Born in Minneapolis, Minnesota, he threw and batted right-handed and was listed as 6 feet 4 inches (1.93 m) tall and 205 pounds (93 kg).

Thies graduated from DeLaSalle High School and Saint Mary's University of Minnesota (Class of 1959), where he played baseball and basketball.

In his first start, May 4 at Municipal Stadium against the Boston Red Sox, Thies was staked to an 11–3 lead — thanks, in part, to his two-for-two performance at the plate.

Fischer shut down the Red Sox for another 11⁄3 innings and received credit for the win in Kansas City's rain-shortened, 14–3 triumph.

He was removed for a pinch hitter in the fifth inning, and absorbed the 9–1 Kansas City loss,[3] the only decision of his big league career.