Fresco Thompson

Lafayette Fresco Thompson (June 6, 1902 — November 20, 1968) was a Major League Baseball second baseman and executive. He was born in Centreville, Alabama, but attended George Washington High School and Columbia University in New York City. A right-handed batter and thrower, Thompson stood tall and weighed .

After brief appearances with the Pittsburgh Pirates and New York Giants, Thompson was traded to the Philadelphia Phillies in when the Giants obtained Rogers Hornsby. A right-handed hitter and thrower, 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 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 , 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 . 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 . When Bavasi left to become president of the expansion San Diego Padres in June , Thompson became the Dodgers' executive vice president and general manager; however, weeks after his promotion,...
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