Fresco Thompson

Quick-witted Fresco Thompson became a successful executive after playing his best years for the futile 1927-30 Phillies. He was set to be the Giants’ second baseman in ’27 when New York obtained Rogers Hornsby and sent Thompson to Philadelphia. He batted .303 in 1927, and .324, with 115 runs scored, in 1929. A willing after-dinner speaker, he became an assistant farm director for the Dodgers, moved up the executive ladder, and survived the front-office purge that followed Branch Rickey’s departure in 1951. Shortly before his death, he was named the Dodgers’ executive vice president and general manager.