Last night, White Sox DH Jim Thome hit career home runs number 546 and 547. I figured this was as good an opportunity as any to share a box score I’ve been sitting on for some time. Turns out, Thome comes from a famous baseball-playing family in Peoria, IL. His father was a legendary softball star in the city, and his grandfather, Chuck Thome, played some minor league baseball in the 1930s. Not to be outdone, his mother played some top-notch fast-pitch softball back in the day, and rumor has it, the family dog led the Peoria Little League in OPS twice. In short, the Thomes could handle themselves on the diamond.
On June 19, 1936, Grandpa Chuck Thome (okay, 31-years-old and NOT yet a grandfather) hit a first inning shot against the famous Kansas City Monarchs. In the line-up for the top independent Negro League team were future Hall of Famer Willard “Home Run” Brown and HOF candidate Newt Allen. Despite Thome’s homer, the Monarchs defeated the Peoria All-Stars 15-7. Box score (courtesy of the Chicago Defender, National Edition, June 20, 1936), is posted below.
1 Comment
October 30, 2009 at 7:17 am
I took great joy in reading the article in the Chicago Sun Times about your Negro League research and love of Strat-O-Matic and then seeing how many more articles I’ve seen since then.
We seem to have much in common. I live in Chicago, grew up playing APBA (and some Strat-O), and I have spent a great deal of time involved in baseball history.
For the last 4 years I have been developing a web site that digitizes the concept of the great dice games. I have the entire history of baseball, minus the Negro Leagues, available to create custom teams and leagues and play them out game by game.
I would love for you to check it out, it is free, and see what you think. It would also be great to include the Negro Leagues.
Feel free to email or call me at 312 933-5328