Thomson was born in Glasgow, Scotland, the youngest of six children. He arrived in the United States two years later. His father, a cabinet maker, had moved to New York City shortly before Bobby's birth and sent for his family in 1925. Thomson grew up on Staten Island in New York City and signed with the New York Giants for a $100 bonus right out of Curtis High School in 1942.

Longstanding rumors that the Giants engaged in systematic sign stealing during the second half of the 1951 season were confirmed in 2001. Several players told the Wall Street Journal that beginning on July 20, the team used a telescope, manned by coach Herman Franks in the Giants clubhouse behind center field, to steal the finger signals of opposing catchers. Stolen signs were relayed to the Giants dugout via a buzzer wire. Joshua Prager, the author of the Journal article, outlined the evidence in greater detail in a 2008 book.  Although Thomson always insisted that he had no foreknowledge of Branca's pitch, Sal Yvars told Prager that he relayed Rube Walker's fastball sign to Thomson. Branca was privately skeptical of Thomson's denials but made no public comment at the time. Later he told The New York Times, "I didn't want to diminish a legendary moment in baseball. And even if Bobby knew what was coming, he had to hit it.... Knowing the pitch doesn't always help." Whether the telescope-and-buzzer system contributed significantly to the Giants' late-season 37-7 win streak remains a subject of debate. Prager notes in his book that sign stealing was not specifically forbidden by MLB rules at the time and, moral issues aside, "...has been a part of baseball since its inception". Sign stealing using optical or other mechanical aids was outlawed by MLB in 1961.  Thomson however, late in his life, rebuked his prior claims of not receiving the sign on the Shot Heard 'Round the World, and admitted that the sign was received. CANNOTANSWERAnswer this question using a quote from the following article:

Did other players corroborate the story of stealing signals?
Several players told the Wall Street Journal
Thomson föddes i Glasgow i Skottland, det yngsta av sex barn. Han anlände till USA två år senare. Hans far, som var kabinettsmakare, hade flyttat till New York strax före Bobbys födelse och skickade efter sin familj 1925. Thomson växte upp på Staten Island i New York och skrev 1942 på med New York Giants för en bonus på 100 dollar direkt från Curtis High School. Långvariga rykten om att Giants ägnade sig åt systematisk skyltstöld under andra halvan av säsongen 1951 bekräftades 2001. Flera spelare berättade för Wall Street Journal att laget från och med den 20 juli använde ett teleskop, bemannat av tränaren Herman Franks i Giants klubbhus bakom mittfältet, för att stjäla fingersignalerna från motståndarfångare. Stulna skyltar vidarebefordrades till Giants utgrävda via en summertråd. Joshua Prager, författare till artikeln i tidskriften, beskrev bevisen mer i detalj i en bok från 2008. Trots att Thomson alltid insisterade på att han inte hade någon förhandskunskap om Brancas tonhöjd, berättade Sal Yvars för Prager att han reläade Rube Walkers snabbbollstecken till Thomson. Branca var privat skeptisk till Thomsons förnekelser men gjorde då ingen offentlig kommentar. Senare sa han till The New York Times: "Jag ville inte förminska ett legendariskt ögonblick i baseboll. Och även om Bobby visste vad som skulle hända, var han tvungen att slå till.... att veta att planen inte alltid hjälper." Huruvida teleskop-och-buzzer-systemet bidrog väsentligt till Giants sena säsong 37-7 vinst strimma förblir en debattfråga. Prager noterar i sin bok att skyltstöld inte var specifikt förbjudet enligt MLB:s regler vid den tiden och, moraliska frågor åt sidan, "...har varit en del av baseboll sedan starten". Skyltstöld med hjälp av optiska eller andra mekaniska hjälpmedel förbjöds av MLB 1961. Thomson förebrådde dock sent i sitt liv sina tidigare anspråk på att inte ha fått tecknet på Shot Heard 'Round the World, och medgav att tecknet togs emot. CANNOTANSWERAnswer denna fråga med hjälp av ett citat från följande artikel: Bekräftade andra spelare historien om att stjäla signaler?
Thomson was born in Glasgow, Scotland, the youngest of six children. He arrived in the United States two years later. His father, who was a cabinetmaker, had moved to New York City shortly before Bobby's birth and sent for his family in 1925. Growing up on Staten Island, New York, Thomson signed with the New York Giants in 1942 for a $100 bonus directly from Curtis High School. Long-term rumors that the Giants engaged in systematic sign theft during the second half of the 1951 season were confirmed in 2001. Several players told the Wall Street Journal that as of July 20, the team used a telescope, staffed by coach Herman Franks in the Giants clubhouse behind midfield, to steal the finger signals from opposing catchers. Stolen signs were forwarded to the Giants excavated via a buzzer wire. Joshua Prager, author of the article in the magazine, described the evidence in more detail in a 2008 book. Although Thomson always insisted that he had no prior knowledge of Branca's pitch, Sal Yvars told Prager that he relayed Rube Walker's fastball sign to Thomson. Branca was privately skeptical of Thomson's denials but then made no public comment. Later, he told The New York Times, "I didn't want to diminish a legendary moment in baseball. And even if Bobby knew what was going to happen, he had to strike... to know that the plan does not always help." Whether the telescope-and-buzzer system contributed significantly to the Giants' late season 37-7 win streak remains a debate issue. Prager notes in his book that sign theft was not specifically prohibited under MLB rules at that time and, moral issues aside, "...has been part of baseball since its inception". Sign theft using optical or other mechanical aids was banned by MLB in 1961. However, Thomson late in his life rebuked his previous claims not to have received the sign of Shot Heard 'Round the World, admitting that the sign was received. CANNOTANSWEranswer this question using a quote from the following article: Did other players confirm the story of stealing signals?
Flera spelare berättade Wall Street Journal
Several players told Wall Street Journal