American baseball player (1889-1938)
Baseball player
Frank Edward "Buck" Thrasher (August 6, 1889 – June 12, 1938) was a right fielder in Major League Baseball. He played two seasons for the Philadelphia Athletics and also played nine seasons in the minor leagues. Thrasher was 5 feet, 11 inches tall and weighed 182 pounds.[1]
Baseball career
Thrasher started his professional baseball career in 1911. In his first season, he batted .351 for the Appalachian League's Cleveland Counts.[2] The following year, he batted .340 and led the Appalachian League in hits (126) and total bases (163).[3] Thrasher then moved to the Virginia League's Norfolk Tars in 1914.[2] In 1915, he batted .348, hit a career-high 11 home runs, and led the circuit in batting average, hits (150), and total bases (216).[4]
In 1916, Thrasher played 103 games for the Atlanta Crackers of the Southern Association. He batted .337 and then joined the major league Philadelphia Athletics.[2] He made his MLB debut on September 27. In seven late-season games, Thrasher had a batting average of .310. He started 1917 with the Athletics, but after hitting .234 in 23 games, he returned to the Atlanta Crackers.[1] That was his last full season as a player.[2]
Thrasher had two short stints with the Virginia League's Wilson Bugs in the 1920s and was a manager in the Georgia–Alabama League in 1929. Over his nine-season minor league career, Thrasher played in 680 games, had 819 hits, and batted .330.[2]
Personal life
Thrasher was born in Watkinsville, Georgia, in 1889, to Isaac W. Thrasher and Louise Murry. He was married to the former Grace Phillips.[5]
Thrasher died of coronary thrombosis in 1938 and was buried in Fort Hill Cemetery in Cleveland, Tennessee.[5]
