Sports briefs
Former Pirates all-star Thomas dies
Frank Thomas, a three-time All-Star with his hometown Pittsburgh Pirates who later became the top hitter on the expansion New York Mets, died Monday. He was 93.
The Mets said he died Monday morning in Pittsburgh. No cause was given.
Thomas played 16 seasons in the major leagues from 1951-66, the first eight for Pittsburgh, where he was born. He batted .266 overall with 286 home runs and 962 RBI.
Primarily an outfielder and third baseman, Thomas was selected to National League All-Star teams in 1954, ’55 and ’58, when he set career bests with 35 homers, 109 RBI and an .863 OPS. He finished fourth in the NL MVP race that year behind Hall of Fame sluggers Ernie Banks, Willie Mays and Hank Aaron, and just ahead of another player enshrined in Cooperstown: pitcher Warren Spahn.
Thomas was traded by the Pirates to Cincinnati in January 1959. He batted cleanup for New York in the franchise’s first game in 1962.
W&J hires 2 assistant coaches
The Washington & Jefferson College football program announced Tuesday that Aaron Krepps and Max Garda have joined the coaching staff.
Both former accomplished players with the Presidents, Krepps joins the program as assistant head coach while Garda will be an intern assistant coach in charge of all Strength & Conditioning for the program. Krepps replaces Bob Jazwinski, who will remain with the program in a part-time capacity.
“We are thrilled to welcome Coach Krepps and Coach Garda to our staff,” head coach Mike Sirianni said. “Both will be valuable assets to our football program. We are very fortunate to add both Coach Krepps and Coach Garda while having Coach Jazwinski stay with us in a part-time role.”
Krepps recently served as an assistant coach at Ohio Northern. He was the head coach at Bluffton University from 2018-21.