him to the Red Sox for Al Schroll (who???).

RIP Bobby Thomson, Giant hero, ex-Cub.

2 comments:

  1. Very interesting.

    Looks like Topps needed an airbrush back in 1958.

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  2. A nice guy to looked up to. Rest in peace.

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