Peter Thomson
BIRTHPLACE Miami, MB
BORN July 8, 1930
INDUCTED 2017
Peter Thompson was born in Miami, Manitoba on July 8, 1930. Thomson had a relatively short, but outstanding, baseball career in Manitoba. He began playing with Miami’s senior team in 1945 as a 15-year-old shortstop who would occasionally pitch. Upon moving to Winnipeg and joining the CUAC (Canadian Ukrainian Athletics Centre) Blues, however, he quickly became an outstanding pitcher. In the 1954 semi-finals against Transcona, Thomson was the winning pitcher in all four victories. In 1955 he was the winning pitcher in the league all-star game, but arm problems forced him to take a more situational role for the next two years. During this era, he also played tournament ball for Miami, and he was a member of the Miami 1956-61 teams who were inducted into the Manitoba Baseball Hall of Fame in 2013. After the Winnipeg Senior Baseball League folded in 1958, Thomson went on to a successful fastball career. Later in life, he joined a slow pitch team, while he was also helping to coach little league and senior teams to championships.
Peter Thomson Newspaper Article 1954
Peter Thomson Newspaper Article 1955
Peter Thomson Newspaper Article 1956
These articles were gathered from the University of Manitoba Archives & Special Collections, Winnipeg Tribune Collection
“Thank you, it is my pleasure to introduce Peter Thomson, into the Manitoba Baseball Hall of Fame, I have known Peter for many years, both growing up a couple miles apart just south of Miami, I also had the opportunity in 1999 to introduce his brother who played a long time and had an outstanding career in Miami, Peters baseball career was well documented in the program so I will only elaborate briefly. Initially he played for Miami in the league in Carman where he played for a number of years. After he did his journalism school at Carelton University he moved back to Winnipeg in 1953, to work for the Winnipeg Free Press, at that time he played for the Winnipeg Seniors, Peter was a very successful pitcher for an number of years on occasion he would join the Miami team in tournaments. Peter considers the 1954 winning against Transcona in the semi-finals on the senior league as a baseball highlight of his career, in the series he pitched.
In the next game, he was leading 7-0 and Peter was tired, Peter made the motion to the bench that it was time to make a change, he waved with his left hand to say bring in a left hander. So that was the end of the series for the year even though they eventually won against St.Boniface, even though Peter was unable to play. The following two years he played for Winnipeg for the fastball league in Winnipeg, a team which was eventually inducted into the Manitoba Softball hall of fame, in 1960 he moved to Montreal, then to Ottawa then to Toronto as part of his journalist career, along the way he coached minor baseball . In the mid to late 70 he had very special experience he was executive assistant to two cabinet ministers in the government, in 1981 he returned to Winnipeg, in 1982-1983 he coached Legion 141 to two provincial champions, tonight we welcome Peter Thomson into the Hall of Fame.”
