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Sam Thompson

Samuel Luther Thompson (Big Sam)

Position: Rightfielder
Bats: Left, Throws: Left
Height: 6' 2", Weight: 207 lb.

Born: March 5, 1860 in Danville, IN (All Transactions)
Debut: July 2, 1885
Teams (by GP): Phillies/Wolverines/Quakers/Tigers 1885-1906

Final Game: September 10, 1906
Died: November 7, 1922 in Detroit, MI
Buried: Elmwood Cemetery, Detroit, MI
Inducted into the Hall of Fame by Veteran's Committee as Player in 1974.
   View Sam Thompson Page at the Baseball Hall of Fame (plaque, photos, videos).
View Player Bio from the SABR BioProject
    About biographical information


Hall of Fame

Fan EloRater

Fine Details  · Last Updated Feb 12, 2012, 12:22AM
All-Time Rank (among Batters): #170. Norm Cash… #171. Jack Clark… #172. Derek Jeter… #173. SAM THOMPSON… #174. Bill Dahlen… #175. Hughie Jennings… #176. Sammy Sosa… 

Standard Batting

More Stats

Year Age Tm Lg G PA AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB CS BB SO BA OBP SLG OPS OPS+ TB GDP HBP SH SF IBB Pos Awards
1885 25 DTN NL 63 270 254 58 77 11 9 7 44 16 22 .303 .344 .500 .844 170 127 0 O
1886 26 DTN NL 122 538 503 101 156 18 13 8 89 13 35 31 .310 .355 .445 .800 139 224 0 *O
1887 27 DTN NL 127 586 545 118 203 29 23 10 166 22 32 19 .372 .416 .565 .982 165 308 9 *O
1888 28 DTN NL 56 264 238 51 67 10 8 6 40 5 23 10 .282 .352 .466 .819 159 111 3 O
1889 29 PHI NL 128 575 533 103 158 36 4 20 111 24 36 22 .296 .348 .492 .839 124 262 6 *O
1890 30 PHI NL 132 599 549 116 172 41 9 4 102 25 42 29 .313 .371 .443 .813 134 243 8 *O
1891 31 PHI NL 133 614 554 108 163 23 10 7 90 29 52 20 .294 .363 .410 .773 122 227 8 *O
1892 32 PHI NL 153 679 609 109 186 28 11 9 104 28 59 19 .305 .377 .432 .809 144 263 11 *O
1893 33 PHI NL 131 656 600 130 222 37 13 11 126 18 50 17 .370 .424 .530 .954 151 318 6 *O/3
1894 34 PHI NL 102 501 451 114 187 32 28 13 147 27 41 13 .415 .465 .696 1.161 181 314 1 8 *O
1895 35 PHI NL 119 576 538 131 211 45 21 18 165 27 31 11 .392 .430 .654 1.085 177 352 5 2 *O
1896 36 PHI NL 119 554 517 103 154 28 7 12 100 12 28 13 .298 .341 .449 .790 108 232 6 3 *O
1897 37 PHI NL 3 14 13 2 3 0 1 0 3 0 1 2 .231 .286 .385 .670 78 5 0 0 /O
1898 38 PHI NL 14 67 63 14 22 5 3 1 15 2 4 1 .349 .388 .571 .959 178 36 0 0 O
1906 46 DET AL 8 32 31 4 7 0 1 0 3 0 1 5 .226 .250 .290 .540 67 9 0 0 /O
15 Seasons 1410 6525 5998 1262 1988 343 161 126 1305 232 451 234 .331 .384 .505 .890 146 3031 63 13
162 Game Avg. 162 750 689 145 228 39 18 14 150 52 27 .331 .384 .505 .890 146 348 7
PHI (10 yrs) 1034 4835 4427 930 1478 275 107 95 963 192 344 147 .334 .388 .509 .897 143 2252 51 13
DTN (4 yrs) 368 1658 1540 328 503 68 53 31 339 40 106 82 .327 .375 .500 .875 157 770 12
DET (1 yr) 8 32 31 4 7 0 1 0 3 0 1 5 .226 .250 .290 .540 67 9 0 0
NL (14 yrs) 1402 6493 5967 1258 1981 343 160 126 1302 232 450 229 .332 .385 .506 .891 146 3022 63 13
AL (1 yr) 8 32 31 4 7 0 1 0 3 0 1 5 .226 .250 .290 .540 67 9 0 0

Player Value--Batters

WAR: 8+ MVP, 5+ A-S, 2+ Strtr, 0-2 Sub, < 0 Repl.
Year Age Tm Lg PA Rbat Rbaser Rroe Rdp Rfield Rpos Rrep RAR WAR oRAR oWAR dWAR Salary Pos Awards
1885 25 DTN NL 270 18 2 0 0 0 -4 8 24 2.4 24 2.3 0.1 $ O
1886 26 DTN NL 538 26 0 0 0 8 -8 16 42 4.0 34 3.2 0.8 $1,750 *O
1887 27 DTN NL 586 61 -3 0 0 5 -8 16 71 6.2 66 6.1 0.1 $ *O
1888 28 DTN NL 264 18 0 0 0 -2 -4 7 19 2.0 21 2.2 -0.2 $ O
1889 29 PHI NL 575 13 0 0 0 -10 -8 16 11 1.0 21 2.0 -1.0 $2,500 *O
1890 30 PHI NL 599 27 1 0 0 -2 -9 17 34 3.1 36 3.3 -0.2 $ *O
1891 31 PHI NL 614 26 1 0 0 10 -9 17 45 4.2 35 3.3 0.9 $ *O
1892 32 PHI NL 679 40 -1 0 0 2 -10 20 51 4.9 49 4.7 0.2 $3,000 *O
1893 33 PHI NL 656 53 -2 0 0 -7 -9 17 52 4.1 59 5.0 -0.9 $1,800 *O/3
1894 34 PHI NL 501 65 1 0 0 -4 -6 13 69 5.1 73 5.8 -0.7 $ *O
1895 35 PHI NL 576 68 1 0 0 3 -8 15 79 6.5 76 6.4 0.1 $ *O
1896 36 PHI NL 554 11 0 0 0 8 -8 15 26 2.5 18 1.6 0.9 $ *O
1897 37 PHI NL 14 -1 0 0 0 0 0 0 -1 -0.1 -1 -0.1 0.0 $ /O
1898 38 PHI NL 67 7 0 0 0 0 -1 2 8 0.8 8 0.8 0.0 $ O
1906 46 DET AL 32 -1 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0.0 0 0.0 0.0 $ /O
15 Seasons 6525 431 0 0 0 11 -92 180 530 46.7 519 46.6 0.1 $9,050
PHI (10 yrs) 4835 309 1 0 0 0 -68 132 374 32.1 374 32.8 -0.7 $7,300
DTN (4 yrs) 1658 123 -1 0 0 11 -24 47 156 14.6 145 13.8 0.8 $1,750
DET (1 yr) 32 -1 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0.0 0 0.0 0.0 $

Postseason Batting

Year Age Tm Lg Series Opp Rslt G PA AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB CS BB SO BA OBP SLG OPS TB GDP HBP SH SF IBB
1887 27 DTN NL WS 15 61 58 8 21 2 0 2 7 5 3 3 .362 .393 .500 .893 29 0
1 WS 15 61 58 8 21 2 0 2 7 5 3 3 .362 .393 .500 .893 29 0

Standard Fielding

More Stats

Year Tm Lg Age Pos G GS CG Inn Ch PO A E DP Fld% RF/9 RF/G lgFld% lgRF9 lgRFG G Awards
1885 DTN NL 25 OF 63 122 84 24 14 0 .885 1.71 .881 1.85 0-0-63
1886 DTN NL 26 OF 122 236 194 29 13 11 .945 1.83 .890 1.75 0-0-122
1887 DTN NL 27 OF 127 265 217 24 24 7 .909 1.90 .883 1.97 0-0-127
1888 DTN NL 28 OF 56 102 86 4 12 0 .882 1.61 .906 1.91 0-0-56
1889 PHI NL 29 OF 128 213 173 19 21 7 .901 1.50 .910 2.00 0-0-128
1890 PHI NL 30 OF 132 212 170 29 13 5 .939 1.51 .914 1.91 0-0-132
1891 PHI NL 31 OF 133 284 234 32 18 6 .937 2.00 .912 1.92 0-2-131
1892 PHI NL 32 OF 153 268 223 28 17 7 .937 1.64 .912 1.89 3-0-150
1893 PHI NL 33 OF 131 202 171 17 14 3 .931 1.44 .915 2.18 0-0-131
1893 PHI NL 33 1B 1 8 7 0 1 0 .875 7.00 .978 10.60
1894 PHI NL 34 OF 102 178 161 12 5 2 .972 1.70 .915 2.28 0-0-102
1895 PHI NL 35 OF 118 230 186 31 13 2 .943 1.84 .917 2.18 0-0-118
1896 PHI NL 36 OF 119 266 231 28 7 11 .974 2.18 .933 2.16 0-0-119
1897 PHI NL 37 OF 3 6 4 1 1 0 .833 1.67 .937 2.10 0-0-3
1898 PHI NL 38 OF 14 24 19 5 0 0 1.000 1.71 .937 2.08 0-0-14
1906 DET AL 46 OF 8 14 14 0 0 0 1.000 1.75 .963 1.90 0-0-8
15 Seasons OF 1409 2622 2167 283 172 61 .934 1.74 .909 2.00 3-2-1404
1 Season 1B 1 8 7 0 1 0 .875 7.00 .978 10.60
15 Seasons TOT 1410 2630 2174 283 173 61 .934 1.74 .909 2.01 3-2-1404
Note: Fielding stats are a combination of official records and RetroSheet records. Both are likely to have substantial errors and will not match perfectly.
View Complete Notes on Fielding Data
Leagues historically made no effort to balance team, league, and player fielding stats. Since 1990 or so, computers have made this feasible, but prior to that there are hundreds or thousands of discrepancies each year in games played (even whether a player played a position), putouts, assists, double plays and errors.
  • Pre-1950 SB & CS data for catchers is estimated from catcher assists, games started and opposition stolen bases.
  • From 1950 on SB, CS, Pickoff, & WP data for catchers and pitchers is taken from play-by-play accounts in the retrosheet files. There are several hundred games without pbp from 1950 to 1973 and for those we may not have any data.
  • CG & GS come from the retrosheet data and should be complete and pretty accurate from 1919 on.
  • Innings played (like SB and CS) come from the retrosheet play-by-play data and should be considered mostly complete from 1950 to 1973 and complete from then on.
  • Stats (PO,A,G, etc) for LF-CF-RF positions (since 1919) is taken from play-by-play or box score data as available.
  • Stats (PO,A,G,etc) for C,P,1B,2B,3B,SS,OF positions is taken from the official reported totals and may have been corrected at various times since their publication.
  • For detailed information on which games retrosheet is missing play-by-play from 1950 to 1973, please see their most wanted games list
  • For detailed information on the availability of data on this site by year, see our data coverage page

Appearances on Leader Boards, Awards, and Honors

Stats are Year-Value-Rank · Glossary

Hall of Fame
1974 Veterans (inducted)
Selected to HOF in 1974
by Veteran's Committee

Wins Above Replacement† s c a p y
1887 NL  6.2 (8th)

WAR Position Players† s c a p y
1886 NL  4.0 (10th)
1887 NL  6.2 (4th)
1891 NL  4.2 (10th)
1894 NL  5.1 (9th)
1895 NL  6.5 (6th)
Career  46.7 (199th)

Offensive WAR† s c a p y
1887 NL  6.1 (2nd)
1892 NL  4.7 (10th)
1893 NL  5.0 (8th)
1894 NL  5.8 (6th)
1895 NL  6.4 (7th)
Career  46.6 (180th)

Defensive WAR† s c a p y
1891 NL  0.9 (9th)
1896 NL  0.9 (10th)

Batting Average s c a p y
1886 NL  .310 (8th)
1887 NL  .372 (1st)
1890 NL  .313 (5th)
1891 NL  .294 (7th)
1892 NL  .305 (7th)
1893 NL  .370 (2nd)
1894 NL  .415 (3rd)
1895 NL  .392 (4th)
Career  .331 (29th)

On-Base% s c a p y
1887 NL  .416 (3rd)
1892 NL  .377 (10th)
1893 NL  .424 (8th)
1894 NL  .465 (8th)
Career  .384 (139th)

Slugging % s c a p y
1886 NL  .445 (7th)
1887 NL  .565 (1st)
1889 NL  .492 (5th)
1890 NL  .443 (7th)
1892 NL  .432 (8th)
1893 NL  .530 (3rd)
1894 NL  .696 (1st)
1895 NL  .654 (1st)
Career  .505 (86th)

On-Base Plus Slugging s c a p y
1886 NL  .800 (9th)
1887 NL  .982 (2nd)
1892 NL  .809 (9th)
1893 NL  .954 (5th)
1894 NL  1.161 (2nd)
1895 NL  1.085 (2nd)
Career  .890 (71st)

Games Played s c a p y
1886 NL  122 (9th)
1887 NL  127 (2nd)
1892 NL  153 (3rd)
1893 NL  131 (10th)

At Bats s c a p y
1886 NL  503 (3rd)
1887 NL  545 (1st)
1890 NL  549 (7th)
1891 NL  554 (7th)
1893 NL  600 (1st)

Plate Appearances s c a p y
1886 NL  538 (7th)
1887 NL  586 (2nd)
1893 NL  656 (1st)

Runs Scored s c a p y
1886 NL  101 (9th)
1887 NL  118 (5th)
1890 NL  116 (6th)
1893 NL  130 (6th)
1895 NL  131 (8th)
Career  1,262 (136th)

Hits s c a p y
1886 NL  156 (7th)
1887 NL  203 (1st)
1890 NL  172 (1st)
1891 NL  163 (6th)
1892 NL  186 (2nd)
1893 NL  222 (1st)
1895 NL  211 (3rd)

Total Bases s c a p y
1886 NL  224 (7th)
1887 NL  308 (1st)
1889 NL  262 (3rd)
1890 NL  243 (3rd)
1891 NL  227 (6th)
1892 NL  263 (3rd)
1893 NL  318 (2nd)
1894 NL  314 (3rd)
1895 NL  352 (1st)

Doubles s c a p y
1887 NL  29 (8th)
1889 NL  36 (3rd)
1890 NL  41 (1st)
1892 NL  28 (6th)
1893 NL  37 (1st)
1895 NL  45 (2nd)
1896 NL  28 (7th)

Triples s c a p y
1885 NL  9 (10th)
1886 NL  13 (4th)
1887 NL  23 (1st)
1894 NL  28 (2nd)
1895 NL  21 (2nd)
Career  161 (38th)

Home Runs s c a p y
1885 NL  7 (3rd)
1886 NL  8 (6th)
1887 NL  10 (9th)
1889 NL  20 (1st)
1891 NL  7 (9th)
1892 NL  9 (5th)
1893 NL  11 (5th)
1894 NL  13 (5th)
1895 NL  18 (1st)
1896 NL  12 (3rd)

Runs Batted In s c a p y
1886 NL  89 (3rd)
1887 NL  166 (1st)
1889 NL  111 (5th)
1890 NL  102 (3rd)
1891 NL  90 (6th)
1892 NL  104 (2nd)
1893 NL  126 (3rd)
1894 NL  147 (1st)
1895 NL  165 (1st)
1896 NL  100 (9th)
Career  1,305 (102nd)

Singles s c a p y
1886 NL  117 (5th)
1887 NL  141 (2nd)
1891 NL  123 (6th)
1892 NL  138 (6th)
1893 NL  161 (2nd)

Adjusted OPS+ s c a p y
1886 NL  139 (10th)
1887 NL  165 (2nd)
1892 NL  144 (10th)
1893 NL  150 (5th)
1894 NL  181 (1st)
1895 NL  177 (2nd)
Career  146 (46th)

Runs Created s c a p y
1886 NL  80 (8th)
1887 NL  125 (1st)
1889 NL  89 (10th)
1890 NL  88 (2nd)
1891 NL  81 (8th)
1892 NL  96 (4th)
1893 NL  133 (2nd)
1894 NL  146 (4th)
1895 NL  150 (1st)
Career  1,164 (207th)

Adj. Batting Runs s c a p y
1886 NL  23 (9th)
1887 NL  47 (2nd)
1890 NL  23 (8th)
1892 NL  33 (6th)
1893 NL  42 (3rd)
1894 NL  56 (4th)
1895 NL  57 (2nd)
Career  354 (90th)

Adj. Batting Wins s c a p y
1886 NL  2.4 (9th)
1887 NL  4.6 (2nd)
1890 NL  2.4 (8th)
1892 NL  3.5 (6th)
1893 NL  4.0 (3rd)
1894 NL  4.7 (4th)
1895 NL  5.1 (2nd)
Career  34.4 (96th)

Extra Base Hits s c a p y
1886 NL  39 (7th)
1887 NL  62 (3rd)
1889 NL  60 (3rd)
1890 NL  54 (3rd)
1891 NL  40 (10th)
1892 NL  48 (7th)
1893 NL  61 (2nd)
1894 NL  73 (3rd)
1895 NL  84 (1st)
1896 NL  47 (9th)

Times On Base s c a p y
1886 NL  191 (8th)
1887 NL  244 (2nd)
1892 NL  256 (7th)
1893 NL  278 (3rd)

Offensive Win % s c a p y
1886 NL  .706 (9th)
1887 NL  .803 (1st)
1890 NL  .693 (9th)
1892 NL  .710 (9th)
1893 NL  .764 (3rd)
1894 NL  .825 (2nd)
1895 NL  .820 (2nd)
Career  .733 (39th)

Hit By Pitch s c a p y
1887 NL  9 (5th)
1889 NL  6 (9th)
1891 NL  8 (9th)
1892 NL  11 (5th)

Power-Speed # s c a p y
1886 NL  9.9 (9th)
1889 NL  21.8 (2nd)
1892 NL  13.6 (5th)
1893 NL  13.7 (10th)
1894 NL  17.6 (9th)
1895 NL  21.6 (1st)
1896 NL  12.0 (8th)
Career  163.3 (136th)

AB per SO s c a p y
1887 NL  28.7 (9th)
1889 NL  24.2 (9th)
1891 NL  27.7 (4th)
1892 NL  32.1 (6th)
1895 NL  48.9 (6th)
1896 NL  39.8 (9th)
Career  25.6 (48th)

AB per HR s c a p y
1886 NL  62.9 (8th)
1889 NL  26.7 (1st)
1893 NL  54.5 (8th)
1894 NL  34.7 (5th)
1895 NL  29.9 (3rd)
1896 NL  43.1 (3rd)

Def. Games as OF s c a p y
1886 NL  122 (4th)
1887 NL  127 (1st)
1890 NL  132 (5th)
1891 NL  133 (5th)
1892 NL  153 (1st)
1893 NL  131 (4th)

Putouts as OF s c a p y
1886 NL  194 (4th)

Assists as OF s c a p y
1885 NL  24 (5th)
1886 NL  29 (3rd)
1887 NL  24 (5th)
1890 NL  29 (3rd)
1891 NL  32 (1st)
1892 NL  28 (4th)
1895 NL  31 (2nd)
1896 NL  28 (1st)
Career  283 (12th)

Errors Committed as OF s c a p y
Career  172 (50th)

Fielding % as OF s c a p y
1886 NL  .945 (4th)
1887 NL  .909 (5th)
1891 NL  .937 (5th)
1894 NL  .972 (1st)
1896 NL  .974 (1st)

Oldest s c a p y
1896 NL  born 1860-03-05 (9th)
1897 NL  born 1860-03-05 (8th)
1898 NL  born 1860-03-05 (2nd)
1906 AL  born 1860-03-05 (1st)

                                         

Hall Of Fame Statistics

Player rank in (·)

Black InkBatting - 49 (29), Average HOFer ≈ 27
Gray InkBatting - 200 (40), Average HOFer ≈ 144
Hall of Fame MonitorBatting - 174 (61), Likely HOFer ≈ 100
Hall of Fame StandardsBatting - 47 (99), Average HOFer ≈ 50

Similarity Scores

Explanation of Similarity Scores
Similar Batters 
 View Similar Player Links in Pop-up
 Compare Stats to Similars
  1. Kiki Cuyler (855) *
  2. Mike Tiernan (842)
  3. Bill Terry (837) *
  4. Hugh Duffy (834) *
  5. Heinie Manush (832) *
  6. Earl Averill (831) *
  7. Bob Meusel (830)
  8. Bing Miller (827)
  9. Earle Combs (821) *
  10. Babe Herman (820)
* - Signifies Hall of Famer
Most Similar by Ages 
 View Similar Player Links in Pop-up
 Hold mouse over #'s to see names
  1. Dusty Miller (973)  2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 C
  2. Carl Reynolds (961)  2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 C
  3. Carl Reynolds (956)  2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 C
  4. Carl Reynolds (962)  2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 C
  5. Carl Reynolds (954)  2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 C
  6. Carl Reynolds (953)  2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 C
  7. Carl Reynolds (925)  2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 C
  8. Irish Meusel (911)  2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 C
  9. Kiki Cuyler (939) * 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 C
  10. Kiki Cuyler (918) * 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 C
  11. Kiki Cuyler (907) * 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 C
  12. Kiki Cuyler (895) * 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 C
  13. Kiki Cuyler (873) * 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 C
  14. Dan Brouthers (816) * 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 C
* - Signifies Hall of Famer

Transactions

The transaction information used here was obtained free of charge from and is copyrighted by RetroSheet. We attempt to update transactions throughout the season.

Salaries

Salaries may not be complete (especially pre-1985) and may not include some earned bonuses
Year Age Team Salary Sources Notes
188626Detroit Wolverines$1,750Preston Orem 201
188929Philadelphia Quakers$2,500I Seymour, p. 269
189232Philadelphia Phillies$3,000I Seymour, p. 269
189333Philadelphia Phillies$1,800I Seymour, p. 269
Career to date (may be incomplete)$9,050
Salary Data (about) courtesy Doug Pappas, and the Society for American Baseball Research.
Salaries for mid-season call-ups or traded players may not be shown.

Other Resources & Links

Error?     Compare     Search SABR's Baseball Index     Other Links@google.com     Baseball Library     Baseball-Almanac.com     DeadBallEra Obituary     Hall of Fame     Retrosheet     The Baseball Cube     The Baseball Page     WhatIfSports: Sam Thompson    

Viewed 23,121 times through February 11, 2012.
Name and misspellings: Big Samuel Luther Sam sammy samuel Thompson thomson

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