Frank Thomas "The Original" TRIBUTE Page
FRANK THOMAS - "THE ORIGINAL ONE"
Frank Thomas “The Original One”, major league ballplayer from 1951 - 1966. He was also a member of OBC and an avid TOPPS Baseball card collector. He passed away January 16, 2023 and I had the pleasure of corresponding with him for a number of years prior to that. Frank accomplished many accolades and achievements during his 16-season major league career including being the first Pittsburgh Pirate on the cover of the July 28, 1958, issue of Sports Illustrated, an original New York Met, and part of the historic and first ever MLB team to hit four consecutive home runs in succession in one inning on June 8, 1961, with his Milwaukee Braves teammates Eddie Mathews, Hank Aaron, and Joe Adcock (Frank was #4).
He concluded his baseball career playing for seven teams: Pittsburgh Pirates, Cincinnati Reds, Chicago Cubs, Milwaukee Braves, New York Mets, Philadelphia Phillies, and Houston Astros. Although trades took him around the country, Frank kept his family's homebase in Pittsburgh, and Dolores (Dodo) his wife and their eight children would join him in his home team city in the summers during his career. Frank was a 3x All-Star with a .266 batting average, 286 home runs, and 962 RBIs in 1,766 games. Baseball always remained a part of Frank's life as he continued answering fan mail and collecting and signing baseball cards until his death. He even had a chance to attend the Mets Old Timers' Day weekend in August 2022 to celebrate the 60th anniversary of the inaugural season.
The following is Franks collecting memorabilia catelog put together as best I can. I am collecting these items and autographed Frank material in my collection - feel free to reach out if you have something I can add to the Frank Thomas Tribute Collection.
Frank Thomas "The Original One" Card Catalog
LAST UPDATED 2/1/24
1954 Bowman #155
1954 Dan Dee Potato Chips NNO
1955 Bowman #58
1956 Topps #153
1957 Topps #140
July 28, 1958 Sports Illustrated Magazine
1958 Topps #409
1959 Topps #17
1959 Topps #490
1960 Topps #95
1961 Post Box #193
1961 Post Company #193
1961 Topps #382
1962 Post #151
1962 Post Canadian #151
1962 Topps #7
1963 Jello #196
1963 Post #196
1963 Topps #495
1964 Topps #345
1965 OPC #123
1965 Topps #123
1979 TCMA The 50's #24
1989 Pacific #153
1991 Topps `53 Archives #283
1992 Action Packed #77
1993 Upper Deck BAT Triple Fold #118
1994 Upper Deck All Time Heroes #126
1994 Upper Deck All Time Heroes #218
1998 Upper Deck Retro #65
2001 Topps Archives #27
2001 Topps Archives #121
2006 Pirates Hero Playing Card Deck - 7 of Diamonds
2024 MaxCards Art Card NNO
Unknown Year - Maybe a team issue #15
If you know of other cards or memorabilia that should be added to this list please contact me at talbot1@comcast.net .