Thomas Francis Holmes (March 29, 1917 – April 14, 2008) was an American

right Rights are law, legal, social, or ethics, ethical principles of freedom or Entitlement (fair division), entitlement; that is, rights are the fundamental normative rules about what is allowed of people or owed to people according to some legal sy ...

and

center fielder A center fielder, abbreviated CF, is the outfielder in baseball who plays defense in center field – the baseball and softball fielding position between left field and right field. In the numbering system used to record defensive plays, the ...

and

manager Management (or managing) is the administration of organizations, whether businesses, nonprofit organizations, or a government bodies through business administration, nonprofit management, or the political science sub-field of public administra ...

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league composed of 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (baseball), National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. MLB i ...

who played nearly his entire career for the

Boston Braves The Boston Braves were a Major League Baseball club that originated in Boston, Boston, Massachusetts, and played from 1871 to 1952. Afterwards they moved to History of the Atlanta Braves#Milwaukee, Milwaukee (and became the Milwaukee Braves). ...

. He hit over .300 lifetime (.302) and every year from 1944 through 1948, peaking with a .352 mark in when he finished second in the

National League National League often refers to: *National League (baseball), one of the two baseball leagues constituting Major League Baseball in the United States and Canada *National League (division), the fifth division of the English football (soccer) system ...

batting race and was runner-up for the NL's Most Valuable Player Award.

Career

Holmes was born in

Brooklyn, New York Brooklyn is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City located at the westernmost end of Long Island in the New York (state), State of New York. Formerly an independent city, the borough is coextensive with Kings County, one of twelv ...

. As a youth, he trained to be a boxer but his father forbade him to pursue the sport professionally. He attended

Brooklyn Technical High School Brooklyn Technical High School, commonly called Brooklyn Tech and administratively designated High School 430, is a public specialized high school in New York City that specializes in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. It is on ...

where he had batting averages of .613 and .585 in various seasons, attracting the attention of major league scouts. As a high schooler, Holmes also played semiprofessional games on Sundays for $5 per game (). Holmes, who batted and threw left-handed, signed his first professional contract with the

New York Yankees The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Am ...

, but could not break into their outfield of Joe DiMaggio, Tommy Henrich and Charlie Keller. After three over-.300 seasons with the Yanks' top

farm team In sports, a farm team (also referred to as farm system, developmental system, feeder team, or nursery club) is generally a Team sport, team or club whose role is to provide experience and training for young players, with an agreement that any s ...

, the

Newark Bears The Newark Bears were an American independent league professional baseball team based in Newark, New Jersey. They were a member of the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball and, later, the Canadian American Association of Professional Bas ...

, he was traded to the Boston Braves in February 1942. Given a regular major league job at last, he hit over .300 for five consecutive seasons (1944–48). In 1944, Holmes was deemed ineligible for service in

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

due to an untreatable sinus condition. Holmes, one of the most popular Boston Braves especially in the twilight of his career, finished second in MVP voting in the National League in 1945 after leading the NL in

hits Hits or H.I.T.S. may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Music * '' H.I.T.S.'', 1991 album by New Kids on the Block * ''...Hits'' (Phil Collins album), 1998 * ''Hits'' (compilation series), 1984–2006; 2014, a British compilation album s ...

(224),

home run In baseball, a home run (abbreviated HR) is scored when the Baseball (ball), ball is hit in such a way that the batting (baseball), batter is able to circle the bases and reach home plate safe (baseball), safely in one play without any error ( ...

s (28) and doubles (47). That season, he set a modern NL record by hitting safely in 37 consecutive games from June 6 through July 8 (

Bill Dahlen William Frederick Dahlen (January 5, 1870 – December 5, 1950), nicknamed "Bad Bill", was an American shortstop and manager (baseball), manager in Major League Baseball who played for four National League (baseball), National League teams from ...

and

Willie Keeler William Henry Keeler (March 3, 1872 – January 1, 1923), nicknamed "Wee Willie" because of his small stature, was an American right fielder in Major League Baseball who played from 1892 to 1910, primarily for the Baltimore Orioles and Brooklyn ...

had longer streaks in the 1890s), a mark surpassed 33 years later in by

Pete Rose Peter Edward Rose Sr. (April 14, 1941 – September 30, 2024), nicknamed "Charlie Hustle", was an American professional baseball player and manager. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) from 1963 to 1986, most prominently as a member of ...

with a 44-game streak that tied Keeler's and came the closest to

Joe DiMaggio Joseph Paul DiMaggio (; born Giuseppe Paolo DiMaggio, ; November 25, 1914 – March 8, 1999), nicknamed "Joltin' Joe", "the Yankee Clipper" and "Joe D.", was an American professional baseball center fielder who played his entire 13-year career ...

's MLB record 56 in 1941. Holmes struck out just 9 times in 1945, and his ratio of home runs (28) to strikeouts that season is one of the best in baseball history. In , his .325 batting average in 139 games as the Braves' leadoff hitter help lead Boston to the NL pennant (together with slugging MVP third baseman Bob Elliott and the oft-parodied starting rotation of Spahn, Sain and pray for rain). After the season Holmes, at 33, was named player-manager of the team's Class A Hartford Chiefs farm club. On June 19, 1951, with the injury-ridden parent club Braves floundering in fifth place under manager Billy Southworth, he was called back to Boston to manage his old team and serve as a pinch-hitter. It was hoped he could arouse the club and bring fans back to

Braves Field Braves Field was a baseball park located in Boston, Massachusetts. Today the site is home to Nickerson Field on the campus of Boston University. The stadium was home of the Boston Braves of the National League from 1915 to 1952, prior to the ...

. The team went 48–47 under Holmes for the remainder of 1951, finishing fourth as they did in 1949 and 1950, but when they began with a mark of 13–22 he was fired on May 31 and replaced by Charlie Grimm. The Braves finished seventh, drew only 281,000 fans, and left Boston for

Milwaukee Milwaukee is the List of cities in Wisconsin, most populous city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. Located on the western shore of Lake Michigan, it is the List of United States cities by population, 31st-most populous city in the United States ...

the following spring. That 61–69 stretch (.469) was Holmes' only major league managing stint. Holmes finished the regular 1952 season pinch-hitting for the

Brooklyn Dodgers The Brooklyn Dodgers were a Major League Baseball team founded in 1883 as the Brooklyn Grays. In 1884, it became a member of the American Association as the Brooklyn Atlantics before joining the National League in 1890. They remained in Brook ...

and playing left field in the final inning of game 7 in the

World Series The World Series is the annual championship series of Major League Baseball (MLB). It has been contested since between the champion teams of the American League (AL) and the National League (NL). The winning team, determined through a best- ...

against the

, after which he managed in the Braves' and Dodgers' farm systems from 1953 to 1957. He retired with a .302 lifetime batting average with 88 home runs and 581 RBIs in his 1,320-game, eleven-year major league career. He posted a fine .989

fielding percentage In baseball statistics, fielding percentage, also known as fielding average, is a measure that reflects the percentage of times a baseball positions, defensive player properly handles a batted or thrown ball. It is calculated by the sum of putout ...

in the majors, never committing more than 6 errors in any one season (1945), and executing more double plays (37) than errors (33). In 1973, he returned to the game as director of amateur baseball relations for the

New York Mets The New York Mets are an American professional baseball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of Queens. The Mets compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National ...

, a post he held for three decades until retiring at 86. Holmes died in 2008 at the age of 91 in

Boca Raton, Florida Boca Raton ( ; ) is a city in Palm Beach County, Florida, United States. The population was 97,422 in the 2020 United States census, 2020 census and it ranked as the 23rd-largest city in Florida in 2022. Many people with a Boca Raton Address, ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Holmes, Tommy 1917 births 2008 deaths Binghamton Triplets players Boston Braves managers Boston Braves players Brooklyn Dodgers players Brooklyn Dodgers scouts Brooklyn Technical High School alumni Elmira Pioneers players Hartford Chiefs players Kansas City Blues (baseball) players Los Angeles Dodgers scouts Major League Baseball player-managers Major League Baseball right fielders Montreal Royals managers National League All-Stars National League home run champions Newark Bears (International League) players Norfolk Tars players Portland Beavers managers Baseball players from Brooklyn 20th-century American sportsmen

Career

See also

References

External links