Henry "Hank" Thompson

[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

[GeoPoto]

Great story Kevin. It sounds like Hank.

Hank really hit his stride in 1947. The 21-year-old was hitting around .340 as the Monarchs’ shortstop when his contract was purchased by the St. Louis Browns in mid-July.

On Opening Day of the 1947 season, Jackie Robinson of the Brooklyn Dodgers had crossed Major League Baseball’s color line and set National League turnstiles humming wherever he played. Almost three months later, former Newark Eagles star Larry Doby broke the American League color barrier, prompting the Browns, mired in last place and drawing more flies than fans, to try to capitalize on the novelty of Negro players. The Browns reportedly purchased the contracts of Thompson and the veteran outfielder Willard Brown, one of the biggest names in the Negro Leagues, from the Monarchs on a conditional basis for a mere $5,000. Immediately plugged into the Browns lineup, Thompson played second base and batted seventh, going hitless in four at-bats and contributing an error to a 16-2 whipping by the visiting Philadelphia Athletics.

Despite a cool reception by the St. Louis players, Thompson performed adequately for the woeful Browns. His .256 batting average and .341 on-base average in 27 games both exceeded the team norm. Yet the Browns shipped him and Brown (who hit only .179 in 21 games) back to Kansas City in late August rather than pony up another $5,000 to retain their services.

Thompson finished his fragmented 1947 campaign hitting .344 and scoring 54 runs in 48 games for the Monarchs. With future major leaguers Curt Roberts and Gene Baker manning the keystone spots for the Monarchs in 1948, Hank moved to the outfield and hit a phenomenal .375 in 70 games, according to The Negro Leagues Book, while scoring 75 runs and driving in 58. He also began displaying good power, finishing with 11 homers and an imposing .633 slugging average. Hank is sometimes credited with leading the Negro American League that year with 20 stolen bases, but other references indicate that Sam Jethroe stole 29 for the Cleveland Buckeyes before his contract was purchased by the Brooklyn Dodgers during the season.

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[GeoPoto]

Thompson, Irvin, and Smith began the 1949 campaign with the Jersey City Giants. Smith posted a mediocre 10-8 record for the season, but Thompson and Irvin spent the first half of the year tearing up the International League. Irvin, the bigger Negro League name, outshone Thompson with Jersey City, although Hank’s .296 batting average, 14 homers, sensational .447 on-base percentage, and lusty .565 slugging average in 68 games was pretty impressive. When the pair were called up to the parent club in July, Hank, who’d bounced between shortstop and left field with Jersey City, took over the parent Giants’ regular second-base job. While Irvin stumbled in his first big-league exposure, Thompson hit a credible .280 and belted nine homers in 75 games. He was originally slotted in the leadoff spot, but was shifted to the third spot in the Giants batting order late in the season.

Before his promotion to the Giants, Hank and Maria Quesada had been married in Brooklyn. That offseason he didn’t play in the Cuban Winter League for the first time since 1946-47.

Caption accompanying the photograph: Leo Durocher, Giants Manager, welcomes Henry Thompson of Los Angeles, left, and Monte Irvin of Orange, N.J., right, first Negro players to wear Giant uniforms. (7-6-49):

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[cgjackson222]

That's a fantastic picture of Thompson, Durocher and Irvin. Thompson and Irvin had so much talent--its a shame Irvin got injured.

Durocher was so pivotal in promoting the meritocracy of integration. Leo "the Lip" has many famous quotes, but one with the Giants organization was " “I’m only going to say one thing about color: You can be green or be pink on this team. If you can play baseball and help this team you’re welcome to play.”