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Bill Bergesch | |
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| Born | (1921-06-17)June 17, 1921 |
| Died | May 10, 2011(2011-05-10) (aged 89) Stamford, Connecticut, U.S. |
| Occupation | Baseball executive |
Louis William Bergesch (June 17, 1921 – May 10, 2011)[1] was an AmericanMajor League Baseball executive. Beginning as a minor league front-office exectuive and scouting director in theSt. Louis Cardinals organization, he would serve in a variety of management and front office roles over a career spanning almost five decades, except for a brief period spent as president of one of the firstprofessional soccer league teams to be established in the United States, theNew York Generals. Returning to baseball however, Bergesch would ultimately serve as a senior front office executive or general manager for several major league teams, including most prominently, theCincinnati Reds and theNew York Yankees.
Bergesch was a native ofSt. Louis,Missouri. He attendedWashington University in St. Louis prior to Pearl Harbor, but joined the U.S. Army in 1942. He served in theFirst Special Service Force, a unit trained for specialized assault and mountain combat, and a precursor to the U.S. ArmyGreen Berets. He obtained the non-commissioned rank ofPlatoon Sergeant, and served in combat in North Africa, Sicily, and Italy. In North Africa, he landed as part of theOperation Torch landings, and received his firstPurple Heart. Later, he landed at Salerno, as part ofOperation Avalanche. He was again wounded, this time seriously, during the disastrous attempted crossing of theGari (river) known as theBattle of Rapido River in January, 1944, that battle occurring in the opening stages of the larger, simultaneousBattle of Monte Cassino, which continued until May. Bergesch received a secondPurple Heart. He was, however, paralyzed on the right side of his body for a substantial period of time.[2]
He was returned to the U.S. and was discharged the service 15 June 1944. He then returned to Washington University, where he graduated in 1946, with a bachelor's degree in business administration. Bergesch was admitted to and briefly attendedWashington University School of Law, but withdrew after less than one full academic year, in order to pursue other opportunities in professional baseball management.
In his career at Washington University, both before and after World War II, he played varsity football, basketball, and track. Attempting to return to playing football post-war, Bergesch made the team, but due to his injury was unable to complete the season, re-injuring his shoulder in the fourth game of the season playing againstOhio State University. Similarly, although also attempting to return to playing basketball after the war, he found he was unable to raise his right arm to shoot. Bergesch taught himself to play left-handed, made the team and continued to play, and was named team captain in his senior year. He married Virginia Kammerer, another graduate of Washington University and St. Louis native, in 1947.
In 1947, Bergesch joined theSt. Louis Cardinals organization. He was sent toAlbany, Georgia, to serve as general manager of a local franchise team owned by the Cardinals. For the next decade, he served in similar roles with other Redbird minor league clubs, including theOmaha Cardinals, one of twoTriple-A teams in the Cardinals minor league system. While at Omaha, Bergesch signed future Hall of Fame pitcherBob Gibson fromCreighton University[3]
Bergesch was called to the St Louis head office in 1960. In 1961 he joined theKansas City Athletics, recently purchased byCharles O. Finley, as assistant general manager toFrank Lane. In 1962, Bergesch moved to theNew York Mets, their first season, as assistant general manager and director of minor league operations, where he was largely responsible for building a farm system for the new team.
In 1964, Bergesch joined theNew York Yankees as manager of stadium operations. Prior to the beginning of the season, the Yankees' traveling secretary, Bruce Henry, was stricken with a serious illness; as a result, Bergesch was given the additional responsibilities until Henry's return late in the season. He remained with the Yankees during the CBS era through 1968.
He became president of theNew York Generals of theNational Professional Soccer League in 1968. The NPSL played for two seasons before merging with theUnited Soccer Association to form theNorth American Soccer League (NASL). Bergesch at this point moved to theNew York Cosmos, where his greatest accomplishment was to be the successful signing of Brazilian soccer legendPelé out of semi-retirement to play in America for theNew York Cosmos.
Bergesch rejoined the Yankees in 1977 as director of scouting. He was promoted to vice president of baseball operations – and served in actuality as general manager in 1983, although he formally retained the previous title. Bergesch received 1977 and 1978World Series rings from this period of engagement with the Yankees. Responsible for the conduct of the 1979 draft, Bergesch would leave a mark on the following decade and a half of Yankees baseball by draftingDon Mattingly.
In the 1982 draft, in a move which - if consummated - would have re-written the legacy of a further prominent athlete of the next decade in American professional sports, Bergesch also attempted to signBo Jackson directly out of high school. Jackson, however, elected to act upon his football scholarship offer fromAuburn University. Jackson did not do so specifically due to a choice to value football over baseball, but rather in fulfilment of a promise made by Jackson to his mother, that he would be the first member of his family to attend college. At Auburn, and playing football, Jackson would win in 1985 theHeisman Trophy, theWalter Camp Award,SEC Player of the Year, and have his number retired. However, never having fully given up baseball, which he also continued to play at Auburn, after graduation Jackson proceeded to embark upon his astonishing career as a multi-sport professional athlete. Bizarrely, despite being drafted in the first round by theTampa Bay Buccaneers in 1986, the reigning Heisman winner declined to sign, and instead made himself available for the 1986 MLB draft. He would thus be drafted in the seventh round of the 1987 draft, with the 183rd pick, by theOakland Raiders. Jackson would not only play, but excel in both theNFL andMLB, playing in theNFL for the Raiders from 1987 to 1990, and for various MLB teams - most prominently theKansas City Royals - after being drafted by them in the 1986 draft. Bergesch however, by that time, was no longer with the Yankees; instead presiding over the 1986 draft as General Manager of the Reds, Bergesch instead was focused upon acquiring much-needed pitching. In any event, Jackson's football and baseball careers would directly overlap between 1987 and 1990, with Jackson playing for both leagues.[4]
He left the Yankees in 1984, moving to Cincinnati as executive vice president and general manager of the Cincinnati Reds. In 1984 the Reds finished 5th in the NL west, but finished 2nd in 1985, 1986, and 1987. During his tenure,Pete Rose was the field Manager, but was also a listed as a player on the Reds roster through the 1986 season, when he set the all-time MLB record for base hits. Bergesch attempted to build the team around a core of highly regarded young players, in addition to veterans likeDave Parker andTerry Francona. In the 1985 amateur draft, with the fourth overall pick of the first round, Bergesch drafted future-Hall of Fame shortstopBarry Larkin, who would break into the majors by mid-August 1986 and almost immediately perform at the major league level, hitting .283 in 41 games.[citation needed] However, Bergesch was otherwise unable to capitalize on an excess of young and highly touted position players includingKurt Stillwell,Tracy Jones, andKal Daniels, under circumstances which compelled him to trade them for pitching. Despite the emergence ofTom Browning as Rookie of the Year in 1985, winning 20 games, the Reds would finish second in the National League West, missing the playoffs.[5] In 1986, the pitching rotation was devastated by the early demise of Mario Soto's career to arm injury, and the Reds again finished in second place.[6] 1987 saw, again, the same result, and Bergesch was fired on October 12, 1987, prior to the conclusion of the playoffs.[7]
Bergesch rejoined the Yankees in 1991, first on a consulting basis, and then more formally, although his responsibilities were only loosely defined. Bill Madden in his book "Steinbrenner" depicts Bergesch as having a backroom advisory presence during this period, which set the stage for the Yankees' periods of dominance later in the decade. Bergesch received a thirdWorld Series ring for the 1996 season, and formally retired in early 1997.
Bergesch continued to attend the Yankees'spring training inTampa, Florida, through 2008. After the death of his wife Virginia in 2006, he moved to a retirement community in Stamford, Connecticut. Bergesch died on May 10, 2011, at age 89.
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| Preceded by | New York YankeesGeneral Manager 1982–1983 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Cincinnati RedsGeneral Manager 1984–1987 | Succeeded by |