During the 1970's, he was the best catcher in the American League. His career lasted for 11 years (all with the New York Yankees). On August 2, 1979 Thurman's twin-engine jet fell short of the runway during an attempted landing at the Akron-Canton airfield and tragically burst into flames. He was trapped inside and died.

The 7-time All-Star was only 32 years old and had already established himself as one of the game's premier catchers. In three consecutive World Series appearances (1976-1978) Munson hit .529, .320 and .320 respectively. He started his career by winning the American League Rookie of the Year in 1970, batting .302 (just one of five seasons he hit over the .300 mark).

In 1976 Munson led the Yankees into the World Series and earned Most Valuable Player honors in the American League while hitting .302 and driving in 105 runs. From 1975 to 1977 he hit over .300 and drove in over 100 runs each year. He had a lifetime World Series batting average of .373 which is third highest of all time.

He was a good defensive catcher and won the Golden Glove award three times. He was named the captain of the Yankees in 1976, which was the first captain that the Yankees picked since Lou Gehrig. Following his death in 1979, the Yankees honored Munson by retiring his uniform number (15) and placing a memorial plaque on the center field wall at Yankee Stadium. Although he is not in Baseball's Hall Of Fame his locker with spikes, glove, and jersey have been preserved in Cooperstown.