Art Thomason

Arthur Wilson Thomason

• Bats Left, Throws Left
• Height 5' 8", Weight 150 lb.

• Debut August 10, 1910
• Final Game August 27, 1910
• Born February 12, 1889 in Liberty, MO USA
• Died May 2, 1944 in Kansas City, MO USA

BR page

Biographical Information

Art Thomason played twenty games for the 1910 Cleveland Naps, getting 12 hits and 5 walks. He played mostly right field. Art also had a long minor league career.

Thomason was born in Liberty, MO, right outside of Kansas City, MO. He began in the minors at age 18 in 1907, and in 1909 he was tried by the Topeka Jayhawks both as a position player and a pitcher, appearing in 19 games on the mound. He returned to Topeka in 1910, but was picked up by the major league Naps in August.

Art, at age 21, was much younger than his Naps teammates Cy Young (43), Addie Joss (30), Nap Lajoie, (35) and Elmer Flick (34). Art's best day was against the 1910 Boston Red Sox on August 25 when he got two hits and a walk in five plate appearances, batting against Charlie Smith and Smoky Joe Wood.

Thomason spent most of 1911-15 with the Omaha Rourkes. After that he moved around the middle part of the country, mostly playing in the Western League and the Mississippi Valley League (which had teams from Illinois and Iowa, not from Mississippi). He twice managed the Rock Island Islanders of the Mississippi Valley League.

After baseball he was a county court official. [1] He died in 1944 as a result of colon cancer surgery. [2]

" Thomason may be returned to Topeka, Kan., at any time. The new men include Joe Jackson, the great outfielder, of New Orleans . . ." - Sporting News, August 27, 1910, about Thomason's job being in danger, and in fact his last major league game was on August 31