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Merkle923 · 10-14-2016, 08:32 PM

His meanderings in the final two years of his career (mid-1964 to mid-1966) were poorly chronicled by photographers, but here are two new entries I tripped over recently.

There's one MLB-licensed color shot of Thomas from his infamous Phillies stint (1964-65) so this portrait is new. All things considered it's not bad considering it was produced on newsprint for the opening day spread in The Philadelphia Inquirer.

The second image is a little more dicey, of Thomas with the 1966 Atlanta Braves (for whom he never actually played, being released on April 5). This is a small picture from an early-season Atlanta scorecard and features the confusing "Fat A" logo which the team never wore. It occurred to me as I scanned this one that I think I finally understand why these "Fat A" photos exist: I've never seen one of a player who was not with the Braves in Milwaukee in 1965 (including a sample of about 20-25 of these thumbnails in that '66 program). I suspect these guys were all photographed in Milwaukee late in the '65 season in anticipation of the much-contested franchise move that winter.

Back to Thomas: there are a couple of black-and-white snapshots of him with the '65 Astros, taken on a rainy day in the Shea Stadium dugout. But I've never seen him in Houston garb in color, and never seen anything of him that definitely dates to his career-ending stint with the 1966 Cubs (there are plenty from his first tenure there, 1960-61).

10-14-2016, 08:32 PM	#29325
Merkle923 Hall Of Famer Join Date: Aug 2013 Posts: 2,185	Frank Thomas 1951 His meanderings in the final two years of his career (mid-1964 to mid-1966) were poorly chronicled by photographers, but here are two new entries I tripped over recently. There's one MLB-licensed color shot of Thomas from his infamous Phillies stint (1964-65) so this portrait is new. All things considered it's not bad considering it was produced on newsprint for the opening day spread in The Philadelphia Inquirer. The second image is a little more dicey, of Thomas with the 1966 Atlanta Braves (for whom he never actually played, being released on April 5). This is a small picture from an early-season Atlanta scorecard and features the confusing "Fat A" logo which the team never wore. It occurred to me as I scanned this one that I think I finally understand why these "Fat A" photos exist: I've never seen one of a player who was not with the Braves in Milwaukee in 1965 (including a sample of about 20-25 of these thumbnails in that '66 program). I suspect these guys were all photographed in Milwaukee late in the '65 season in anticipation of the much-contested franchise move that winter. Back to Thomas: there are a couple of black-and-white snapshots of him with the '65 Astros, taken on a rainy day in the Shea Stadium dugout. But I've never seen him in Houston garb in color, and never seen anything of him that definitely dates to his career-ending stint with the 1966 Cubs (there are plenty from his first tenure there, 1960-61). Last edited by Merkle923; 08-05-2017 at 12:40 AM.