#Spotlight – This week as part of Black History Month, we introduce you to Hank Thompson, who has the distinction of breaking the color barrier for not one, but two teams - The New York Giants and the St. Louis Browns.
Hank Thompson was also the first Black player to play in both the AL and the National League. Thompson would join the Browns in 1947 (3 months after Jackie Robinson debuted for the Dodgers), then two years later he would join the New York Giants.
When Thompson played for the Browns, he was joined by Willard Brown, becoming the first time to black players were in the same lineup in a MLB game.
In his only season with the Browns, Thompson played 27 games and hit .256 with five RBIs and was released at the end of the season.
Thompson went back to the Negro Leagues to play for the Kansas City Monarchs for the 1948 season.
The following season, Thompson would join the New York Giants where he would play for nine years hitting .267 and averaging 16 home runs and 60 RBIs a season.
#HistoryInYourSize
