Bud Thomas (thomabu02)

John Tillman Thomas

• Bats Right, Throws Right
• Height 6' 0", Weight 180 lb.
• School Central Missouri State University
• High School Smith-Cotton High School
• Debut September 2, 1951
• Final Game September 29, 1951
• Born March 10, 1929 in Sedalia, MO USA
• Died August 15, 2015 in Sedalia, MO USA

BR page

Biographical Information

When Bud Thomas was sixteen years old he played in an all-star game of high school players from around the country. Babe Ruth and Ty Cobb were the managers of the two squads, and Bud kept a baseball with the autographs of both men on it all his life.

Thomas was a minor leaguer of the late 1940s and early 1950s. He was originally signed by the St. Louis Browns as an amateur free agent before the 1947 season. His only time in the major leagues came with the Browns in 1951, when he spent 14 games at shortstop. Bud held his own in his short time in the show, hitting .350 (7-for-20) including a home run off Alex Kellner of the Philadelphia Athletics at Connie Mack Stadium.

Bud spent seven seasons in the minors (1947-1953), hitting .312 in his second season out with the Globe-Miami Browns of the Arizona-Texas League in 1948, his only season over the .300 mark. Bud played in seven different leagues with seven different teams and finished his minor league run with a .262 hitting average and 25 home runs in 726 games. Used almost entirely at shortstop, he fielded at a career .979 clip.

Thomas left baseball while only in his early twenties in 1953 to pursue a degree in education and earned his doctorate at the Central Missouri State University. He retired after 30 years as a teacher, administrator and superintendent of schools in his hometown of Sedalia, MO, where he passed away in 2015 at the age of 86.

Source

Baseball Players of the 1950s

Related Sites

• BR Minors page
• Bud Thomas obit