Hank Thompson (baseball) - Post-baseball Struggles and Death

Post-baseball Struggles and Death

After leaving baseball, Thompson met with a series of difficulties. He became a cab driver in New York, but following a divorce was convicted of armed robbery in Texas, and in 1963 was sentenced to 10 years in prison. In 1967, however, he was paroled after serving three years; in 1968 he moved to Fresno, California and became a city playground director. In the summer of 1969 he left that position, possibly to seek a job with the National League; but those plans did not have a chance to materialize. Thompson died in Fresno following a seizure, at 43 years of age.