Andre Thornton Marquee

b. August 13, 1949 · Chicago Cubs 1973–1976, Montreal Expos 1976, Cleveland Indians 1977–1979, 1981–1987

In October 1977 his van slid off a Pennsylvania highway in a storm. His wife Gertrude and his two-year-old daughter Theresa were killed; he and his son survived. He was twenty-eight, had just been traded to Cleveland, and spoke about the faith that carried him through it for the rest of his life.

He hit 33 home runs with 105 runs batted in the following season and 32 with 116 in 1982, when he was Comeback Player of the Year after missing all of 1980 to a knee injury. Fourteen seasons gave him 1,342 hits, 253 home runs, 895 runs batted in, 876 walks and a .254 average, with two All-Star selections.

He won the Roberto Clemente Award in 1979 and the Hutch Award in 1982, which are the two the game gives for character, and has run businesses and foundations in Ohio since. The 1993 ballot gave him two votes of 423.

Honors

Award	Times	Years
All-Star selection	2	1982, 1984
Player of the Week	4	1977, 1978, 1982, 1983
Hutch Award	1	1982
Player of the Month	1	1975
Roberto Clemente Award	1	1979
Silver Slugger	1	1984
The Sporting News Comeback Player of the Year	1	1982

Batting, season by season

Year	Team	G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	SO	SB	AVG
1973	CHC	17	35	3	7	3	0	0	2	7	9	0	.200
1974	CHC	107	303	41	79	16	4	10	46	48	50	2	.261
1975	CHC	120	372	70	109	21	4	18	60	88	63	3	.293
1976	CHC/MON	96	268	28	52	11	2	11	38	48	46	4	.194
1977	CLE	131	433	77	114	20	5	28	70	70	82	3	.263
1978	CLE	145	508	97	133	22	4	33	105	93	72	4	.262
1979	CLE	143	515	89	120	31	1	26	93	90	93	5	.233
1981	CLE	69	226	22	54	12	0	6	30	23	37	3	.239
1982	CLE	161	589	90	161	26	1	32	116	109	81	6	.273
1983	CLE	141	508	78	143	27	1	17	77	87	72	4	.281
1984	CLE	155	587	91	159	26	0	33	99	91	79	6	.271
1985	CLE	124	461	49	109	13	0	22	88	47	75	3	.236
1986	CLE	120	401	49	92	14	0	17	66	65	67	4	.229
1987	CLE	36	85	8	10	2	0	0	5	10	25	1	.118
Career	—	1565	5291	792	1342	244	22	253	895	876	851	48	.254

On this day & linked events

1949

Born August 13, 1949

Tuskegee, AL, USA

1973

Major-league debut: Andre Thornton

Andre Thornton made a major-league debut on July 28, 1973.

1978

Andre Thornton Hits for the Cycle, 1978

Andre Thornton hit for the cycle for the Cleveland Indians against the Boston Red Sox on April 22, 1978.

1987

Final major-league game: Andre Thornton

Andre Thornton played a final major-league game on August 31, 1987.

Image: Hostess, public domain