Auburn set to honor Frank Thomas with statue at Plainsman Park

When college sports fans associate legends with Auburn University, their minds usually go to the three B’s… Bo, Barkley, and the Big Hurt.

Bo Jackson, who won the Heisman Trophy in 1985, has a statue at the entrance of Jordan-Hare Stadium alongside the program’s other two winners, Pat Sullivan and Cam Newton.

Soon after Jackson’s statue was unveiled, a statue was constructed to honor Charles Barkley. That statue now welcomes scholarship donors to Neville Arena on Auburn Basketball game days.

The only statue missing is one honoring Frank Thomas. 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 Butch Thompson 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.

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Story originally appeared on Auburn Wire