Clint Thomas

Clinton Cyrus Thomas (November 25, 1896 – December 2, 1990), nicknamed "Hawk", was a professional baseball player born in Greenup, Kentucky. He was an outfielder and second baseman in the Negro leagues from 1920 to 1938, where he earned the nickname "Hawk" for his sharp-eyed hitting and center field skills.

Clint Thomas
Second baseman / Center fielder
Born: (1896-11-25)November 25, 1896
Greenup, Kentucky
Died: December 2, 1990(1990-12-02) (aged 94)
Charleston, West Virginia
Batted: Right Threw: Right
debut
1920, for the Brooklyn Royal Giants
Last appearance
1938, for the New York Black Yankees
Negro league statistics
Batting average.292
Home runs59
Runs scored469
Teams

Career

Thomas played for the Brooklyn Royal Giants, Columbus Buckeyes, Detroit Stars, Hilldale Club,[1] Bacharach Giants, New York Lincoln Giants, New York Harlem Stars, Indianapolis ABCs, New York Black Yankees, Newark Eagles, and Philadelphia Stars.

Thomas was a member of the Philadelphia Hilldale teams that won three consecutive Eastern Colored League championships from 1923 to 1925 and the Negro World Series in 1925.[2] He joined the New York Black Yankees in 1931 and, the following year, "ruined" the opening of Greenlee Field by scoring the only run and making a game-saving catch in the Black Yankees defeat of Satchel Paige's Pittsburgh Crawfords. Nicknamed "The Black DiMaggio", he once hit a home run off Fidel Castro in an exhibition game in Cuba.[3]

After his baseball career ended, Thomas worked as a custodian and staff supervisor for the West Virginia Department of Mines and as a messenger for the State Senate. He died on December 2, 1990, in Charleston, West Virginia.[2][4]

References
  1. "With Taber on Mound Chester Beats Hilldale" Chester Times, Chester, PA, Tuesday, July 29, 1924, Page 6, Column 1
  2. Riley 2002, p. 775.
  3. The ESPN Baseball Encyclopedia. Sterling Publishing. 2007. p. 1699. ISBN 1-4027-4771-3.
  4. "Clinton C. Thomas, Baseball Player, 94" - New York Times

Sources
  • Riley, James A. (2002), The Biographical Encyclopedia of the Negro Baseball Leagues, New York: Carroll & Graf, ISBN 0-7867-0959-6
  • Baseball Library
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