Tom Hamilton (baseball)
Encyclopedia
Thomas Ball Hamilton was a Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball is the highest level of professional baseball in the United States and Canada, consisting of teams that play in the National League and the American League...

 player who played in 1952 and 1953 for the Philadelphia Athletics
Oakland Athletics
The Oakland Athletics are a Major League Baseball team based in Oakland, California. The Athletics are a member of the Western Division of Major League Baseball's American League. From to the present, the Athletics have played in the O.co Coliseum....

. He batted left-handed and threw right-handed, and he was 6'4" tall and 213 pounds. Used primarily as a pinch hitter, Hamilton appeared in the field in only 14 of the 67 games he played.

Prior to playing professional baseball, Tom Hamilton attended the University of Texas at Austin
University of Texas at Austin
The University of Texas at Austin is a state research university located in Austin, Texas, USA, and is the flagship institution of the The University of Texas System. Founded in 1883, its campus is located approximately from the Texas State Capitol in Austin...

, with whom he won the 1949 College World Series Most Outstanding Player
College World Series Most Outstanding Player
The College World Series Most Outstanding Player is an award for the best individual performance during the College World Series in Omaha, Nebraska. The recipient of the award is announced at the completion of the College World Series Championship Game...

 award in the first year it was awarded. He is one of six players from University of Texas at Austin to win that award. The others are: J. L. Smith, Mickey Reichenbach
Mickey Reichenbach
Michael Neal Reichenbach was a first baseman who is most notable for winning the 1975 College World Series Most Outstanding Player award while a sophomore at University of Texas at Austin. He hit .455 with three doubles and a home run to earn the honor. On the season, he hit .386. He is one of six...

, Calvin Schiraldi
Calvin Schiraldi
Calvin Drew Schiraldi is a former Major League Baseball pitcher. He is best remembered as the losing pitcher of Game 6 and Game 7 of the 1986 World Series.-Amateur career:...

, Huston Street
Huston Street
Huston Lowell Street is an American baseball relief pitcher for the Colorado Rockies. His father is former University of Texas quarterback James Street, and his brother Juston Street is currently a pitcher for the minor league Vancouver Canadians....

 and David Maroul
David Maroul
David William Maroul is a former baseball player. He was the 2005 College World Series Most Outstanding Player. He played collegiately for the Texas Longhorns. He is one of six players from University of Texas at Austin to win that award. The others are: Tom Hamilton, Mickey Reichenbach, Calvin...

. In both 1948 and 1949, he was an All-SWC first baseman, and in 1949 he was also a first-team All-American. He hit .417 with a .848 slugging percentage in 1949.

He also played basketball at the University of Texas at Austin, where he was a center. He was an All-SWC basketball selection in 1950, and he was the first player in school history to score 1,000 points.

Hamilton was signed by the Athletics in 1950, as an amateur free agent. He made his big league debut a couple years later, on September 4, 1952. He appeared in nine games in 1952, collecting two hits in 10 at-bats for a .200 batting average. In 1953, he played in 58 games, although he had only 56 at-bats. He hit .196 with no home runs and five RBI that year. On September 13, he played his final big league game. Overall, Hamilton hit .197 with no home runs and six RBI in 66 career at-bats.

Although his big league career was over, his professional career was not. For example, on December 13, 1953, he was involved in a huge 11 player trade between the Athletics and New York Yankees
New York Yankees
The New York Yankees are a professional baseball team based in the The Bronx, New York. They compete in Major League Baseball in the American League's East Division...

. He was traded with Loren Babe
Loren Babe
Loren Rolland Babe , nicknamed "Bee Bee," was an American professional baseball infielder, manager, scout and coach. The native of Pisgah, Iowa, was first signed by the New York Yankees in 1945 and was a longtime player and manager in the Bombers' minor league organization...

, Harry Byrd
Harry Byrd (baseball)
Harry Gladwin Byrd was an American Major League Baseball right-handed starting pitcher who played for the Philadelphia Athletics , New York Yankees , Baltimore Orioles , Chicago White Sox and Detroit Tigers...

, Carmen Mauro
Carmen Mauro
Carmen Louis Mauro was a professional baseball outfielder. He played all or part of four seasons in Major League Baseball between 1948 and 1953....

, and Eddie Robinson for Don Bollweg
Don Bollweg
Donald Raymond Bollweg was an American first baseman in Major League Baseball who played for three teams from 1950 to 1955....

, Johnny Gray
Johnny Gray (baseball)
John Leonard Gray is a retired American professional baseball player, a former Major League Baseball pitcher who played for four seasons. He pitched for the Philadelphia Athletics/Kansas City Athletics from 1954 to 1955, the Cleveland Indians in 1957, and the Philadelphia Phillies in...

, Jim Robertson
Jim Robertson
Alfred James Robertson was a Major League Baseball catcher who played from 1956 to 1957 for the Philadelphia Athletics and Kansas City Athletics.Prior to playing professionally, he attended Bradley University....

, Jim Finigan
Jim Finigan
James Leroy Finigan was a Major League Baseball infielder. He was signed by the New York Yankees as an amateur free agent before the 1948 season, and traded to the Philadelphia Athletics in an 11-player deal on December 16, 1953...

, Vic Power
Victor Pellot
Victor Pellot a.k.a. "Vic Power" was the second black Puerto Rican to play in Major League Baseball and the first Puerto Rican to play in the American League...

, and Bill Renna
Bill Renna
William Beneditto Renna is a former left fielder in Major League Baseball who played for four different teams between the and seasons. Nicknamed "Big Bill," he was listed at and , and batted and threw right-handed...

.

In 1971, he was elected to the University of Texas to Austin Hall of Honor.

He served as the baseball coach and athletic director at St. Edward's University
St. Edward's University
St. Edward's University is a private Roman Catholic institution of higher learning located south of Lady Bird Lake in Austin, Texas. The university offers a liberal arts education and its campus is located on a hill overlooking the city of Austin. The campus's most notable landmark is Main...

 at the time of his death in 1973. Following his death, he was buried in Cook-Walden Capital Parks Cemetery in Pflugerville, Texas
Pflugerville, Texas
Pflugerville is a city in Travis and Williamson counties in the U.S. state of Texas. The population was 16,335 at the 2000 census. A July 1, 2008 U.S. Census Bureau estimate placed the population at 39,653...

.
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