Henry "Hank" Thompson

[GeoPoto]

Adam: Thank you for posting a beautiful example of Hank's 1952 Topps card.

Henry Curtis “Hank” Thompson was born in Oklahoma on December 8, 1925. Most sources list his birthplace as Oklahoma City, but in a 1965 interview, Hank claimed he was born 125 miles away in Muskogee. His father, Ollie Thompson, was a railroad worker who liked his liquor. His mother, Iona, was a cook and domestic worker. The family moved to Dallas, Texas, when Hank was an infant. His parents separated when he was still a youngster and divorced shortly thereafter. Young Hank lived with his mother, and it was the job of an older sister, Florence, to watch him while mom was at work – a job that proved too much for the young girl.

Growing up, Hank eschewed school for the streets of Dallas. At age 11, he had his first official brush with the law when he was picked up on suspicion of swiping some jewelry from a car, a crime he claimed he didn’t commit. Either the cops believed his protestations of innocence or couldn’t prove his guilt, so they busted him for truancy instead and shipped him to Gatesville Reform School, about 115 miles from Dallas.

Gatesville had a baseball program in which Hank got his first chance to play on an organized team. It motivated the youngster to keep his nose clean, but when he got out, he was sent to live with his father for a year. Thompson claimed that his father wouldn’t let him play ball and often beat him, so he was glad to go back to live with his mother.

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[cgjackson222]

Looking forward to this!

What an historical figure Hank Thompson was--the only man that was the first to integrate two MLB teams!

Thanks for doing this GeoPoto.

[Volod]

Originally Posted by GeoPoto

]

Interesting read. Thanks for posting, George. Always liked Hank's 1952 Bowman card. One reason was that when I restarted collecting back in the '80's, I could recall as a kid finding it in a waxpack in my Uncle's corner grocery store very late in the year - figures since it was a high number, I guess. No Mays in that pack, though, dang it, just five commons.

[GeoPoto]

Charles: Thank you for the kind words.
Steve: Nice 1952 Bowman! Thanks for participating.

Still not interested in scholarly pursuits, Hank spent his free time hanging around Burnett Field, where the Texas League Dallas Steers played, rather than continuing his education. The Steers allowed him to shag flies and throw some batting practice, and soon a local semipro Negro team recruited the then 15-year-old. By the end of the following season, he’d attracted the attention of Kansas City Monarchs star Bonnie Serrell, who recommended him to the Monarchs, one of the premier franchises in the Negro American League. The next spring Monarchs secretary Dizzy Dismukes sent Thompson $25 train fare to the club’s training camp in New Orleans, and his professional career was under way. Playing on a veteran team that included future Hall of Famers Satchel Paige, Willard Brown, and Hilton Smith, as well as veteran stars Buck O’Neil and Newt Allen, the 17-year-old kid the veterans called “Youngblood” played right field and hit .314.

Thompson spent most of the next two years in the employ of Uncle Sam, serving as a machine gunner with the 1695th Combat Engineers. He was inducted into the Army in March 1944 and was mustered out with a couple of battle stars and the rank of sergeant on June 20, 1946. He fought in the Battle of the Bulge, later recalling, “If there was a moment in my life I did something for society, that was it.”

After his discharge Hank settled in as the Monarchs’ second baseman. The Biographical Encyclopedia of the Negro Leagues credits him with a .287 batting average while batting leadoff for the 1946 Negro American League pennant winners and hitting .296 in their loss to the Newark Eagles in that year’s “Colored World Series.”

The photograph, which shows Thompson in uniform with the Havana club, was taken before he broke into the major leagues as one of the first black players to do so. He is pictured with Mike Gonzalez and Herberto Blanco:

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[GeoPoto]

Immediately after the regular 1946 season, Thompson joined up with Satchel Paige to barnstorm against a team of major leaguers put together by Cleveland great Bob Feller. In Feller’s opinion, Thompson, the youngest player on the Negro League squad, was also the best.

After the successful and lucrative tour, Thompson journeyed to Cuba to play third base for the Havana Reds in the Cuban Winter League. There he met his future wife, Maria Quesada. Hank played three winter seasons with Havana, hitting over .300 each year, leading the league in RBIs in 1947-48 and runs scored, hits, and triples in 1948-49. On the island he was known by the nickname “Ametralladora,” a Spanish word that translates to “machine gun” in English.

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[egri]

Great cards! Here's mine:

[GeoPoto]

Thank you egri; nice 1953 Topps!

In 1948 the Dodgers and Indians had been the only two teams to employ black players at the major league level, but other teams were starting to show interest. The February 9, 1949, edition of The Sporting News announced that the Giants had signed Thompson, Newark Eagles veteran star Monte Irvin, and Monarchs hurler Ford Smith to play for their Jersey City minor-league club in the International League. Thompson reportedly negotiated a $2,500 bonus for his signature.

But before Hank could start his career in the Giants organization, there was that “Jim Crow” matter to deal with.

On April 4, 1948, Thompson had shot and killed one James Crow in a Dallas bar. Hank was on his way from Kansas City to the Monarchs’ spring-training base in San Antonio when he stopped to visit his oldest sister, Margaret, and her husband. Visiting a local beer garden, they encountered Crow, who was nicknamed Buddy. Hank had played sandlot ball with Crow and knew him to be a dangerous character. So, when Crow threatened him with a knife, Thompson shot him three times across the chest with a .32 caliber automatic he was in the habit of carrying (the Dallas Morning Star and The Sporting News reported that Crow was shot six times). Hank left the bar not knowing if Crow had survived and promptly turned himself in the next morning when he found out that Crow had died. He was charged with murder, but his lawyer argued that it was a case of self-defense. Thompson was released on $5,000 bond and was soon on his way to San Antonio to continue his baseball career. With some help from the Giants, the case was eventually ruled justifiable homicide, clearing the way for his return to Organized Baseball.

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[Kevin]

My uncle, Charley Feeney, covered the Giants from 1951 through 1957; he then went on the cover the Yankees for a bit (was offered the Jack Lang job at Newsday to cover the Mets in 1962 but turned it down). He settled in Pittsburgh for the rest of his career.

One day, the phone rang at my dad’s childhood home and dad answered. A low voice asked, “Is Charley there?” My dad replied his older brother was not home. The person on the other line identified himself as “Henry Thompson” and he was looking for $20. My dad repeated his brother was not home; Mr Thompson asked my dad to lend him $20. My dad replied, “I’m only 12 years old…”. There was a long pause. Finally the voice asked, “hmmmm…can I borrow $10?”

Cool piece my dad has: 1952 Spring Training NY Giants

https://x.com/kevinseanfeeney/status...186622978?s=46