Andre Thornton

Andre Thornton

• Bats Right, Throws Right
• Height 6' 2", Weight 205 lb.
• School Capital University, Cheyney University
• High school Phoenixville Area High School
• Debut July 28, 1973
• Final Game August 31, 1987
• Born August 13, 1949 in Tuskegee, AL USA

BR page

Biographical Information

Andre Thornton hit 253 home runs in the major leagues during a 14-year career, mostly with the Cleveland Indians. He had a notable year early in his career with the Chicago Cubs in 1975, leading the team with 18 home runs even though he only had 372 at-bats. His .516 slugging percentage was much higher than the team average of .368.

Interesting fact: the same night that Duane Kuiper hit his only major league home run, just two batters later Andre Thornton hit his only major league inside-the-park home run.

Thornton, in a seven-year minor league career, hit over .300 only once, in a partial season for the Eugene Emeralds in 1972. Mike Schmidt was a teammate. Schmidt, who was the same age as Thornton, hit .291 and slugged .550 while Thornton hit .319 and slugged .532 (in 46 games).

Thornton is the brother-in-law of the late Pat Kelly.

Andre was inducted into the Indians Hall of Fame on August 11, 2007, with former pitchers Jim Bagby, Sr., Mike Garcia and Charles Nagy.

Notable Achievements

• 2-time AL All-Star (1982 & 1984)
• AL Silver Slugger Award Winner (1984/DH)
• 1982 AL Comeback Player of the Year Award
• 20-Home Run Seasons: 6 (1977-1979 & 1982-1984)
• 30-Home Run Seasons: 3 (1978, 1982, 1984)
• 100 RBI Seasons: 2 (1978 & 1982)

Further Reading

• Andre Thornton (as told to George Vass): "The Game I'll Never Forget", Baseball Digest, August 1986, pp. 79-81. [1]

Related Sites

• Andre Thornton at the SABR Bio Project