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Hank Thompson often gets lost when discussing baseball history because he played in the shadows of several all-stars and members of the Baseball Hall of Fame.
Back in 1949, Thompson was part a pivotal moment in the integration of the major leagues.
On July 8 in Brooklyn, Thompson batted against Dodgers pitcher Don Newcombe to begin the contest at Ebbets Field. It was the first time that African-Americans had faced each other.
Thompson popped out to third in the historic at bat as he became the first African-American to play in both leagues and integrate two teams.
The Dodgers would eventually win the contest 4-3 as Thompson would walk and later score a run. Joining Thompson that day on the field with the Giants was future Hall of Famer Monte Irvin.
With Newcombe along Hall of Fame legends Jackie Robinson and Roy Campanella in the lineup for the Dodgers, it was the first time that five African-Americans had played in the same game.
Big League Debut
Thompson made his big league debut during the same season as Robinson and Hall of Famer Larry Doby in 1947 with the St. Louis Browns. Willard Brown, another future Hall of Fame inductee, would later join Thompson on the Browns for his only major league season.
Doby as a member of the Cleveland Indians would eventually play against Thompson, which would be the first time two integrated teams with integrated lineups faced each other on Aug. 9.
The Giants
After leaving the Browns in 1947, Thompson went back to the Kansas City Monarchs of the Negro Leagues before joining the Giants in 1949.
Playing with the Giants until 1956, Thompson ironically had more big league homers (129) and RBI (482) than his lonetime teammate Irvin, who is in Cooperstown.
Thompson’s best season was in 1954 when he had 26 homers and 86 RBI as the Giants swept the World Series from the Cleveland Indians.