General

Bobby Thomson, ‘Shot Heard Round The World’ Hero, Dead At 86

Aug 17, 2010, 6:12 PM UTC

On Tuesday, retired Giants outfielder Bobby Thomson passed away at the age of 86. Thomson was responsible for one of the most memorable moments in baseball history, which fell on October 3, 1951. His bottom-of-the-ninth walk-off home run against Dodgers pitcher Ralph Branca won the pennant for the Giants, who entered the final inning of the decisive game with a three-run deficit.

You can see video of Thomson’s “shot heard ‘round the world” here.

The home run defined his career, but Thomson was far more than a one-hit wonder. He played fifteen seasons with the Giants, Braves, Cubs, Red Sox, and Orioles, and amassed 264 home runs with 1,705 career hits. During his career with the Giants, Thomson made three All-Star Game appearances.

Year	Tm	G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	SO	BA	OBP	SLG	OPS	OPS+
1946	NYG	18	54	8	17	4	1	2	9	4	5	.315	.362	.537	.899	152
1947	NYG	138	545	105	154	26	5	29	85	40	78	.283	.336	.508	.844	120
1948	NYG	138	471	75	117	20	2	16	63	30	77	.248	.296	.401	.697	86
1949	NYG	156	641	99	198	35	9	27	109	44	45	.309	.355	.518	.873	131
1950	NYG	149	563	79	142	22	7	25	85	55	45	.252	.324	.449	.774	100
1951	NYG	148	518	89	152	27	8	32	101	73	57	.293	.385	.562	.947	150
1952	NYG	153	608	89	164	29	14	24	108	52	74	.270	.331	.482	.813	122
1953	NYG	154	608	80	175	22	6	26	106	43	57	.288	.338	.472	.810	106
1954	MLN	43	99	7	23	3	0	2	15	12	29	.232	.315	.323	.639	72
1955	MLN	101	343	40	88	12	3	12	56	34	52	.257	.319	.414	.733	97
1956	MLN	142	451	59	106	10	4	20	74	43	75	.235	.302	.408	.710	94
1957	TOT	122	363	39	87	12	7	12	61	27	66	.240	.295	.410	.706	90
1957	MLN	41	148	15	35	5	3	4	23	8	27	.236	.285	.392	.677	86
1957	NYG	81	215	24	52	7	4	8	38	19	39	.242	.302	.423	.725	93
1958	CHC	152	547	67	155	27	5	21	82	56	76	.283	.351	.466	.817	116
1959	CHC	122	374	55	97	15	2	11	52	35	50	.259	.322	.398	.721	92
1960	TOT	43	120	12	30	3	1	5	20	11	18	.250	.308	.417	.725	93
1960	BOS	40	114	12	30	3	1	5	20	11	15	.263	.323	.439	.761	102
1960	BAL	3	6	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	3	.000	.000	.000	.000	-100
15 Seasons		1779	6305	903	1705	267	74	264	1026	559	804	.270	.332	.462	.794	110
162 Game Avg.		162	574	82	155	24	7	24	93	51	73	.270	.332	.462	.794	110
		G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	SO	BA	OBP	SLG	OPS	OPS+
NYG (9 yrs)		1135	4223	648	1171	192	56	189	704	360	477	.277	.337	.484	.821	116
MLN (4 yrs)		327	1041	121	252	30	10	38	168	97	183	.242	.307	.400	.706	92
CHC (2 yrs)		274	921	122	252	42	7	32	134	91	126	.274	.339	.439	.778	106
BOS (1 yr)		40	114	12	30	3	1	5	20	11	15	.263	.323	.439	.761	102
BAL (1 yr)		3	6	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	3	.000	.000	.000	.000	-100

NL (14 yrs)		1736	6185	891	1675	264	73	259	1006	548	786	.271	.332	.463	.795	111
AL (1 yr)		43	120	12	30	3	1	5	20	11	18	.250	.308	.417	.725	93

Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Original Table
Generated 8/17/2010.

Thomson was born in Scotland, and his family moved to America when he was two years old. Like many ballplayers of his generation, Thomson was enlisted in the military during World War II, though he never saw combat.

For reactions from Giants fans, be sure to check in with our Giants blog, McCovey Chronicles.

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