André Thornton (born August 13, 1949), nicknamed "Thunder", is an American former professional baseball player and business entrepreneur. He played in Major League Baseball as a first baseman and designated hitter from to , most prominently as a member of the Cleveland Indians where, he was a two-time All-Star player and won a Silver Slugger Award. He also played for the Chicago Cubs and the Montreal Expos. In 1979, Thornton was named the recipient of the prestigious Roberto Clemente Award for his involvement in local community affairs. After his playing career, Thornton owned a chain of restaurants as well as his own sports marketing firm. He was also the CEO and chairman of a supply chain management company. In 2001, he was voted one of the 100 greatest players in Cleveland Indians' history by a panel of veteran baseball writers, executives and historians. Thornton was inducted into the Cleveland Guardians Hall of Fame in 2007. Early years Thornton grew up in Phoenixville, Pennsylvania, in a family of athletes, and graduated from Phoenixville Area High School. In 1967, a week before his 18th birthday, the Philadelphia Phillies signed Thornton as an amateur free agent. He played Minor League Baseball in the Phillies organization from 1967 through 1972. In 1972, the Phillies traded Thornton to the Atlanta Braves, who traded him to the Chicago Cubs the following year. Major league career Chicago Cubs Thornton made his major-league debut with the Cubs on July 28, 1973, as a pinch hitter. He collected his first hit on August 3, in a win over the Montreal Expos. He was named to the 1974 All-Rookie Team as a first baseman by Baseball Digest. Thornton had one of his best seasons in 1975; although his 18 home runs were only the seventh-best season total of his career, he hit .293 with a .428 on-base percentage and a slugging percentage of .516. It was the first of six seasons during his career in which Thornton walked more than he struck out. Thornton played for the Cubs until May 1976, appearing in 271 games with a batting average of .267 with 30 home runs and 122 RBIs. Montreal Expos Thornton was traded to Montreal on May 17, 1976, for Larry Biittner and Steve Renko. He played in 69 games for Montreal through the end of the season. Overall for 1976, in which he battled injuries, Thornton hit .194 with