Danny Leon Thompson was a professional baseball player, a major league shortstop from 1970 to 1976. Born in Wichita, Kansas, Thompson grew up in tiny Capron, Oklahoma, and played college baseball at Oklahoma State, where he was an All-American. He broke into the majors with the Minnesota Twins in 1970 and had his first full season in 1972; he played for them until June 1976, when he and pitcher Bert Blyleven were traded to the Texas Rangers for four others in a six-player deal. Following a routine pre-season physical the day before his 26th birthday, Thompson was called in for additional tests and diagnosed with granulocytic leukemia in early February 1973, but he continued his major league career for the next four seasons. He received the Hutch Award in Seattle following the 1974 season, and batted .270 in 1975, leading all American League shortstops. Thompson appeared in 98 games in 1976, and went 1 for 3 in his final start for the Rangers on September 29, appropriately at shortstop in Minnesota's Metropolitan Stadium. In his final game on October 2, he was used as a pinch hitter, and died less than ten weeks later. 

Wichita