(TRENTON, NJ) -- In 1994, Professional Baseball returned to the city of Trenton for the first time since 1950 when a rookie named Willie Mays played for the Trenton Giants of the Interstate League. When the London Tigers of the Eastern League moved to Trenton and made their debut at Mercer County Waterfront Park, baseball was officially back in the State Capital.
The Thunder were the Double-A Affiliate of the Detroit Tigers, and they had a tough year on the field, playing to a 55-85 record and a last place finish. Despite that
record, 10 members of the 1994 team made it to the Majors. The brightest spot of the season was the play of first baseman Tony Clark who led the team in in almost every offensive category before his promotion to Triple-A in August. Tony provided Thunder fans with one of the great thrills of the 1994 season when he hit a walk-off grand slam home run into the Delaware River, the was the first player to ever accomplish that feat.
Clark had a 15 Year Major League career from 1995 to 2001, hitting 251 home runs, 824 RBIs, and a .262 batting average. During his career, Tony played for the Tigers, Red Sox, Mets, Yankees, Diamondbacks, and Padres. He was a union representative while playing, and after retirement, he joined the staff of the MLBPA in 2010. Clark served as Deputy Executive Director and Acting Executive Director of the union before being appointed Executive Director in December 2013 upon the death of Michael Weiner. Clark is the first former player to be Executive Director of the MLBPA.
Tony Clark has made it back to Trenton for two previous special Thunder anniversaries. He had his number 33 retired in 1997 and was inducted into the Trenton Baseball Hall-of-Fame in 2018. This year, your Thunder celebrate 30 years of Thunder Baseball. In May of 1994, your Thunder celebrated the Trenton Giants club and brought back many living members of the team. The Thunder wore “Turn Back the Clock” uniforms in the style of the Trenton Giants and that is what the Tony Clark Bobblehead Giveaway was wearing. Team President Jeff Hurley and General Manager Jon Bodnar were on hand Saturday to present Tony Clark with a framed Trenton Giants Jersey with his number, 33. It also has pictures of Tony wearing that historical uniform from 1994.
