Like Jim Slaton, Gorman Thomas was drafted by the Seattle Pilots. Thomas was chosen by the Pilots in the first round of the 1969 June Draft. If you don't count the January drafts, then Thomas was the one and only first round pick of the Seattle Pilots.
Thomas made it to the major leagues in 1973 and played parts of 1974, 1975, and 1976 in the majors, but did not appear in the 1977 season. As Daniel Okrent detailed in Nine Innings: The Anatomy of a Baseball Game, one of the first things that George Bamberger did when he became the manager was make sure that the Brewers got Gorman back in Milwaukee and installed him in centerfield.
Okrent described Thomas as in contrast to Paul Molitor: "If Molitor was the dreamboat that every 17-year-old girl in greater Milwaukee pined for, then James Gorman Thomas was the hero that every 47-year-old brewery worker idolized." Okrent also has a great line from Luis Tiant about Thomas: that Thomas was so ugly he "could be anything in the jungle [he] wanted to be, but not the hunter."
Thomas was traded to the Cleveland Indians during the 1983 season along with Ernie Camacho and Jamie Easterly in exchange for Rick Manning and Rick Waits. He then went to the Mariners before they cut him in 1986. The Brewers picked him for the rest of that season on July 16. After that season, he was done as a player.
Thomas is currently fifth all-time in homers with the Brewers with 208, which is behind Yount, Braun, Fielder, and Jenkins. He is tied with BJ Surhoff for all-time appearances with the Brewers at 1102 games; Ryan Braun should pass them early next year so long as he stays with the team and is healthy. He was an All-Star in 1981, he led the AL in Homers in 1979 with 45 and tied for first in 1982 with 39. He also led the AL in strikeouts in 1979 (175) and 1980 (170).
He was never a threat for the Hall of Fame, but his blue-collar style of play endeared him to Brewers fans for years and led him to be named as an outfielder on the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel's All Decades Team for both the 1970s and the 1980s.
I have 71 Gorman Thomas cards/items.
1974 (1)
Topps #288
1975 (3)
O-Pee-Chee #532
Topps #532
Topps Mini #532
1976 (3)
O-Pee-Chee #139
SSPC #243
Topps #139
1977 (1)
Topps #439
1979 (3)
Milwaukee Brewers Team Issue Black & White
O-Pee-Chee #196
Topps #376
1980 (8)
Kellogg's #11
Milwaukee Brewers Media Guide (w/Cooper & Lezcano)
Milwaukee Brewers Yearbook
O-Pee-Chee #327
Pizza Hut Placemat (w/Molitor, Slaton, Martinez, Bamberger, & Davis)
Topps #202 (Home Run Leaders, w/Dave Kingman)
Topps #623
Topps Superstar Photos Gray Backs #30
1981 (8)
Donruss #326b (30 HR mark 4th time)
Donruss #326b (30 HR mark 3d time)
Fleer #507
Fleer Star Stickers #77
O-Pee-Chee #135
Topps #135
Topps Sticker #12
Topps Sticker #96
1982 (8)
Donruss #26
Donruss #132
Fleer #154
Gardner's Milwaukee Brewers #19
McDonald's Glasses (w/Cecil Cooper)
Milwaukee Brewers Police Milwaukee PD
O-Pee-Chee #324
Topps #765
1983 (15)
Donruss #510
Drake's Big Hitters #27
Fleer #48
Fleer Stamps #195
Fleer Sticker #20
Kellogg's #47
McDonald's Placemat (w/Mike Caldwell)
Milwaukee Brewers Police Milwaukee PD
Milwaukee Brewers West Bend Police
Perma-Graphic Credit Cards #32
Perma-Graphic Credit Cards Gold #32
Topps #10
Topps #702 Home Run Leaders (with Dave Kingman & Reggie Jackson)
Topps League Leaders 8"x10" cardboard sheet
Topps Sticker #84
1987 (3)
Fleer #359
Topps #495
Topps Tiffany #495
1992 (2)
Carlson Travel/United Airlines/TV6 1982 World Series commemorative set SGA
Milwaukee Brewers Program Collector's Card
1994 (1)
Milwaukee Brewers Miller 25th Anniversary Team (4th Book, individual Card)
2000 (4)
Fleer Greats of the Game Autographs #85
Fleer Greats of the Game #55
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel All Decades Team 1970s Outfielder
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel All Decades Team 1980s Outfielder
2001 (1)
Upper Deck Decades 1970s #50
2004 (4)
Fleer Greats of the Game #58
Fleer Greats of the Game Blue Parallel #58 SN126/500
Topps All-Time Fan Favorites #135
Upper Deck Legends Timeless Teams #209
2007 (2)
Hero Deck Milwaukee Eight of Diamonds
Milwaukee Brewers 1982 Silver Anniversary Bobblehead SGA
2013 (3)
Panini Hometown Heroes #109
Panini Hometown Heroes State Parallel #109
Panini Hometown Heroes Signatures #HSGT
2015 (1)
Bob1973 Topps Mockup
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