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Danny Thompson Baseball player

Danny Leon Thompson (February 1, 1947 – December 10, 1976) was a professional baseball player, a major league shortstop from 1970 to 1976.Born in Wichita, Kansas, Thompson grew up in tiny Capron, Oklahoma, and played college baseball at Oklahoma State, where he was an All-American. He broke into the majors with the Minnesota Twins in 1970 and had his first full season in 1972; he played for them until June 1976, when he and pitcher Bert Blyleven were traded to the Texas Rangers for four others in a six-player deal.Following a routine pre-season physical the day before his 26th birthday, Thompson was called in for additional tests and diagnosed with granulocytic leukemia in early February 1973, but he continued his major league career for the next four seasons. He received the Hutch Award in Seattle following the 1974 season, and batted .270 in 1975, leading all American League shortstops.Thompson appeared in 98 games in 1976, and went 1 for 3 in his final start for the Rangers on September 29, appropriately at shortstop in Minnesota's Metropolitan Stadium. In his final game on October 2, he was used as a pinch hitter, and died less than ten weeks later. He was admitted to the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, on November 16, underwent spleen surgery on December 3, and died a week later from complications at St. Mary's Hospital. Thompson was just 29, leaving behind a wife and two young daughters. His funeral was attended by hundreds at the high school gymnasium in Burlington, Oklahoma, and he was buried nearby at the cemetery in his hometown of Capron.During the 1977 season, members of the Texas Rangers wore a black armband with the No. 4 on their left uniform sleeve. Examples of this tribute can be seen in the 1978 Topps baseball card set.An annual golf tournament honoring Thompson is held in late August in Sun Valley, Idaho. The Danny Thompson Memorial Golf Tournament, benefiting leukemia and cancer research, was launched in 1977 by the late hall of famer Harmon Killebrew, a former teammate with the Twins; and Ralph Harding, a former Idaho congressman. The tournament has donated over $8.6 million since its inception.