Thomas Ball Hamilton (September 29, 1924 – November 29, 1973) was a Major League Baseball player who played in 1952 and 1953 for the Philadelphia Athletics. He batted left-handed and threw right-handed, and he was 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) tall and 213 pounds. Used primarily as a pinch hitter, Hamilton appeared in the field in only 14 of the 67 games he played.
He also played basketball at the University of Texas at Austin, where he was a center. He was an All-SWC basketball selection in 1950, and he was the first player in school history to score 1,000 points.
Hamilton was signed by the Athletics in 1950, as an amateur free agent. He made his big league debut a couple years later, on September 4, 1952. He appeared in nine games in 1952, collecting two hits in 10 at-bats for a .200 batting average. In 1953, he played in 58 games, although he had only 56 at-bats. He hit .196 with no home runs and five RBI that year. On September 13, he played his final big league game. Overall, Hamilton hit .197 with no home runs and six RBI in 66 career at-bats.
In 1971, he was elected to the University of Texas to Austin Hall of Honor.
He served as the baseball coach and athletic director at St. Edward's University at the time of his death in 1973. Following his death, he was buried in Cook-Walden Capital Parks Cemetery in Pflugerville, Texas.[2]
