The Sacramento Bee from Sacramento, California • 47

The Sacramento Bee Sunday July 19 1987 Baseball tnmm Derrel Thomas breaks down racial barriers BAIT CAST memory for almost a decade Still Thomas seized the opportunity in what he calls a friendly to demonstrate that blacks have leadership capabilities "Of all the minor-league baseball teams (and) there are only six or seven of us we have to be unique individuals to be in that type of position" Thomas said during an interview at his office in Borah High football locker room The Hawks an independent club in the Northwest League cellar play their home games on Wigle Field "This is a steppingstone and 1 plan to keep taking steps higher and he said Thomas 36 was coaching at Los Angeles City College seeking other baseball jobs and keeping in shape for another shot at extending his playing career when he read that the Northwest Tri-Cities Triplets in Washington state were moving to Boise The general manager was Fichman and Thomas decided to give him a call "I just wanted to manage to get back involved with the Thomas said 14 15 years of major-league experience I felt I was So did Fichman who hired him in February after reportedly talking with such better-known baseball names as Rod Carew and Chuck It completely unexpected Thomas had built a reputation as a student of the game in his years as a utility player He played on a World Series winner in 1981 with the Los Angeles Dodgers and was a player-coach with the Marlins before ending his big-league career with Philadelphia in 1985 Thomas never got the feeling that managing was out of reach But he acknowledged that the advancement of blacks in baseball has been restricted perhaps as much by the perceptions of black players as the actions of white executives Thomas was surprised when Dodgers executive A1 Campanis commented in April that most blacks lacked the for leadership Thomas said Campanis had never shown any prejudice toward him And while the specter of bigotry was being raised nationwide and Campanis was forced to resign Thomas was settling in at Boise At the same time longtime minor-league journeyman Mel Roberts was taking the helm of the Northwest League's Bend (Ore) Bucks breaking another color barrier "I feel based on your Thomas said you can express your ability and people can recognize it then they should be interested in you I was always told that someday I would make a good By Mark Warbis Associated Press BOISE Idaho At home in Los Angeles this spring preparing to start his career as a manager in professional baseball Derrel thoughts were more on responsibility than racism Thomas a black man in what has predominantly been a white profession knew he would be coming to Idaho to manage the Northwest newest team the Boise Hawks But to Thomas a longtime major-leaguer Idaho meant little more than potatoes He was unaware of the reputation the state has gained as a center for white supremacy For the most part he still is oblivious Thomas said Boise general manager Mai Fichman used to tease him when they were together in Florida Fichman was in the front office of the Miami Marlins of the Florida State League when Thomas played there in 1985 say if I really got off to a bad start send me up Thomas said they have the Ku Klux Klan up there or The Church of Jesus Christ Christ-ian-Aryan Nations not the KKK has been responsible for much of the supremacist reputation of Idaho Its headquarters in the northern Idaho community of Hayden Lake have drawn leaders of similar groups Boise Hawks manager Derrel Thomas left and Bend (Ore) Bucks manager Mel Roberts are among the few black managers in the minor leagues from throughout the nation to events such as this seventh annual Aryan Nations Congress With that kind of reputation capital city might seem an unlikely place to break racial barriers Besides the Hawks are a Class A team in a minor-league backwater where professional baseball was little more than a hazy summertime WORLD WRESTLiuG Wvfc FEDERATION PRESENTS! 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