Former major leaguer Eddie Bressoud recently passed away due to cerebellar ataxia, per an obituary from Thomas Gase of the Vallejo Times-Herald. Bressoud was 91 years old.
Bressoud was born in Los Angeles in 1932 and signed with the New York Giants in 1950. He spent the next few years in the minors and also served in the Marine Corps during the Korean War, eventually cracking the big leagues in 1956. He got into 49 games with the Giants that year and another 49 the year after, hitting a combined .245/.290/.345 in those two seasons.
Prior to the 1958 season, the Giants moved across the country to San Francisco. He stuck with them for that move and spent another four years with the Giants after, hitting .237/.301/.376 in 345 games, mostly playing shortstop but also bouncing to the other three infield positions.
After the 1961 season, there was an expansion draft held for two new franchises in the New York Mets and Houston Colt .45s, the latter of whom would later change their name to the Astros. Bressoud was selected by Houston but then was quickly traded to the Red Sox. He would spent four years in Boston, hitting 57 home runs and producing a batting line of .270/.337/.435 in 558 games for the Red Sox. He was named to the American League All-Star team in 1964.
He was traded two more times in his career, joining the Mets in 1966 and the Cardinals in 1967. Bressoud only had a part-time role with that St. Louis team, getting into 52 games, but they went 101-60 and won the National League pennant. Bressoud entered two games in the World Series as a defensive replacement but didn’t get to make a plate appearance, though the Cards emerged victorious over the Red Sox in seven games.
That ultimately proved to be his final major league season as a player. He appeared in 1,186 regular season games and made 4,106 plate appearances. He recorded 925 hits, including 184 doubles, 40 triples and 94 home runs. He stole nine bases, scored 443 runs and drove in 365. He finished his career with a .252 batting average and .319 on-base percentage. He was both an All-Star and a World Series champion.
His post-playing days saw him serve as a minor league manager and as a scout for the Angels. He also served as a faculty member, coach, and dean of athletics at De Anza College in Cupertino, California. We at MLBTR send our condolences to his family, friends and loved ones.
I remember him. I had some of his baseball cards. 91, he had a good long life. RIP.
I was pretty young (obviously) but I saw Bressoud play for the Giants at the Polo Grounds. Another sign my childhood is slipping away. RIP.
Thanks for being there in 1967. A good long life, lived well.
RIP
RIP Eddie
Steady Eddie, RIP
Sad to hear .. When I was a kid we went to Cooperstown every year to see the HOF ceremony/game .. The Red Sox played one year and Eddie hit a homer ..
After the game, Eddie was outside the stadium and my dad got into a short conversation with him … R.I.P ..
Pretty incredible, he has the exact same date of birth as my grandmother.
I think if you make it to 91 you don’t have a cause of death besides old. Good for him.
Crazy thing with my grandmother is she still worked full time as a realtor until a stroke earlier this year. I think she’ll make it to 100.
Forever Giant Mr. Bressoud.
RIP Eddie
Eddie was my favorite Red Sox player when I was just beginning to follow the game.. He wore #1; was always in motion on the field, and backed up every catcher’s throw to the pitcher with men on base. He had a Fenway stroke, and a knack for clutch hits; he also hit safely in the first 20 games one season, setting a Sox record..
Steady Eddie was a team leader, and played the game the right way. I once had a chance to exchange emails with his daughter, and told her how much he meant to me as a kid., and how he gave me the lifetime love of baseball I still have today.
Thanks, Eddie. I won’t forget you.
Very cool comment Jack Marshall! I enjoyed reading it.
I remember him as a steady infielder with that very wide open batting stance and his glasses, which made me feel better wearing mine on the field.