Valmy Thomas (October 21, 1925 – October 16, 2010)[1][2] was a Major League Baseballcatcher. Thomas was the first Virgin Islander to play in the major leagues; his mother gave birth to Thomas in Santurce, Puerto Rico, because of better medical care available there, returning to their native Saint Croix immediately after his birth.
After his major league career, while playing for the Atlanta Crackers of the International League in 1962, Thomas was shot and critically wounded in a dispute over a woman by mortician-musician Cleveland Lyons, who then committed suicide.[4] That season was the last of Thomas' professional career.
valmy, thomas, october, 1925, october, 2010, major, league, baseball, catcher, thomas, first, virgin, islander, play, major, leagues, mother, gave, birth, thomas, santurce, puerto, rico, because, better, medical, care, available, there, returning, their, nativ. Valmy Thomas October 21 1925 October 16 2010 1 2 was a Major League Baseball catcher Thomas was the first Virgin Islander to play in the major leagues his mother gave birth to Thomas in Santurce Puerto Rico because of better medical care available there returning to their native Saint Croix immediately after his birth Valmy ThomasCatcherBorn 1925 10 21 October 21 1925Santurce Puerto RicoDied October 16 2010 2010 10 16 aged 84 Christiansted St Croix Virgin IslandsBatted RightThrew RightMLB debutApril 16 1957 for the New York GiantsLast MLB appearanceOctober 1 1961 for the Cleveland IndiansMLB statisticsBatting average 230Home runs12Runs batted in60TeamsNew York San Francisco Giants 1957 1958 Philadelphia Phillies 1959 Baltimore Orioles 1960 Cleveland Indians 1961 Thomas was listed as 5 feet 9 inches 1 75 m tall and 165 pounds 75 kg he threw and batted right handed His professional career began in 1951 then after a three year hiatus it resumed in 1955 in the Class C Provincial League in the Canadian province of Quebec In his five year major league career 1957 61 he played for five different home cities the New York San Francisco Giants 1957 1958 Philadelphia Phillies 1959 Baltimore Orioles 1960 and Cleveland Indians 1961 Thomas was one of the original San Francisco Giants opening the 1958 season as their starting catcher in their first ever official game on the West Coast 3 In 252 total MLB games played he started 182 games behind the plate He collected 144 hits with 20 doubles three triples 12 home runs and 60 runs batted in He hit 230 lifetime After his major league career while playing for the Atlanta Crackers of the International League in 1962 Thomas was shot and critically wounded in a dispute over a woman by mortician musician Cleveland Lyons who then committed suicide 4 That season was the last of Thomas professional career Thomas died in Christiansted Saint Croix Virgin Islands at the age of 84 References Edit Obituary The San Francisco Examiner October 23 2010 Baseball Happenings October 23 2010 The Original San Francisco Giants by Steve Bitker Sports Publishing Inc 1998 Catcher is critical following shooting Sarasota Herald Tribune Associated Press 22 August 1962 p 13 Retrieved 8 June 2010 External links EditCareer statistics and player information from Baseball Reference This Puerto Rico biographical article relating to baseball is a stub You can help Wikipedia by expanding it vte Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Valmy Thomas amp oldid 1098975381, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
