Hank Thompson led Cuban League with 51 RBI in 1947-48, Habana to league title

Dec. 8: On this day in 1925, former Negro, Major and Cuban league outfielder Hank Thompson was born in Oklahoma City, Okla.

Known in Cuba as Ametrilladora, “Machine Gun,” Thompson was elected to the Cuban Baseball Hall of Fame in 2007. He played three season with Habana between 1946-49, batting .320, .318 and .321.

In 1947-48, Thompson led the Cuban League with 51 RBI, helping to lead Habana to the league championship by one game over arch-rival Almendares.

Thompson (shown in this photo that was up for auction at Hakes in November) joined Monte Irvin and Willie Mays in forming the first all-black major-league outfield with the New York Giants in 1951. Ironically, all three were on Cuban League rosters as well, Thompson with Habana and Irvin and Mays with Almendares.

According to his Negro League Baseball Players Association bio, Thompson, on June 9, 1949, married Havana beauty Maria Quesada, in Brooklyn, N.Y.

Thompson starred for Habana, was part of first all-black MLB outfield

Dec. 8: On this day in 1925, former Negro, Major and Cuban league outfielder Hank Thompson was born in Oklahoma City, Okla.

Thompson (shown in this 1946-47 Almanaque Deportivo card) joined Monte Irvin and Willie Mays in forming the first all-black major-league outfield with the New York Giants in 1951. Ironcially, all three were on Cuban League rosters as well, Thompson with Habana and Irvin and Mays with Almendares.

Known in Cuba as Ametrilladora, "Machine Gun," Thompson played three season with Habana between 1946-49, batting .320, .318 and .321.

According to his Negro League Baseball Players Association bio, Thompson, on June 9, 1949, married Havana beauty Maria Quesada, in Brooklyn, N.Y.