Ballston Spa’s 3-Time World Series Champion

BALLSTON SPA — Postseason baseball is nearly upon us.

The New York Yankees clinched a playoff berth with a walkoff win against the Chicago White Sox on Tuesday night. As of press time, the New York Mets, despite swiping Juan Soto from their crosstown rivals, were still desperately grasping for a wild-card spot.

But whatever happens this October, it’s unlikely that the Capital Region will be as well represented in the World Series as it was more than 100 years ago, when Ballston Spa native Ira Thomas won three rings with the Athletics.

Thomas is probably the most significant baseball figure to emerge from Saratoga County, although Ian Anderson (who won a World Series with the Atlanta Braves in 2021) and Margaret Russo (who was a two-time All Star in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League) are both notable in their own right. 

Thomas may not receive the recognition he deserves in part due to the looming shadow of Abner Doubleday, the Civil War general from Ballston Spa who was famously credited with inventing the game of baseball (for the record, he didn’t).

Thomas was not just lucky enough to be on the right rosters at the right times. He was, especially during the 1908 and 1910 seasons, an exceptional ballplayer. In 1908 with the Detroit Tigers, Thomas had a .307/.346/.317 slash line for an OPS+ of 113 (for reference, an OPS+ of 100 is the league average). In 1910 with the Athletics (then based in Philadelphia), Thomas had a slash line of .278/.301/.361 for an OPS+ of 107. And in the 1910 World Series, he earned 3 hits, 4 walks, 2 runs, and an RBI to help the Athletics win their first-ever title, 4 games to 1.

He was less productive when the Athletics won a second consecutive championship in 1911; in that series, he managed just 1 hit, 1 walk, and 1 RBI. He was again on the Athletics roster when they took the World Series in 1913, though he didn’t play in any title games. In 1908 with the Tigers, he played in two World Series contests, smacking a pair of hits (including a double) and driving in a run. The Tigers, however, fell to the Chicago Cubs, 4 games to 1.

In his ten-year career, in which he played in 484 games, Thomas tallied 327 hits, 46 doubles, 17 triples, 155 RBI, and 20 stolen bases (he was only caught stealing once). In 1911, he placed eighth in MVP votes, not far behind legendary players such as Ty Cobb, Eddie Collins, and “Shoeless” Joe Jackson. He was the Athletics’ starting catcher in both 1910 and 1911, when they won their consecutive titles. Following his playing career, Thomas became a coach and scout for the Athletics until the team departed Philadelphia in 1955.

Long before that, Ira Thomas was born on January 22, 1881, in Ballston Spa, in a home that was reportedly just a mile away from the Abner Doubleday house (now the site of The Real McCoy Beer Co.). According to the Saratoga County history journal “The Gristmill,” Thomas and his older brother Alphonse played for a local team called the Monitors. Alphone was a pitcher and his little bro caught him.

The Thomas family moved to Connecticut sometime prior to 1900, and it was there that Ira launched his baseball career, playing in the Class D Connecticut League, where he soon became the organization’s top catcher.

Ira would return to the State of New York in 1905, when he was purchased by the New York Highlanders, the team now known across the globe as the New York Yankees. Ira played for the Highlanders in 1906 and 1907, though he struggled at the plate, in part due to an injury he suffered in 1905. He would depart the team after New York nabbed catching prospect Walter Blair. He was then picked up by Detroit, with whom he would appear in a World Series before finding success with the Athletics from 1909 to 1915. He would rejoin the Highlanders/Yankees, as part of their scouting staff, in 1956. This would be his last job in baseball before his retirement.

Ira passed away on Oct. 11, 1958 at the age of 77 and was buried at the Holy Sepulchre Cemetery in Cheltenham, Pennsylvania near his long-time friend and mentor, the legendary Connie Mack.