Thomas recorded a 32-12 mark for the 1925 International League Baltimore Orioles
and attracted the attention of White Sox owner Charles Comiskey. Thomas was a workhorse
for Chicago from 1926 through 1929, leading the AL in starts and innings pitched
in 1927, and in complete games in 1929 (24, for the third straight year). He put
together three winning seasons, but was known as a hard-luck pitcher who was never
able to win the close ones. By 1930 he was an overworked pitcher who generally couldn't
go past the fifth inning.
On July 24, 1927 Thomas surrendered a mammoth home run
to Babe Ruth. It was the first ball to reach Comiskey Park's spacious upper deck,
which had been installed the previous winter. On August 16, Ruth blasted a Thomas
offering over the roof; earlier in the day, Chicago architects had declared that
such a feat was not possible at the redesigned ballpark.
(RL)
FROM THE BASEBALL CHRONOLOGY
»September 25, 1926:
In the first of two games in Chicago, Sox RF Bill Barrett breaks a 1–1 tie with a 9th inning solo homer of Washington's Walter Johnson to give the win to Tommy Thomas, 2–1. The Senators take the 2nd game, 3–2, behind Firpo Marberry.
»May 19, 1927: White Sox players give their former manager Eddie Collins a wristwatch and diamond stickpin on his return to Chicago with the A's, then win 3–0 behind Tommy Thomas' 6th straight win. In addition to new Sox manager Ray Schalk, there are three ex-Sox managers present: the A's Eddie Collins and Kid Gleason, and umpire Clarence Rowland. Another ex-manager, Ty Cobb of the Tigers, hits in his 19th straight game.
»May 4, 1929: At Comiskey Park, Lou Gehrig wallops three home runs against the Sox in an 11–9 New York shootout. His middle home run, in the 7th inning, is sandwiched between roundtrippers by Babe Ruth and Bob Meusel. With his homer off Red Faber in the 2nd, Gehrig joins Ruth as the 2nd slugger to clear the RF stands, 75 feet high and 360 feet away from home plate. The Ruthian clout came off Tommy Thomas in 1927. His last homer of the day is served up by Dan Dugan.
»May 11, 1929: After 25 consecutive complete games, White Sox righthander Tommy Thomas comes out in the 5th inning of a 9–2 loss to Washington. He will still lead the American League with 24 CG, the 3rd year in a row he'll complete that many starts.
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