The Red Sox signed Thomas in 1911 but allowed him to play the 1911 season with the
Sacramento Sacts before recalling him to the Major Leagues for the 1912 season. A fine defensive replacement, Thomas was the primary catcher for the Red Sox during three years, helping them to the
World Championship in
1915 and
1916. On June 23, 1917, Thomas was involved in a combined no-hitter in which he and
Babe Ruth were both ejected after disagreement over the strike zone after Ruth walked the first batter.
Ernie Shore and
Sam Agnew replaced Ruth and Thomas respectively and promptly caught the walked batter at second and recorded 26 consecutive outs. In 1917 he led
American League catchers with a .986
fielding percentage, but at the end of the season he was dealt to the
Philadelphia Athletics, with two other players, in the same transaction that brought
Joe Bush,
Wally Schang and
Amos Strunk to Boston. He did not appear in a game for the Athletics and was sold to the Indians. While in Cleveland, he won a fourth
World Series ring in
1920. A good
pinch-hitter as well, he hit .417 (13-for-31) from 1913 to 1918. In a 10-season career, Thomas was a .237 hitter (245-for-1035) with two
home runs and 102
RBI, including 88
runs, 27
doubles, eight
triples, 12
stolen bases, and a .318
on-base percentage. In 423 catching appearances, he committed 52
errors in 1,948
chances for a .973 fielding percentage. He appeared as himself in the Paramount feature film
Warming Up. Thomas died in
Modesto, California at age 65. ==References==