Player confirmation \ Uniform identification

[YankeeFan]

This may be easy for some of the experts here, but I have searched in vain for a photo which could identify this uniform.

I remember spotting this picture on a table at a flea market years ago and thinking "Hank Thompson, New York Giants". But on the back, someone had written "Earl Thompson".
I've always thought that was just a mistake, this actually is Hank Thompson. Certainly looks like him to me; more so in his younger days.

So, my first question is, do you agree that this is Hank Thompson? If not, do you have an idea who it may be?

I've tried on and off over the years, but I can not place the uniform. When I first saw the photo, I thought "NY Black Yankees", but it was easy to learn that Hank Thompson (if that is him) never played for the NY Black Yankees, or NY Cubans.

He did play for the NY Giants from 1949 - 1956. I didn't think the NY Giants had used an interlocking NY on their uniforms, but of course, they have. However, I haven't found an example with this style of lettering. Nor have I seen separate N Y on the cap like that.

So, the second question is what team and year is this uniform from? One thing I can say which may help is that the interlocking NY and the piping appear to be silk.

Any help would be appreciated. BTW, the photo is about 4x5.

[JollyElm]

Sorry, Jack, but unless he had extensive plastic surgery, there in no way in heck that is Hank Thompson. Utterly different head shape, nose, lips, teeth, ears, eyes, etc. Perhaps it is someone named Earl Thompson?

HankThompson.jpg

[YankeeFan]

Well, at least I didn't think it was Joe Jackson!

But I really did think there were some feature matches compared to some other photos I looked at.




Raised eyebrow, lips, faint hair line above the lip, dimples in the cheeks and, to my eye, the nose and lips are certainly passable.

That and the fact that I didn't find an Earl Thompson in "The Biographical Encyclopedia of the Negro Leagues" or baseball-reference.com, I guess convinced me this must he Hank, and then led me to see somethings that were not there. Hopefully my photo matching skills will be better next time.

And I suppose I can't find a matching uniform because the preconceived notion of Hank Thompson also led me to only consider teams he played on.

I still would appreciate if anyone can identify the player and \ or uniform.

[Butch7999]

Baseball-reference [ http://www.baseball-reference.com/re...d=thomps001ear ] does have an Earl Thompson
pitching as a teenager for Dover in the Class D Eastern Shore League in 1948 and for Schenectady in the Class C
Can-Am League in '49.
No idea if it's the same guy in your photo (no pic at Baseball-reference, so their Earl Thompson might be black, white, or green).
Minor-league records at Baseball-reference are unfortunately incomplete, so even if it is your guy, he could have played for
other teams not listed there, including late-era Negro League teams.

[YankeeFan]

Originally Posted by Butch7999

Baseball-reference [ http://www.baseball-reference.com/re...d=thomps001ear ] does have an Earl Thompson
pitching as a teenager for Dover in the Class D Eastern Shore League in 1948 and for Schenectady in the Class C
Can-Am League in '49.
No idea if it's the same guy in your photo (no pic at Baseball-reference, so their Earl Thompson might be black, white, or green).
Minor-league records at Baseball-reference are unfortunately incomplete, so even if it is your guy, he could have played for
other teams not listed there, including late-era Negro League teams.

Thank you for taking the time to share this info.
Looking into the Schenectady (NY) Blue Jays, I found that their first African-American player was Hank Mason in 1955. So, the Earl Thompson of 1949 is not the guy in this photo. Good lead though, and I appreciate it.

http://gremsdoolittlelibrary.blogspo...blue-jays.html (about half way down the page)