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1
HOUSE RESOLUTION

 
2    WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois House of
3Representatives are pleased to congratulate Frank Edward
4Thomas on his induction into the National Baseball Hall of Fame
5on July 27, 2014; and
 
6    WHEREAS, Frank Thomas was born on May 27, 1968 in Columbus,
7Georgia; and
 
8    WHEREAS, Frank Thomas starred in both baseball and football
9in high school; and
 
10    WHEREAS, In 1986, Frank Thomas enrolled at Auburn
11University, where he played tight end on the football team and
12also starred on the baseball team; he hit .359 in the 1986
13season and was selected to play for the United States team in
14the Pan-Am Games; in 1989, he was named the Southeastern
15Conference Most Valuable Player in baseball; and
 
16    WHEREAS, In the 1989 Major League Baseball draft, Frank
17Thomas was selected with the seventh pick in the first round by
18the Chicago White Sox; and
 
19    WHEREAS, Frank Thomas made his major league debut on August
202, 1990 against the Milwaukee Brewers where he recorded his

 

 

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1first RBI; on August 28, 1990, he hit the first home run of his
2career in Minnesota, against the Twins; he finished his first
3season hitting .330 with 7 home runs and 31 RBI in 60 games;
4and
 
5    WHEREAS, In 1991, Frank Thomas's first full season, he
6established himself as a multi-talented hitter, combining
7power with hitting for average, drawing walks, and driving in
8runs; he finished third in Most Valuable Player voting with a
9.318 batting average, 32 home runs, 109 runs batted in, and 138
10walks; he won the first of 4 Silver Slugger awards, and led the
11league in on-base percentage, something he would accomplish 4
12times throughout his career; and
 
13    WHEREAS, During the 1993 season, Frank Thomas would lead
14his team to the American League West championship by hitting
15.317 with 41 home runs and 128 RBI; he would unanimously win
16the 1993 Most Valuable Player Award by receiving all 28 first
17place votes; and
 
18    WHEREAS, In the 1994 strike shortened season, Frank Thomas
19became the sixth player in American League history to win
20consecutive Most Valuable Player Awards; and
 
21    WHEREAS, Frank Thomas continued to pile up the numbers in
22the 1990s, winning a batting title in 1997 with a .347 batting

 

 

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1average and by compiling a major league record of 7 consecutive
2seasons with at least 100 RBI, 100 walks, 20 home runs, and a
3.300 average; and
 
4    WHEREAS, Frank Thomas contributed to the 2005 Chicago White
5Sox team that won the franchise's first World Series
6championship in 88 years; and
 
7    WHEREAS, During the 2006 season, Frank Thomas helped the
8Oakland Athletics win the American League West championship by
9hitting .270 with 39 home runs and 114 RBI; during the American
10League Division series he went 5 for 10 with 2 home runs as the
11A's swept the Minnesota Twins; and
 
12    WHEREAS, On June 28, 2007, Frank Thomas, as a member of the
13Toronto Blue Jays, became the 21st person in major league
14history to hit 500 home runs; and
 
15    WHEREAS, On February 12, 2010, Frank Thomas signed a
16one-day contract with the Chicago White Sox and announced his
17retirement; and
 
18    WHEREAS, Frank Thomas finished his career with 521 home
19runs with 5 seasons with at least 40 home runs; 1,704 RBI; a
20.301 career batting average; a .419 on-base percentage,
21including 4 seasons where he led the league; 1,667 walks with 4

 

 

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1league-leading seasons; 5 All-Star Game selections; 4 Silver
2Slugger Awards; and 9 Top 10 finishes in the American League
3Most Valuable Player voting, including his back-to-back wins in
41993 and 1994; and
 
5    WHEREAS, On January 8, 2014, Frank Thomas was elected to
6the National Baseball Hall of Fame the first year he was
7eligible by receiving 478 votes, 83.7% of the votes cast; and
 
8    WHEREAS, Frank Thomas gave an emotional speech where he
9thanked many of the people in his life who have helped him make
10it into the Hall of Fame; therefore, be it
 
11    RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE
12NINETY-EIGHTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that
13we congratulate Frank Edward Thomas on his induction to the
14National Baseball Hall of Fame; and be it further
 
15    RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be
16presented to Frank Edward Thomas and the Chicago White Sox as a
17symbol of our recognition of his great achievements.