Major League Baseball Player. For seven seasons (1970 to 1976), he played at the shortstop, second-base and third-base positions with the Minnesota Twins and Texas Rangers. Born Danny Leon Thompson, he attended Capron High School (Oklahoma) and played collegiate baseball at Oklahoma State University. Selected by Minnesota during the 1st round of the 1968 Amateur Draft, he marked his Major League debut on June 25th, 1970 and experienced post-season action when the Twins clinched American League Western Division that year. He recorded one hit during the 1970 American League Championship Series. In 1972, he produced career-highs 158 hits with a .276 batting average as the Twins' starting shortstop. Prior to the 1974 season Thompson was diagnosed with leukemia however, he chose to continue his baseball career while courageously battling the disease. In 1974 he was recipient of The Hutch Award, which exemplifies the fighting spirit and competitive desire. He was acquired by Texas during the 1976 season, but succumbed to the cancer while at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota on December 10th, 1976. In 694 regular season games, he compiled 550 hits with a .248 lifetime batting average. Following his death, Thompson's former Twins' teammate Harmon Killebrew established a memorial golf tournament to benefit research to cure leukemia.
Major League Baseball Player. For seven seasons (1970 to 1976), he played at the shortstop, second-base and third-base positions with the Minnesota Twins and Texas Rangers. Born Danny Leon Thompson, he attended Capron High School (Oklahoma) and played collegiate baseball at Oklahoma State University. Selected by Minnesota during the 1st round of the 1968 Amateur Draft, he marked his Major League debut on June 25th, 1970 and experienced post-season action when the Twins clinched American League Western Division that year. He recorded one hit during the 1970 American League Championship Series. In 1972, he produced career-highs 158 hits with a .276 batting average as the Twins' starting shortstop. Prior to the 1974 season Thompson was diagnosed with leukemia however, he chose to continue his baseball career while courageously battling the disease. In 1974 he was recipient of The Hutch Award, which exemplifies the fighting spirit and competitive desire. He was acquired by Texas during the 1976 season, but succumbed to the cancer while at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota on December 10th, 1976. In 694 regular season games, he compiled 550 hits with a .248 lifetime batting average. Following his death, Thompson's former Twins' teammate Harmon Killebrew established a memorial golf tournament to benefit research to cure leukemia.
Bio by: C.S.
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