When college sports fans associate legends with Auburn University, their minds usually go to the three B’s… Bo, Barkley, and the Big Hurt.
[autotag]Bo Jackson[/autotag], who won the Heisman Trophy in 1985, has a statue at the entrance of Jordan-Hare Stadium alongside the program’s other two winners, [autotag]Pat Sullivan[/autotag] and [autotag]Cam Newton[/autotag].
Soon after Jackson’s statue was unveiled, a statue was constructed to honor [autotag]Charles Barkley[/autotag]. That statue now welcomes scholarship donors to Neville Arena on Auburn Basketball game days.
The only statue missing is one honoring [autotag]Frank Thomas[/autotag]. Those days are now numbered.
Thomas, who played baseball and football at Auburn in the late 1980s before enjoying an MLB career that spanned from 1990-2008, will have a statue unveiled at Plainsman Park in his honor on April 8, 2023, according to officials with Auburn Baseball.
Thomas was selected No. 7 overall by the Chicago White Sox during the 1989 Major League Baseball draft and would play for the White Sox from 1990-2005. He spent the final three seasons of his career with the Oakland Athletics and the Toronto Blue Jays.
During his 19-year career, Thomas hit 521 home runs and drove in 1,704 runs while batting .301. He was also a five-time all-star and a two-time winner of the Most Valuable Player award. He was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame as a first-ballot selection in 2014, and remains the SEC’s lone member.
Auburn Baseball head coach [autotag]Butch Thompson[/autotag] says that Thomas’ statue is a testament to the strong history of the program.
“I think it just gives another degree and shows how good our history is with Auburn baseball,” Thompson said in a recent interview with Auburn Undercover. “There are so many other players that I’m not mentioning, but none are bigger than Frank Thomas. For him to get our first statue, I think it’s in line with the other amazing Auburn men and women that have gotten statues.”
Thomas’ statue will be unveiled during a crucial SEC weekend for Auburn Baseball. The Tigers welcome fellow 2022 College World Series participant, Texas A&M, from April 6-8, and the statue reveal will be the icing on the cake.
4.8.23 | Set to celebrate a legend.
📸 » @willbyington #WarEagle pic.twitter.com/VZz1MYqUMd
— Auburn Baseball (@AuburnBaseball) December 12, 2022
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