Fresco Thompson

Fresco Thompson
Second baseman
Born: June 6, 1902 Centreville, Alabama
Died: November 20, 1968 (aged 66) Fullerton, California
Batted: Right Threw: Right
MLB debut
September 5, 1925, for the Pittsburgh Pirates
Last MLB appearance
April 22, 1934, for the New York Giants
MLB statistics
Batting average	.298
Home runs	13
Runs batted in	249
Teams
Pittsburgh Pirates (1925) New York Giants (1926) Philadelphia Phillies (1927–1930) Brooklyn Robins/Dodgers (1931–1932) New York Giants (1934)

Lafayette Fresco Thompson (June 6, 1902 – November 20, 1968) was an American Major League Baseball second baseman and executive. Thompson was born in Centreville, Alabama. In 1916, his family moved to New York City, where he attended George Washington High School and Columbia University. At Columbia, he was a football teammate of Lou Gehrig but left the school to turn professional before he could join Gehrig on the Lions' baseball team.^[1] A right-handed batter and thrower, Thompson stood 5 ft 8 in (1.73 m) tall and weighed 150 lb (68 kg).

After brief appearances with the Pittsburgh Pirates and New York Giants, Thompson was traded to the Philadelphia Phillies in 1927 when the Giants obtained Rogers Hornsby. He had his most productive years with the Phils, playing in Baker Bowl, twice hitting over .300. Overall, he batted .298 in 669 games played, 762 hits, and 2,560 at bats over nine National League seasons (1925–32; 1934).

After his playing days, Thompson managed in the minor leagues and in 1946, he became an assistant farm director for the Brooklyn Dodgers. Thompson moved up the executive ladder, and survived the front-office purge that followed Branch Rickey's departure in October 1950. During the shakeup, Thompson became a vice president and the team's second-ranking baseball executive, responsible for all minor league operations, while another VP, Buzzie Bavasi, assumed control of the big-league Dodgers' operations.

Thompson continued in that role after the Dodgers moved to Los Angeles in 1958. When Bavasi left to become president of the expansion San Diego Padres on June 4, 1968, Thompson became the Dodgers' executive vice president and general manager; however, weeks after his promotion, Thompson was diagnosed with cancer, and he died in November in Fullerton, California, at the age of 66.^[2]

References

1. United Press International, Fresco Thompson obituary, November 21, 1968
2. Collier, Phil, "Death of a Dodger", Baseball Digest, February 1969, pp. 27-28

External links

• Career statistics and player information from Baseball-Reference, or Baseball-Reference (Minors)