\n
Pepper Thomas throws out a ceremonial first pitch before a Round Rock Express game during the reunion.<\/b> Photo courtesy Round Rock Express.\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/p>\n
\nThomas, a former University of Mississippi baseball player and
\nalumnus, recently attended a reunion for surviving members of the 1959
\nAustin Senators. The Senators won the Texas League Championship that
\nyear, and became the first team to win the Pan-American Championship.
\nThe victory gave Austin its first-ever, playoff-formatted championship
\nand its last for more than four decades.\n<\/p>\n
\n“Playing for the
\n1959 Austin Senators was the biggest treat that I’ve ever had, because
\nas players we all wanted to end up as champions.” Thomas said. “I
\nenjoyed all the years of playing and the experience.”\n<\/p>\n
\nThe reunion was held in Austin and hosted by the Round Rock
\nExpress team. Eleven of the original Austin Senators were present, as
\nwell as the original team business manager. Thomas was eager to see his
\nold teammates again.\n<\/p>\n
\n“It was just like a class reunion,” he said.\n<\/p>\n
\nAt the gathering, the players were treated to three Round Rock
\nExpress baseball games. The entire weekend was themed around 1959, with
\nmusic from that year, an organist providing old-time ballpark
\nentertainment and video-board images in black-and-white. The Round Rock
\nExpress team even honored the players by wearing replica Senators
\njerseys at each game.\n<\/p>\n
\n“Our CEO and founder, Reid Ryan, came up with the idea of
\nhonoring the 1959 Austin Senators,” said Laura Fragoso, director of
\nspecial events for Round Rock. “He had the concept of making the entire
\nweekend a ‘throwback’ weekend to 1959, and it just grew from there.”\n<\/p>\n
\nThe second game of the weekend was entirely dedicated to the
\nSenators. The first 3,000 fans got throwback Senators baseball caps. At
\nthe beginning of the game, the former Senators rode onto the field in
\nantique Mustang convertibles before each threw ceremonial first
\npitches. Self-described as a modest man, Thomas was overwhelmed by the
\ncrowd’s reaction when they rode onto the field.\n<\/p>\n
\n
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<\/p>\n
\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
“Everyone in the audience just stood up and clapped and yelled –
\nI felt like a big celebrity,” Thomas said. “It was a great time.”<\/p>\n
\nThe players even got to sign autographs for fans.\n<\/p>\n
\n“We signed autographs for about four hours,” Thomas said. “It
\nseemed like all the people at Round Rock came to get an autograph. It
\nwas unbelievable.”\n<\/p>\n
\nThe highlight of the game was an emotional ceremony at the top
\nof the seventh inning. During this time, Express Manager Marc Bombard
\nand Ryan presented championship rings to all 11 players.\n<\/p>\n
\n“When we realized that the Senators never received championship
\nrings, it just made it that more special,” Fragoso said. “Everything
\ncame full circle. Our players funded the rings with the money collected
\nfrom Home Run Dollars, so they were giving back to the players of the
\npast.”\n<\/p>\n
\nThomas began playing baseball in high school, and then came to
\nOle Miss on scholarship. He played for the Rebels in 1954 and 1955
\nunder Coach Tom Swayze before moving to semi-pro ball in Lake City,
\nS.C. It was in Lake City that he married his wife, Nita, on a pitcher’s
\nmound.\n<\/p>\n
\n
![\"pepperthomas5.jpg\"](\"http:\/\/ezing.me\/transfer\/wp-content\/uploads\/stories\/pepperthomas5.jpg\" "\\"pepperthomas5.jpg\\"")
<\/p>\n
\n
Pepper Thomas signs a cap for a fan during a reunion weekend for members of the 1959 Austin Senators.<\/b> Photo courtesy Round Rock Express.\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\nIn 1956, Thomas was approached by a talent scout and persuaded
\nto sign up with the Milwaukee Braves Baseball Organization. He jumped
\nat the opportunity to play.<\/p>\n
\n“I was kind of small – I was only 5-foot-8 and 160 pounds,” he
\nsaid. “But I wanted to play ball and I played pretty well, so they
\nasked me to sign up.”\n<\/p>\n
\nFor the next eight years, Thomas played for teams all over the
\ncountry. He was even recruited to play for teams in Canada and Mexico.
\nWhile playing for the Senators, he drove in 50 runs, scored 93 times
\nand picked up three hits as the lead-off hitter in the final game of
\nthe Texas League Championship.\n<\/p>\n
\nAfter retiring from baseball, Thomas returned to Mississippi. He
\nmoved to Oxford in 1986 after selling two businesses he owned in
\nMeridian. The university hired him as manager of the Ole Miss Golf
\nCourse, where he worked for 19 years before retiring in 2008.
\nYou can still find Thomas out at the golf course; however, he still talks about his baseball years quite a bit.\n<\/p>\n
\n“I always think back on the experience that I had playing baseball –
\ngoing around the country, meeting all kinds of people,” he said. “It’s
\nsomething that stays with you forever.”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
OXFORD, Miss. – Pepper Thomas always knew the highlight of his baseball career was winning the Texas League Championship in 1959. But he never imagined that 50 years later he would receive a standing ovation from thousands of fans for the accomplishment. Pepper Thomas throws out a ceremonial first pitch before a Round Rock ExpressRead the story …<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[222],"tags":[345],"yoast_head":"\nOle Miss Alum Receives '59 Texas League Championship Ring at Reunion - Ole Miss News<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"http:\/\/news.olemiss.edu\/ring-received\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Ole Miss Alum Receives '59 Texas League Championship Ring at Reunion - Ole Miss News\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"OXFORD, Miss. – Pepper Thomas always knew the highlight of his baseball career was winning the Texas League Championship in 1959. But he never imagined that 50 years later he would receive a standing ovation from thousands of fans for the accomplishment. 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<\/p>\n