| Ed Bressoud | |
|---|---|
 Bressoud with theBoston Red Sox in 1965 | |
| Shortstop | |
| Born:(1932-05-02)May 2, 1932 Los Angeles, California, U.S. | |
| Died: July 13, 2023(2023-07-13) (aged 91) Walnut Creek, California, U.S. | |
Batted: Right Threw: Right | |
| MLB debut | |
| June 14, 1956, for the New York Giants | |
| Last MLB appearance | |
| September 26, 1967, for the St. Louis Cardinals | |
| MLB statistics | |
| Batting average | .252 |
| Home runs | 94 |
| Runs batted in | 365 |
Stats atBaseball Reference  | |
| Teams | |
| Career highlights and awards | |
| |
Edward Francis Bressoud (May 2, 1932 – July 13, 2023) was an American professionalbaseballshortstop. Bressoud played inMajor League Baseball (MLB) from1956 through1967 for theNew York / San Francisco Giants (1956–1961),Boston Red Sox (1962–1965),New York Mets (1966) andSt. Louis Cardinals (1967). He was anMLB All-Star in 1964 and won the1967 World Series.
Bressoud was born in Los Angeles, the fourth of seven children of Charles Bressoud (1900-1969), who immigrated fromLima, Peru and was of French descent[1] and Josephine Felice Mibielle (1902-1978). He attendedMount Carmel High School and transferred toGeorge Washington High School, which he graduated from in 1950.[2]
During his playing career, Bressoud attendedEl Camino Junior College andLos Angeles City College. He earned aBachelor of Science in physical education from theUniversity of California, Los Angeles. He also earned amaster's degree fromSan Jose State University.[2]
Bressoud signed with theNew York Giants in 1950. He played inMinor League Baseball through the 1955 season, with the exception of his service in theUnited States Marine Corps during theKorean War from January 1953 to January 1955.[2]
In 1956,Bill Rigney became the manager of the Giants. Bressoud had played shortstop for Rigney in the minor leagues, andAlvin Dark, the regular Giants' shortstop, had been injured in August 1955. During spring training, Rigney made plans to move Dark to third base and make Bressoud the starting shortstop. However, Bressoud started slowly and was sent back to Minneapolis at the beginning of the year.[2][3] Dark was traded to theSt. Louis Cardinals on June 14, and Bressoud was immediately recalled to take his place.[2][3]
Bressoud spent two years with the MLB club in New York City, then four years after its 1958 transfer toSan Francisco. He was the Giants' regular shortstop in both1959 and1960,hitting .251 and .225. Bressoud was the first selection of theHouston Colt .45s in the1961 expansion draft in October,[4] then was traded to the Red Sox in exchange for their regular shortstop,Don Buddin, in November 1961.[5]
Bressoud played four seasons for Boston, hitting 40doubles, ninetriples, 14home runs, 79runs and a career-high 68runs batted in (RBIs) in 1962, and 59extra-bases in 1963, including a career-high 20 home runs and four two-HR games. In 1964, Bressoud was named to theAmerican League roster for the1964 MLB All-Star Game as an injury replacement forLuis Aparicio.[6] Bressoud posted career-high numbers inbatting average (.293),hits (166), runs (86) and doubles (41).[2]
After the 1965 season, the Red Sox traded Bressoud to theNew York Mets forJoe Christopher.[7] The Mets traded Bressoud,Danny Napoleon, and cash to theSt. Louis Cardinals forJerry Buchek,Art Mahaffey andTony Martínez on April 1, 1967.[8] In the1967 World Series, Bressoud appeared in Games 2 and 5 as a late-inning replacement for light-hitting Cardinal shortstopDal Maxvill, but did not record aplate appearance.[9]
Following his playing retirement hemanaged in the minor leagues andscouted for theCalifornia Angels. He was a faculty member, coach, and dean of athletics atDe Anza College.[2][10]
Bressoud married his high school sweetheart, Eleanor Griesser, on June 6, 1953. Eleanor died from a brain tumor on April 29, 1958.[2] Bressoud met Carol Mathews, a flight attendant, on a flight to San Francisco.[11] They married on February 7, 1959.[2] He had two sons with his first wife and two daughters with his second wife.[11]
Bressoud died fromcerebellar ataxia inWalnut Creek, California, on July 13, 2023, at age 91.[10][12]