Education
With the Pirates, he made three All-Star Games, and finished fourth in the voting for Most Valuable Player in 1958, when he batted.281, finished second in the National League to Ernie Banks with 35 home runs, and had 109 RBIs.
With the Pirates, he made three All-Star Games, and finished fourth in the voting for Most Valuable Player in 1958, when he batted.281, finished second in the National League to Ernie Banks with 35 home runs, and had 109 RBIs.
He played in Major League Baseball as a left fielder, first and third baseman for the Pittsburgh Pirates (1951-1958), Cincinnati Reds (1959), Chicago Cubs (1960-1961, 1966), Milwaukee Braves (1961, 1965), New York Mets (1962-1964), Philadelphia Phillies (1964-1965), and the Houston Astros (1965). He batted and threw right-handed. Thomas signed with the Pittsburgh Pirates as an amateur free agent in 1947.
He debuted with the Pirates in 1951.
Thomas appeared on the cover of the July 28, 1958 issue of Sports Illustrated. In 1959, he was traded by the Pirates with Whammy Douglas, Jim Pendleton and John Powers to the Cincinnati Redlegs for Smoky Burgess, Harvey Haddix and Don Hoak.
Following the season, he was traded by the Redlegs to the Chicago Cubs for Bill Henry, Lou Jackson and Lee Walls. In 1961, he was traded by Cubs to the Milwaukee Braves for Mel Roach.
Despite the team"s historically poor inaugural season, Thomas led the expansion Mets with 34 HRs and 94 RBIs.
His home run mark would last as a Mets" team record until 1975, when Dave Kingman hit 36. He was purchased by the Houston Astros from the Phillies in July 1965, but was traded to Braves for a player to be named later (Mickey Sinnerud) in September 1965. On April 5, 1966, Thomas was released by the Braves.
He signed with the Cubs on May 14, 1966, and after recording five plate appearances without a hit, he was released on June 4, 1966.
In a 16-season career, Thomas posted a.266 batting average with 286 home runs and 962 RBIs in 1766 games. His physical stature (6"3" and 205 lbs) was larger than the average player at that time, and one of his nicknames as a player was "The Big Donkey.".
