What years did Sam Thompson play?

Sam Thompson played in Major League Baseball from 1885 to 1906.

Was Sam Thompson a pitcher?

No. Sam Thompson was a position player (Outfielder).

How many home runs did Sam Thompson hit?

Sam Thompson hit 126 career home runs with 1988 hits.

Is Sam Thompson in the Hall of Fame?

Yes. Sam Thompson was inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1974.

Sam Thompson

Outfielder · Career Stats, Hall of Fame Bio & Records (1885-1906)

⭐ Hall of Fame 1974

AVG .331

HR 126

RBI 1,308

H 1,988

OPS .890

PIV 29,910

Position: Outfielder
Bats / Throws: L / R
Height / Weight: 6'2" / 207 lb
Born: 3/5/1860 in Danville, IN, USA
Died: 11/7/1922 in Detroit, MI, USA
MLB Debut: 1885-07-02
Last Game: 1906-09-10
Hall of Fame: Inducted 1974 (Veterans)

Full name: Samuel Luther Thompson

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Career Batting Statistics

G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	SB	BB	SO	AVG	OBP	SLG	OPS	PIV
1,410	5,998	1,261	1,988	343	161	126	1,308	232	452	234	.331	.384	.505	.890	29,910

Career AVG .331 vs. league average .265 across their career seasons — +25.1% above league average.

Career OBP .384 vs. league average .330 across their career seasons — +16.3% above league average.

Career SLG .505 vs. league average .356 across their career seasons — +42.1% above league average.

Career OPS .890 vs. league average .686 across their career seasons — +29.7% above league average.

Season-by-Season Batting

Career Arc

Click a stat to plot it across every season.

Year	Team	Lg	G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	SB	BB	SO	AVG	Lg AVG	Lg OBP	Lg SLG	Lg OPS	PIV
1885	DTN	NL	63	254	58	77	11	9	7	44	0	16	22	.303	.244 (+24%)	.287 (+20%)	.325 (+54%)	.613 (+38%)	1383.9
1886	DTN	NL	122	503	101	156	18	13	8	89	13	35	31	.310	.246 (+26%)	.302 (+17%)	.331 (+34%)	.634 (+26%)	2228.1
1887	DTN	NL	127	545	118	203	29	23	10	166	22	32	19	.372	.270 (+38%)	.331 (+26%)	.373 (+51%)	.705 (+39%)	4031.3
1888	DTN	NL	56	238	51	67	10	8	6	40	5	23	10	.282	.238 (+18%)	.290 (+21%)	.319 (+46%)	.610 (+34%)	1219.7
1889	PHI	NL	128	533	103	158	36	4	20	111	24	36	22	.296	.263 (+12%)	.334 (+4%)	.357 (+37%)	.691 (+21%)	1994.0
1890	PHI	NL	132	549	116	172	41	9	4	102	25	42	29	.313	.260 (+20%)	.336 (+10%)	.351 (+26%)	.687 (+18%)	1808.3
1891	PHI	NL	133	554	108	163	23	10	7	90	29	52	20	.294	.254 (+16%)	.331 (+10%)	.343 (+19%)	.675 (+15%)	1508.1
1892	PHI	NL	153	609	109	186	28	11	9	104	28	59	19	.305	.244 (+25%)	.316 (+19%)	.327 (+32%)	.644 (+26%)	2929.4
1893	PHI	NL	131	600	130	222	37	13	11	126	18	50	17	.370	.279 (+32%)	.356 (+19%)	.379 (+40%)	.735 (+30%)	3567.5
1894	PHI	NL	102	451	114	187	32	28	13	149	27	42	13	.415	.309 (+34%)	.379 (+23%)	.435 (+60%)	.814 (+43%)	3938.4
1895	PHI	NL	119	538	131	211	45	21	18	165	27	31	11	.392	.296 (+32%)	.361 (+19%)	.399 (+64%)	.761 (+42%)	4426.4
1896	PHI	NL	119	517	103	154	28	7	12	100	12	28	13	.298	.290 (+3%)	.354 (-4%)	.387 (+16%)	.741 (+7%)	521.1
1897	PHI	NL	3	13	2	3	0	1	0	3	0	1	2	.231	—	—	—	—	0.0
1898	PHI	NL	14	63	14	22	5	3	1	15	2	4	1	.349	.270 (+29%)	.333 (+16%)	.347 (+65%)	.680 (+41%)	354.0
1906	DET	AL	8	31	3	7	0	1	0	4	0	1	5	.226	—	—	—	—	0.0
Career · 15 seasons			1,410	5,998	1,261	1,988	343	161	126	1,308	232	452	234	.331	—	—	—	—	29,910

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

G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	SO	AVG
15	58	8	21	2	0	2	7	3	3	.362

Playoff Batting by Year

Year	Round	Team	G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	SO	AVG
1887	WS	DTN	15	58	8	21	2	0	2	7	3	3	.362

Game Log & Splits

View full game log (22 games) →

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

Batting — Home / Away

Split	G	AB	R	H	HR	RBI	AVG
Home	13	57	12	16	0	13	.281
Away	9	37	5	13	1	6	.351

Last 10 Games — Batting

Date	Tm	Opp	Res	AB	R	H	3B	RBI	BB	SO
1906-09-10	DET	CHW	W	4	0	1	0	0	0	2
1906-09-09	DET	CHW	L	3	0	0	0	0	0	1
1906-09-08	DET	CHW	L	5	1	2	0	0	0	0
1906-09-04	DET	SLA	L	4	1	1	1	1	0	0
1906-09-03	DET	SLA	L	4	1	2	0	0	0	0
1906-09-03	DET	SLA	L	3	0	0	0	0	1	0
1906-09-01	DET	SLA	W	4	0	0	0	1	0	0
1906-08-31	DET	SLA	W	4	0	1	0	2	0	1
1898-05-11	PHI	WSN	L	5	0	0	0	1	0	0
1898-05-10	PHI	WSN	W	5	1	3	1	1	0	0

Fielding Statistics

Career Fielding Totals by Position

Position	G	GS	PO	A	E	DP
1B	1	0	7	0	1	0
OF	1409	8	2167	283	172	61

Season-by-Season Fielding

Year	Team	Pos	G	GS	PO	A	E	DP
1885	DTN	OF	63	0	84	24	14	0
1886	DTN	OF	122	0	194	29	13	11
1887	DTN	OF	127	0	217	24	24	7
1888	DTN	OF	56	0	86	4	12	0
1889	PHI	OF	128	0	173	19	21	7
1890	PHI	OF	132	0	170	29	13	5
1891	PHI	OF	133	0	234	32	18	6
1892	PHI	OF	153	0	223	28	17	7
1893	PHI	1B	1	0	7	0	1	0
1893	PHI	OF	131	0	171	17	14	3
1894	PHI	OF	102	0	161	12	5	2
1895	PHI	OF	118	0	186	31	13	2
1896	PHI	OF	119	0	231	28	7	11
1897	PHI	OF	3	0	4	1	1	0
1898	PHI	OF	14	0	19	5	0	0
1906	DET	OF	8	8	14	0	0	0

Career Games by Position

Position Diamond

Circle size = games played at each position.

Position	Games
First Base	1
Left Field	3
Center Field	2
Right Field	1404

Most Similar Players

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

Career Spans

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

Compare Sam Thompson

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Frequently Asked Questions about Sam Thompson

What years did Sam Thompson play?: Sam Thompson played in Major League Baseball from 1885 to 1906.
Was Sam Thompson a pitcher?: No. Sam Thompson was a position player (Outfielder).
How many home runs did Sam Thompson hit?: Sam Thompson hit 126 career home runs with 1988 hits.
Is Sam Thompson in the Hall of Fame?: Yes. Sam Thompson was inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1974.