Samuel Luther "Big Sam" Thompson (March 5, 1860 – November 7, 1922)
American professional baseball player from 1884 to 1898 and with a brief comeback in 1906. At 6 feet, 2 inches, the Indiana native was one of the larger players of his day and was known for his prominent handlebar mustache. He played as a right fielder in Major League Baseball for the Detroit Wolverines (1885–1888), Philadelphia Phillies (1889–1898) and Detroit Tigers (1906).
Thompson was married in 1888 to Ida Morasha of Detroit. They had no children and made their home in Detroit until Thompson's death. He was appointed a U.S. Deputy Marshall during World War I and also worked as the crier in the courtroom of U.S. District Court Judge Arthur J. Tuttle. He was "well known" and a "well liked" figure at the federal building in Detroit.
Thompson died in 1922 at age 62. He had a heart attack while serving as an election inspector on November 7 and was stricken again later in the morning after being taken to his home located at 6468 Trumbull Avenue in Detroit. Upon learning of Thompson's death, his former Detroit manager Bill Watkins recalled Thompson as "not only a great baseball player, but as one of the finest gentlemen I ever knew." At Thompson's funeral, "Michigan's foremost citizens – state and city officials, judges, bankers, doctors, millionaires, laborers – paid homage ... to their beloved friend", and the neighborhood in which Thompson lived "was packed with expensive automobiles and their liveried chauffeurs" as workmen and wealthy men "discussed their favorite player with an unusual spirit of camaraderie." Thompson was interred at the historic Elmwood Cemetery in Detroit. He was posthumously inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1974. (Wikipedia)
Sam Thompson, baseball player for the Detroit Wolverines and Philadelphia Phillies, standing on dock holding string of fish. Two cottages behind him, with some people on porch and on path. Handwritten on mat back: "July, 1897, Sam Thompson, Det. baseball player, 'Gaines Folly' (Gaines Dancing School ) on St. Clair River bet. Cherry Beach & Roberts Landing."
Courtesy of the Burton Historical Collection, Detroit Public Library
