1979 derrel thomas

derrel thomas signed as a free agent with the dodgers after the 1978 season ended. here is his 1979 o-pee-chee card:

here's the topps front:

now the o-pee-chee back:

and the topps back:

during his 5 years in la, thomas played everywhere but pitcher. in 1979, however, he was the dodgers' primary centerfielder while still making appearances at every infield position. he wasn't known for his power (he hit only 5 home runs all year), but he did connect for a roundtripper against jr richard, had a grand slam against bob knepper and the giants, and hit two home runs in a game off of bill caudill and the cubs.

thomas has proven to be the penultimate dodger player to wear the numbers 1 (he wore it when he first joined the dodgers in 1979, and it was retired in 1984 for pee wee reese after gary weiss wore it in 1980) and 34 (he wore it in 1979 after ken brett left). in 1980, thomas became the first dodger to wear number 30 after maury wills retired as he wanted to honor his long-time hero. that meant that number 34 was available for fernando valenzuela when he was called up late in the season, and no one else has worn it since.

thomas is still involved with the dodgers today, even though he played for the expos, angels and phillies after his days in dodger blue came to an end. speaking of ends, this is the last of the 1979 variations!

voici à vous, 1979 derrel thomas!