Lafayette Fresco Thompson Jr. (June 6, 1902 – November 20, 1968) was an American

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league composed of 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (baseball), National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. MLB i ...

second baseman In baseball and softball, second baseman, abbreviated 2B, is a fielding position in the Infielder, infield, between Baseball field#Second base, second and Baseball field#First base, first base. The second baseman often possesses quick hands and f ...

and executive. Thompson was born in Centreville, Alabama. In 1916, when he was 14, his family moved to

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

, where Thompson attended George Washington High School and

Columbia University Columbia University in the City of New York, commonly referred to as Columbia University, is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Churc ...

. At Columbia, he was a

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

teammate of

Lou Gehrig Henry Louis Gehrig ( ; June 19, 1903June 2, 1941), also known as Heinrich Ludwig Gehrig, was an American professional baseball first baseman who played 17 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the New York Yankees (1923–1939). Gehrig was ...

's, but Thompson left the school to turn

professional A professional is a member of a profession or any person who work (human activity), works in a specified professional activity. The term also describes the standards of education and training that prepare members of the profession with the partic ...

before he could join Gehrig on the Lions' baseball team.

Playing career

right-handed In human biology, handedness is an individual's preferential use of one hand, known as the dominant hand, due to and causing it to be stronger, faster or more Fine motor skill, dextrous. The other hand, comparatively often the weaker, less dext ...

batter and thrower, Thompson stood tall and weighed . His pro career began at the Class D level of the minors in 1923. After three years of seasoning, he made his debut in September with the eventual world champion

Pittsburgh Pirates The Pittsburgh Pirates are an American professional baseball team based in Pittsburgh. The Pirates compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Central ...

. Following brief appearances with the Pirates (14 games in 1925) and

New York Giants The New York Giants are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Giants compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East division. The ...

(two games in ), Thompson was traded to the

Philadelphia Phillies The Philadelphia Phillies are an American professional baseball team based in Philadelphia. The Phillies compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) East Division. Since 2004, the team's home stadium has ...

in when the Giants obtained

Rogers Hornsby Rogers Hornsby (April 27, 1896 – January 5, 1963), nicknamed "the Rajah", was an American baseball infielder, manager (baseball), manager, and coach (baseball), coach who played 23 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB). He played for the St. ...

. He had his most productive years with the Phils, playing in Baker Bowl, twice hitting over .300. Overall, in 669

games played Games played (GP) is a statistic used in team sports to indicate the total number of games in which a player has participated (in any capacity); the statistic is generally applied irrespective of whatever portion of the game is contested. Associat ...

for four teams over all or parts of nine

National League National League often refers to: *National League (baseball), one of the two baseball leagues constituting Major League Baseball in the United States and Canada *National League (division), the fifth division of the English football (soccer) system ...

seasons (1925–32; 1934), Thompson batted .298 in 2,560 at bats. His 762 hits included 149 doubles, 34 triples and 13

home runs In baseball, a home run (abbreviated HR) is scored when the ball is hit in such a way that the batter is able to circle the bases and reach home plate safely in one play without any errors being committed by the defensive team. A home run ...

, and he collected 249 RBI. He finished his career with a .962

fielding percentage In baseball statistics, fielding percentage, also known as fielding average, is a measure that reflects the percentage of times a baseball positions, defensive player properly handles a batted or thrown ball. It is calculated by the sum of putout ...

Dodger executive

After his playing days, Thompson managed in the minor leagues before becoming an assistant

farm system In sports, a farm team (also referred to as farm system, developmental system, feeder team, or nursery club) is generally a team or club whose role is to provide experience and training for young players, with an agreement that any successful pl ...

director for the

Brooklyn Dodgers The Brooklyn Dodgers were a Major League Baseball team founded in 1883 as the Brooklyn Grays. In 1884, it became a member of the American Association as the Brooklyn Atlantics before joining the National League in 1890. They remained in Brook ...

. 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 as head of the club's extensive player development system after the Dodgers moved to

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

in . Over Thompson's 22 years as a senior farm system executive, the Dodgers produced six National League Rookie of the Year Award winners,''MLB Rookie of the Year Award Winners,'' ESPN.com
/ref> and won ten NL pennants and four

World Series The World Series is the annual championship series of Major League Baseball (MLB). It has been contested since between the champion teams of the American League (AL) and the National League (NL). The winning team, determined through a best- ...

titles. When Bavasi left to become president of the expansion

San Diego Padres The San Diego Padres are an American professional baseball team based in San Diego. The Padres compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League West, West Division. ...

on June 4, 1968, Thompson became the Dodgers' executive vice president and

general manager A general manager (GM) is an executive who has overall responsibility for managing both the revenue and cost elements of a company's income statement, known as profit & loss (P&L) responsibility. A general manager usually oversees most or all of ...

. During the transition, he presided over the Dodgers' hugely successful 1968 amateur draft. The regular and secondary phases of the 1968 June lottery netted the Dodgers Steve Garvey,

Ron Cey Ronald Charles Cey (; born February 15, 1948), nicknamed "the Penguin," is an American former professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball as a third baseman from through , most notably as an integral member of the Los Angel ...

, Bill Buckner,

Bobby Valentine Robert John Valentine (born May 13, 1950), nicknamed "Bobby V", is an American former professional baseball player and manager. He also served as the athletic director at Sacred Heart University. Valentine played for the Los Angeles Dodgers (19 ...

, Joe Ferguson, Doyle Alexander and others. However, a few weeks after his promotion, Thompson was diagnosed with

cancer Cancer is a group of diseases involving Cell growth#Disorders, abnormal cell growth with the potential to Invasion (cancer), invade or Metastasis, spread to other parts of the body. These contrast with benign tumors, which do not spread. Po ...

, and he died in November in

Fullerton, California Fullerton ( ) is a city located in northern Orange County, California, United States. As of the 2020 census, the city had a total population of 143,617. Fullerton was founded in 1887. It secured the land on behalf of the Atchison, Topeka and S ...

, at the age of 66.Collier, Phil, "Death of a Dodger", ''Baseball Digest'', February 1969, pp. 27-28 He was succeeded by the club's scouting director, Al Campanis, as general manager, formally titled vice president, player personnel. The following season, Ted Sizemore, developed in Thompson's farm system, was named the NL Rookie of the Year.

References

External links

Corbett, Warren, ''Fresco Thompson.'' Society for American Baseball Research Biography Project
{{DEFAULTSORT:Thompson, Fresco 1902 births 1968 deaths Baseball executives Baseball players from Alabama Baseball players from New York City Birmingham Barons managers Birmingham Barons players Brooklyn Dodgers executives Brooklyn Dodgers players Brooklyn Dodgers scouts Brooklyn Robins players Buffalo Bisons (minor league) players Columbia Lions baseball players Deaths from cancer in California George Washington Educational Campus alumni Hartford Bees players Jersey City Skeeters players Kansas City Blues (baseball) players Los Angeles Dodgers executives Major League Baseball farm directors Major League Baseball general managers Major League Baseball second basemen Minneapolis Millers (baseball) players Minor league baseball managers Montreal Royals managers Montreal Royals players New York Giants (baseball) players Omaha Buffaloes players People from Centreville, Alabama Philadelphia Phillies players Pittsburgh Pirates players Reading Brooks players Williamsport Grays players 20th-century American sportsmen