Herbert Mark Thomas (May 26, 1902 – December 4, 1991) was a right-handed minor and major league baseball player and minor league manager. Although his major league career lasted only three seasons, 1924, 1925 and 1927, for two different teams, the

Boston Braves The Atlanta Braves, a current Major League Baseball franchise, originated in Boston, Massachusetts. This article details the history of the Boston Braves, from 1871 to 1952, after which they moved to Milwaukee, and then to Atlanta. During it ...

and

New York Giants The New York Giants are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Giants compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East division. ...

, his minor league career spanned 17 seasons. He played professionally in three different decades.

Features

Thomas threw and batted right-handed. He was only tall and he weighed only 157 pounds.

Before professional baseball

Prior to playing professionally, Thomas served in World War I.

Professional baseball career

Thomas' minor league career began in 1922 at the age of 20 with the

Jacksonville Indians The Jacksonville Indians were a minor league baseball team based in Jacksonville, Florida. They played in the Class-C Florida State League in 1921 and 1922. They were managed by George Stovall. As a 44-year-old, Stovall also played in 65 games for ...

. He played in 112 games with them, hitting .298 with 19 doubles, 14 triples and four home runs in 426 at-bats. The following season, Thomas played for the

Daytona Beach Islanders Daytona Beach Islanders was a name for various minor league baseball teams that have all played in the Florida State League from 1920–1966 and in 1977 and again from 1985–1986. In 1968 through 1973, the team became the Daytona Beach Dodgers, d ...

, hitting .387 with 13 doubles, five triples and no home runs in only 297 at-bats. He played for the Islanders in 1924, who became the Clearwater Pelicans partway that season, hitting .345 with 32 doubles, eight triples and three home runs in 94 games. His minor league performance that season was so impressive that he was purchased by the Braves from Daytona Beach on August 9,Baseball Reference
/ref> and on August 18 he made his major league debut. In 32 major league games in 1924, he hit .220 with only six extra-base hits in 127 at-bats. In 1925, Thomas mostly played for the

Worcester Panthers The Worcester Panthers were an Eastern League baseball team based in Worcester, Massachusetts. They existed from 1923 to 1925. History The Worcester Panthers were succeeded by the 1933 Worcester Chiefs of the New England League and the Worcester R ...

, hitting .338 with 33 doubles, five triples and four home runs in 126 games. He also spent five games in the big leagues that season, hitting .235 in 17 at-bats. With the

Providence Rubes The Providence Rubes were an Eastern League baseball team based in Providence, Rhode Island. Their manager was Rube Marquard, after whom the team was presumably named. They were the league champions in 1926, their only year of existence. They were ...

in 1926, the 24-year-old Thomas hit .326 with 38 doubles, 12 triples and three home runs in 620 games, over the course of 153 games. Thomas did not play in the minors in 1927. He spent 24 games with the Braves, hitting .230 in 74 at-bats with them. On June 12, he was traded to the Giants with

Larry Benton Lawrence James Benton (November 20, 1897 – April 3, 1953) was an American right-handed pitcher in Major League Baseball who played for the Boston Braves, New York Giants and Cincinnati Reds over parts of thirteen seasons from 1923 to 1935. He ...

and

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for

Doc Farrell Edward Stephen "Doc" Farrell (December 26, 1901 – December 20, 1966) was an infielder in Major League Baseball, playing mainly as a shortstop between and for the New York Giants (1925–1927, 1929), Boston Braves (1927–1929), St. Louis Card ...

, Kent Greenfield and

Hugh McQuillan Alvin Hugh McQuillan (September 15, 1895 – August 26, 1947) was an American professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball as a pitcher from 1918 to 1927. He played for the Boston Braves and New York Giants. In 1561.2 innings ...

. He played 13 games with the Giants, hitting .176 in 17 at-bats. Overall, he hit .220 in 37 games that year. On September 22, he played his final big league game. Although his major league career was over, Thomas' minor league career was years from completion – he would end up playing until 1942. He played for the Buffalo Bisons in 1928, hitting .326 with 34 doubles, seven triples and ten home runs in 154 games. He played for the Bisons and

Toledo Mud Hens The Toledo Mud Hens are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A affiliate of the Detroit Tigers. They are located in Toledo, Ohio, and play their home games at Fifth Third Field. A Mud Hens team has played in ...

in 1929, hitting a combined .307 with 22 doubles, five triples and 14 home runs in 137 games. With the

Newark Bears The Newark Bears were an American minor league professional baseball team based in Newark, New Jersey. They were a member of the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball and, later, the Canadian American Association of Professional Baseball. T ...

and Bisons in 1930, Thomas played a total of 168 games, hitting .322 with 43 doubles, 12 triples and 19 home runs in 677 at-bats. His averaged dipped to .276 in 1931, while playing again for Newark. That season, he hit 34 doubles, four triples and six home runs. For the

Montreal Royals The Montreal Royals were a minor league professional baseball team in Montreal, Quebec, during 1897–1917 and 1928–1960. A member of the International League, the Royals were the top farm club (Class AAA) of the Brooklyn Dodgers from 1939; pi ...

in 1932, Thomas hit .306 with 36 doubles, seven triples and five home runs in 142 games. In 1933, he struggled mightily while splitting the season between three teams – the

Harrisburg Senators The Harrisburg Senators are a Minor League Baseball team of the Eastern League, and the Double-A affiliate of the Washington Nationals, in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, who play their home games at FNB Field on City Island, which opened in 1987 a ...

Jersey City Skeeters The Jersey City Skeeters were a minor league baseball team which operated in Jersey City, New Jersey. The club started in the 1860s and by 1870 joined the National Association of Base Ball Players. By 1885, Jersey City had joined the Eastern Le ...

and

Albany Senators The Albany Senators was a name used by multiple minor league baseball teams representing Albany, New York, that existed between 1885 and 1959. The mid-20th century club played at Hawkins Stadium (Albany), Hawkins Stadium. The various editions of t ...

– hitting only .235 with 26 doubles, no triples and one home run in 107 games. He played only eight games in 1934, all for the

Lima Buckeyes The Lima Buckeyes were a very short-lived Central League baseball team, based in Lima, Ohio. Their existence consisted of only eight games in 1934, each of which they lost. Their manager was Jess Orndorff. They disbanded on May 26 of that season. ...

. In those eight games, he hit only .148 with one double and one triple. Thomas did not play professionally in 1935, although he did play in 1936. He split the season between the

Jacksonville Tars Jacksonville is a city located on the Atlantic coast of northeast Florida, the most populous city proper in the state and is the List of United States cities by area, largest city by area in the contiguous United States as of 2020. It is the co ...

and

Augusta Tigers The Augusta Tigers was the primary moniker of the minor league baseball teams in Augusta, Georgia. Beginning in 1884, Augusta has hosted numerous teams in various leagues. History The Augusta Yankees were a South Atlantic League minor league ba ...

, hitting a combined .277 with 18 doubles, four triples and no home runs in 94 games. As in 1935, Thomas did not play professionally in 1937. He came back in 1938, however, hitting .250 with five doubles, no triples and no home runs in 52 games for the

Palatka Azaleas The Palatka Azaleas were a minor league baseball team, based in Palatka, Florida, that existed from 1936 to 1939 and from 1946 to 1953. The Azaleas were members of the Florida State League. In 1936, they were affiliated with the Detroit Tigers, i ...

. Once again, Thomas skipped a season, not playing professionally in 1939. He came back strong in 1940, when – at 38 years old – he hit .352 with 25 doubles, one triple and no home runs in 389 at-bats for the

Fort Lauderdale Tarpons The Fort Lauderdale Tarpons were a minor league baseball team that played in the Florida State League in 1928 and in the Florida East Coast League from 1940 to 1942. Located in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, they were affiliated with the Pittsburgh ...

. He hit above .300 in 1941 as well, hitting .301 in 96 games, splitting the season between Fort Lauderdale and the

Greenville Lions Greenville Lions were an American soccer team that played in the United Soccer Leagues (USL) D3 Pro League (later known as the ''USL Second Division'') and operated an amateur team, Greenville Lions Premier, in the Premier Development League ...

. 1942 was his final professional season – in only eight games for the

West Palm Beach Indians The West Palm Beach Indians were a minor league baseball team based in West Palm Beach, Florida. The team played its home games at Connie Mack Field. History Through its existence, the Indians were mostly an independent team playing in the Florida ...

, he hit .185 in 27 at-bats. Overall, Thomas' major league career lasted only 74 games. He hit only .221 with 11 doubles, four triples and one home run in 235 big league at-bats. His minor league career was far more successful, however. In 17 seasons, he hit .312 in 1760 games. In 6676 at-bats, he collected 2080 hits, 397 of which were doubles, 88 of which were triples and 71 of which were home runs.

After professional baseball

Thomas served in World War II following his baseball career. He engaged in the lumber business and later operated Herb's Restaurant in Starke, Florida. Following his death, he was interred at Oak Hill Cemetery in

Palatka, Florida Palatka () is a city in northeastern Florida and it is the county seat of Putnam County, Florida, United States. The population was 10,558 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Putnam County. Palatka is the principal city of the Palatka Mi ...

.Baseball Almanac
/ref>

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Thomas, Herb 1902 births 1991 deaths Albany Senators players Augusta Tigers players United States Army personnel of World War I United States Army personnel of World War II Baseball players from Florida Boston Braves players Buffalo Bisons (minor league) players Clearwater Pelicans players Daytona Beach Islanders players Fort Lauderdale Tarpons players Greenville Lions (minor league) players Harrisburg Senators players Jacksonville Indians players Jacksonville Tars players Jersey City Skeeters players Lima Buckeyes players Major League Baseball outfielders Minor league baseball managers Montreal Royals players New York Giants (NL) players Newark Bears players Palatka Azaleas players Providence Rubes players Toledo Mud Hens players West Palm Beach Indians players Worcester Panthers players People from Starke, Florida Child soldiers in World War I United States Army non-commissioned officers