Hank Thompson

Third Baseman · Career Stats, Bio & Records (1947-1956)

Hank Thompson was a third baseman who played in Major League Baseball from 1947 to 1956 for the Kansas City Monarchs, the St. Louis Browns, and the New York Giants, a span of 10 seasons. In 1,089 career games, he hit .275 with 984 hits, 144 home runs, and 568 RBI. His totals include Negro Leagues seasons, which MLB recognized as major league in 2020. His career PIV — Baseball Data Hub's era-adjusted measure of offensive impact — is 11,655.

AVG (Batting Average):
Hits divided by at bats. .300 is the traditional mark of an excellent hitter.
HR (Home Runs):
Hits on which the batter circled the bases and scored, almost always by clearing the outfield fence.
RBI (Runs Batted In):
Runs that scored as a direct result of a batter's plate appearance.
OPS (On-Base Plus Slugging):
On-base percentage plus slugging percentage, the quickest single summary of offensive value. .900 or better is star-level.

Data updated

AVG .275
HR 144
RBI 568
H 984
OPS .836
PIV 11,655
Position
Third Baseman
Bats / Throws
L / R
Height / Weight
5'9" / 174 lb
Born
12/8/1925 in Oklahoma City, OK, USA
Died
9/30/1969 in Fresno, CA, USA
MLB Debut
1947-07-17
Last Game
1956-09-30

Full name: Henry Curtis Thompson

📊 Compare This Player 📈 View Career Timeline

Negro Leagues Career Statistics

Batting

Hank Thompson — Batting
PA AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO SB BA OBP SLG OPS
823.0 725.0 179.0 262.0 44.0 23.0 32.0 119.0 88.0 8.0 30.0 .361 .434 .618 1.052

Career Batting Statistics

Hank Thompson — Career Batting Statistics
G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB BB SO AVG OBP SLG OPS PIV
1,089 3,577 625 984 133 49 144 568 57 556 337 .275 .375 .460 .836 11,655

Career AVG .275 vs. league average .260 across their career seasons — +5.7% above league average.

Career OBP .375 vs. league average .335 across their career seasons — +12.2% above league average.

Career SLG .460 vs. league average .381 across their career seasons — +21.0% above league average.

Career OPS .836 vs. league average .715 across their career seasons — +16.9% above league average.

Season-by-Season Batting

Career Arc

Click a stat to plot it across every season.

Hank Thompson Stats, Bio & Career Records
Year Team Lg G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB BB SO AVG Lg AVG Lg OBP Lg SLG Lg OPS PIV
1943 KCM NAL 41 134 18 42 6 2 1 14 2 9 0 .313 .255 (+22%) .324 (+12%) .346 (+19%) .671 (+16%) 325.0
1946 KCM NAL 24 91 14 24 2 3 1 7 3 6 0 .264 .256 (+3%) .328 (-6%) .358 (+7%) .687 (+1%) -19.8
1947 KCM NAL 44 173 51 58 8 5 8 36 7 21 0 .335 .262 (+28%) .336 (+23%) .376 (+54%) .712 (+39%) 1139.7
1947 SLA AL 27 78 10 20 1 1 0 5 2 10 7 .256 .262 (-2%) .336 (+1%) .376 (-22%) .712 (-11%) 1139.7
1948 KCM NAL 47 176 50 59 13 5 5 29 12 27 0 .335 .263 (+27%) .340 (+26%) .379 (+45%) .719 (+36%) 1134.9
1949 NY1 NL 75 275 51 77 10 4 9 34 5 42 30 .280 .262 (+7%) .343 (+10%) .384 (+16%) .727 (+13%) 691.4
1950 NY1 NL 148 512 82 148 17 6 20 91 8 83 60 .289 .265 (+9%) .346 (+13%) .401 (+15%) .747 (+14%) 1717.8
1951 NY1 NL 87 264 37 62 8 4 8 33 1 43 23 .235 .260 (-10%) .336 (+2%) .385 (avg) .721 (+1%) 84.9
1952 NY1 NL 128 423 67 110 13 9 17 67 4 50 38 .260 .252 (+3%) .326 (+5%) .369 (+23%) .696 (+15%) 1134.3
1953 NY1 NL 114 388 80 117 15 8 24 74 6 60 39 .302 .264 (+14%) .335 (+19%) .397 (+43%) .733 (+32%) 2503.8
1954 NY1 NL 136 448 76 118 18 1 26 86 3 90 58 .263 .261 (+1%) .333 (+17%) .390 (+24%) .723 (+20%) 2136.0
1955 NY1 NL 135 432 65 106 13 1 17 63 2 84 56 .245 .258 (-5%) .332 (+11%) .393 (+1%) .726 (+5%) 722.1
1956 NY1 NL 83 183 24 43 9 0 8 29 2 31 26 .235 .258 (-9%) .331 (+4%) .397 (+5%) .728 (+4%) 196.8
Career · 13 seasons 1,089 3,577 625 984 133 49 144 568 57 556 337 .275 — — — — 12,907

Lg columns show the league average for that season, with the player's figure as a percentage above or below it. Career totals the seasons listed above.

Postseason Statistics

Playoff Career Batting

Hank Thompson — Playoff Career Batting
G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO AVG
23 78 17 20 2 0 1 9 20 4 .256

Playoff Batting by Year

Hank Thompson — Playoff Batting by Year
Year Round Team G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO AVG
1954 WS NY1 4 11 6 4 1 0 0 2 7 1 .364
1951 WS NY1 5 14 3 2 0 0 0 0 5 2 .143
1948 ALC KCM 7 26 3 6 0 0 1 4 5 0 .231
1946 NWS KCM 7 27 5 8 1 0 0 3 3 1 .296

Game Log & Splits

View full game log (1082 games) →

Per-game data from Retrosheet (regular season, through 2025).

Batting — Home / Away

Hank Thompson — Batting — Home / Away
SplitGABRHHRRBIAVG
Home559176633651394302.290
Away523171529047760280.278

Last 10 Games — Batting

Hank Thompson — Last 10 Games — Batting
DateTmOppResABRH2B3BHRRBIBBSO
1956-09-30 NY1PHIL 100000000
1956-09-21 NY1PHIW 100000010
1956-09-19 NY1CHCW 000000110
1956-09-18 NY1CHCW 321000010
1956-09-18 NY1CHCL 411001201
1956-09-17 NY1ATLL 100000001
1956-09-17 NY1ATLW 301000200
1956-09-15 NY1STLL 400000011
1956-09-14 NY1STLW 401000001
1956-09-11 NY1CINL 100000000

Fielding Statistics

Career Fielding Totals by Position

Hank Thompson — Career Fielding Totals by Position
Position G GS PO A E DP
2B 137 39 339 343 33 84
3B 656 284 593 1342 123 142
OF 189 93 327 21 14 3
SS 36 33 70 107 25 20

Season-by-Season Fielding

Hank Thompson — Season-by-Season Fielding
Year Team Pos G GS PO A E DP
1943 KCM 2B 1 1 2 4 1 1
1943 KCM OF 39 39 52 5 3 0
1946 KCM 2B 19 19 34 49 9 11
1946 KCM OF 4 4 4 1 2 0
1946 KCM SS 1 0 0 1 0 0
1947 KCM 2B 13 13 28 34 2 8
1947 KCM OF 1 0 0 0 0 0
1947 KCM SS 31 31 64 97 22 18
1947 SLA 2B 19 0 55 55 5 15
1948 KCM 2B 2 2 5 6 0 1
1948 KCM 3B 1 1 1 1 1 0
1948 KCM OF 43 42 52 5 3 1
1948 KCM SS 2 1 4 7 2 2
1949 NY1 2B 69 0 197 175 15 44
1949 NY1 3B 1 0 1 5 0 0
1950 NY1 3B 138 0 136 303 26 43
1950 NY1 OF 10 0 18 2 0 1
1951 NY1 3B 71 0 64 120 15 16
1952 NY1 2B 4 0 7 7 1 2
1952 NY1 3B 46 0 47 96 11 8
1952 NY1 OF 72 0 182 5 4 1
1953 NY1 2B 1 0 1 0 0 0
1953 NY1 3B 101 0 90 194 13 18
1953 NY1 OF 9 0 8 1 0 0
1954 NY1 2B 2 0 1 1 0 0
1954 NY1 3B 130 127 125 267 23 27
1954 NY1 OF 1 0 0 1 0 0
1955 NY1 2B 7 4 9 12 0 2
1955 NY1 3B 124 117 104 262 22 23
1955 NY1 SS 1 1 2 2 1 0
1956 NY1 3B 44 39 25 94 12 7
1956 NY1 OF 10 8 11 1 2 0
1956 NY1 SS 1 0 0 0 0 0

Career Games by Position

Position Diamond

Circle size = games played at each position.

Hank Thompson Stats, Bio & Career Records
Position Games
Second Base 137
Third Base 656
Shortstop 36
Left Field 41
Center Field 58
Right Field 92

Award Voting History

Hank Thompson — Award Voting History
Year Award League Finish Points Won Points Max Votes First
1953 Most Valuable Player NL 24th 1.0 336 0
1950 Most Valuable Player NL 33th 2.0 336 0

Most Similar Players

Career comps based on counting + rate stats and primary position. Score is relative — closest peer anchors at ~98%.

Career Spans

Hank Thompson (highlighted) compared to peers across the same era.

  1. 98
    Whitey Kurowski
    .286 avg, 106 HR
  2. 96
    Leon Durham
    .277 avg, 147 HR
  3. 91
    Corey Koskie
    .275 avg, 124 HR
  4. 91
    Alvin Davis
    .280 avg, 160 HR
  5. 89
    Nick Etten
    .277 avg, 89 HR
  6. 88
    John Valentin
    .279 avg, 124 HR

Hank Thompson: the record in brief

The rows for Hank Thompson start in 1943, in the Negro Leagues, well before the July 17, 1947 debut listed in the bio, and the final game as September 30, 1956. Club by club, the record runs the Kansas City Monarchs (1943 through 1948), the St. Louis Browns (1947), and the New York Giants (1949 through 1956). Thompson played primarily as a third baseman and batted left-handed and threw right-handed. Born on December 8, 1925, in Oklahoma City, OK, USA, Thompson was listed at 5 feet, 9 inches and 174 pounds. Thompson died on September 30, 1969, in Fresno, CA, USA. Thompson's full given name, per the bio, is Henry Curtis Thompson.

Thompson's career batting table shows 1,089 games, 3,577 at bats and 984 hits, a .275 average, adding 144 homers, 568 runs batted in, and 57 stolen bases. Thompson's career OPS of .836 combines a .375 on-base mark with .460 slugging. Set against a .260 league average for the same years, Thompson's .275 average sits 5.7% above it.

Frequently Asked Questions about Hank Thompson

What years did Hank Thompson play?
Hank Thompson played in Major League Baseball from 1947 to 1956.
Was Hank Thompson a pitcher?
No. Hank Thompson was a position player (Third Baseman).
How many home runs did Hank Thompson hit?
Hank Thompson hit 144 career home runs with 984 hits.
What teams did Hank Thompson play for?
Hank Thompson played for 3 teams: the Kansas City Monarchs (1943, 1946–1948), the St. Louis Browns (1947), and the New York Giants (1949–1956).
What were Hank Thompson's career stats?
In 1,089 games, Hank Thompson had 984 hits, 144 home runs, 568 RBI, 625 runs, and 57 stolen bases, with a .275 batting average.
What position did Hank Thompson play?
Hank Thompson played primarily as a third baseman, the position where he appeared in the most games.
How tall was Hank Thompson and how much did he weigh?
Hank Thompson was listed at 5 feet 9 inches and 174 pounds.
How many home runs did Hank Thompson hit each season?
Hank Thompson's home runs by season: 1 in 1943, 1 in 1946, 8 in 1947, 5 in 1948, 9 in 1949, 20 in 1950, 8 in 1951, 17 in 1952, 24 in 1953, 26 in 1954, 17 in 1955, and 8 in 1956. His most in one season was 26, in 1954.
What was Hank Thompson's career batting average?
Hank Thompson batted .275 over his career, with 984 hits in 3,577 at bats.
How many RBI did Hank Thompson have?
Hank Thompson drove in 568 runs in his career.
Is Hank Thompson in the Hall of Fame?
No. Hank Thompson has not been inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame.