The previous poster is correct in his reference to Ed Delahanty. The student of 19th century stars is referred to the book -- "July 2, 1903" by Mike Sowell for a superb account of the game, both anecdotal and factual. And to return to the thread's purpose I would rank both Delahanty and Brouthers ahead of Thompson. The Philadelphia outfield of 1894, Delahanty in left, Hamilton in center and Thompson in right is often mentioned in baseball lore as having the highest consensus batting average in history.
Mike Sowell is quoted with reference to Thompson
1. Sam Thompson, a menacing sight at six-foot-two and two hundred pounds ... gunned down runners from right field with the game's most powerful throwing arm.
2. He (Delahanty) called his his powerful throwing arm his "whip" and guarded it carefully, lobbing the ball back to the infield except when it was necessary to cut down a runner or hold a man on base. At such times, he would fire the ball with amazing accuracy and with a speed unmatched by any other outfielder except his teammate, Big Sam Thompson.
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