Dave Bristol

American baseball player and manager

Baseball player

Dave Bristol

Manager
Born: (1933-06-23) June 23, 1933 (age 92)
Macon, Georgia, U.S.

Bats: Right

Throws: Right

Career statistics
Games managed| 1,424
Win–loss record| 657–764
Winning %| .462
Teams
As manager

* Cincinnati Reds (1966–1969)
* Milwaukee Brewers (1970–1972)
* Atlanta Braves (1976–1977)
* San Francisco Giants (1979–1980)

As coach

* Cincinnati Reds (1966)
* Montreal Expos (1973–1975)
* San Francisco Giants (1978–1979)
* Philadelphia Phillies (1982–1985, 1988)
* Cincinnati Reds (1989, 1993)

Career highlights and awards

* Cincinnati Reds Hall of Fame

James David Bristol (born June 23, 1933) is an American former professional baseball manager and coach in Major League Baseball (MLB).

## Success in the minors, and with the Reds

[edit]

Bristol attended high school at the Baylor School in Chattanooga, Tennessee. He went on to University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and Western Carolina University. Bristol worked as an assistant football coach at Murphy High School in Cherokee County, North Carolina.[1] A right-handed hitting and throwing infielder, he never played in the Major Leagues. Bristol became a playing manager in the Cincinnati farm system at the age of 24 with the Hornell Redlegs of the Class D New York–Penn League in 1957. By 1964, he was managing the Reds' top farm team, the San Diego Padres of the Pacific Coast League, where, at age 31, he won a pennant and playoff title—the fifth league championship of his eight-year career to date. In nine seasons (1957–65) as a minor league pilot, his teams won 652 games and lost 562 (.537).

In 1966, Bristol was named to the Reds' coaching staff, and when the team performed badly under rookie skipper Don Heffner, Bristol took over the club as manager on July 13. Bristol guided the Reds through three winning seasons, but he was dismissed following the 1969 campaign. Sparky Anderson, who took over, would go into the Baseball Hall of Fame as the leader of the "Big Red Machine".

Cincinnati (298–265, .529) represented the high-water mark of Bristol's managing career. He never managed another winning club.

## Later struggles

[edit]

Not long after being fired by the Reds, Bristol was hired by the Seattle Pilots as the second manager in their history. He walked into a very difficult situation; the Pilots were on the verge of bankruptcy, and went to spring training not knowing whether they would play in Seattle or Milwaukee in 1970. Just six days before Opening Day, the Pilots got word they would be moving to Milwaukee as the Brewers. The Brewers under Bristol were never able to put together a winning team; he was fired 30 games into the 1972 season.[citation needed]

In 1976, Bristol was hired as manager of the Atlanta Braves. Midway through the 1977 season, with the Braves mired in a 16-game losing streak, owner Ted Turner sent Bristol on a 10-day "scouting trip" and took over as his own manager. This only lasted for one game (a 2–1 loss to the Pittsburgh Pirates) before National League president Chub Feeney ordered Turner to give up the reins, citing major league rules which forbid managers or players from owning stock in a team.[2] After the Braves broke the streak with third-base coach Vern Benson as interim manager, Bristol was brought back to finish out what was at the time the worst season in the Atlanta portion of Braves history. He was fired at the end of the season.[3] He last managed in MLB with the San Francisco Giants late in the 1979 season and all of 1980 before he was replaced by Frank Robinson. In June 1980, Bristol got into a fight with Giants pitcher John Montefusco after a victory over the rival Los Angeles Dodgers. Montefusco was angry at Bristol for removing him from the game too early.[4] Bristol finished with a career managerial record of 657 win and 764 defeats (.462).

In addition to his first MLB season with Cincinnati as a coach, Bristol also served as the third base coach for the Montreal Expos (1973–75) and the San Francisco Giants (1978–79), plus two terms with the Philadelphia Phillies (1982–85; 1988), and two additional stints with the Reds (1989; 1993).

In 2018, he was named to the Cincinnati Reds Hall of Fame.[5]

## Post-MLB career

[edit]

After retiring from professional baseball, Bristol returned to live in his beloved Blue Ridge Mountains in Andrews, North Carolina. Bristol was encouraged to help nearby Young Harris College's baseball program by Georgia Governor Zell Miller, who was a YHC baseball player and alumnus of the class of 1951. Bristol began helping the YHC Mountain Lion baseball team and has served as an on-field mentor to YHC's baseball players and coaches. Because of his generous efforts and support he was inducted into the Young Harris College Athletics Hall of Fame in 2021.[6]

## Managerial record

[edit]

Team | Year | Regular season | Postseason

|
|
|

Games | Won | Lost | Win % | Finish | Won | Lost | Win % | Result
CIN | 1966 | 77 | 39 | 38 | .506 | 7th in NL | – | – | – | –
CIN | 1967 | 162 | 87 | 75 | .537 | 4th in NL | – | – | – | –
CIN | 1968 | 163 | 83 | 79 | .512 | 4th in NL | – | – | – | –
CIN | 1969 | 163 | 89 | 73 | .549 | 3rd in NL West | – | – | – | –
CIN total | 565 | 298 | 265 | .529 |  | – | – | – | –
MIL | 1970 | 163 | 65 | 97 | .401 | 5th in AL West | – | – | – | –
MIL | 1971 | 161 | 69 | 92 | .429 | 6th in AL West | – | – | – | –
MIL | 1972 | 30 | 10 | 20 | .333 | (fired) | – | – | – | –
MIL total | 354 | 144 | 209 | .408 |  | – | – | – | –
ATL | 1976 | 162 | 70 | 92 | .432 | 6th in NL West | – | – | – | –
ATL | 1977 | 29 | 8 | 21 | .276 | (vacation) | – | – | – | –
131 | 52 | 79 | .397 | 6th in NL West | – | – | – | –
ATL total | 322 | 130 | 192 | .404 |  | – | – | – | –
SF | 1979 | 22 | 10 | 22 | .313 | 4th in NL West | – | – | – | –
SF | 1980 | 161 | 75 | 86 | .466 | 5th in NL West | – | – | – | –
SF total | 183 | 85 | 98 | .464 |  | – | – | – | –
Total[7] | 1,424 | 657 | 764 | .462 |  | – | – | – | –

## References

[edit]

1. ^ Quinones-Belian, Anngee (2023-11-01). "Having a ball reuniting in The Ballroom". Cherokee Scout. Murphy, N.C.: Community Newspapers, Inc. p. 8A.
2. ^ Hannon, Kent (May 5, 1977). "Benched from the Bench". Sports Illustrated. Archived from the original on June 15, 2013. Retrieved March 29, 2020.
3. ^ "Atlanta Fires Bristol As Team Starts Rebuilding". The Blade. Toledo, Ohio. Associated Press (AP). October 26, 1977. p. 46. Retrieved August 7, 2015.
4. ^ "Bristol, Montefusco Come to Blows". The Washington Post. Retrieved 2023-08-07.
5. ^ Wallner, Jeff (July 23, 2018). "Adam Dunn, Fred Norman, Dave Bristol earned spot in Reds Hall of Fame". WCPO. Retrieved March 29, 2020.
6. ^ "YH Hall of Fame – Dave Bristol". yhcathletics.com. Retrieved July 2, 2025.
7. ^ "Dave Bristol". Baseball Reference. Sports Reference. Retrieved May 22, 2025.

## External links

[edit]

* Biography portal
* Baseball portal

* Career statistics from Baseball Reference (Minors) · Retrosheet , or Baseball-Reference (Managers)

Preceded by

first manager

|  Hornell Redlegs manager
1957 | Succeeded by

last manager

|
|

Preceded by

first manager

|  Geneva Redlegs Manager
1958 | Succeeded by

Reno DeBenedetti

Preceded by

Larry Taylor

|  Geneva Redlegs Manager
1959 | Succeeded by

last manager

Preceded by

Tony Pacheco

|  Palatka Redlegs Manager
1960 | Succeeded by

Mike Fandozzi

Preceded by

Johnny Vander Meer

|  Topeka Redlegs Manager
1961 | Succeeded by

last manager

Preceded by

Jerry Snyder

|  Macon Peaches Manager
1962–1963 | Succeeded by

Red Davis

Preceded by

Don Heffner

|  San Diego Padres (PCL) Manager
1964–1965 | Succeeded by

Frank Lucchesi

Preceded by

Frank Oceak
Bruce Kimm
Sam Perlozzo

|  Cincinnati Reds 3rd base coach
1966
1989
1993 | Succeeded by

Vern Benson
Sam Perlozzo
Bobby Valentine

Preceded by

Jim Bragan

|  Montreal Expos 3rd base coach
1973–1975 | Succeeded by

Ozzie Virgil, Sr.

Preceded by

Lee Elia

|  Philadelphia Phillies 3rd base coach
1982–1985 | Succeeded by

Lee Elia

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Cincinnati Reds managers

* Pop Snyder (1882–1884)
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* Jimmy Dykes (1958)
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* Fred Hutchinson (1959–1964)
* Dick Sisler (1964–1965)
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* Dave Bristol (1966–1969)
* Sparky Anderson (1970–1978)
* John McNamara (1979–1982)
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Milwaukee Brewers managers

* Joe Schultz Jr. (1969)
* Dave Bristol (1970–1972)
* Roy McMillan (1972)
* Del Crandall (1972–1975)
* Harvey Kuenn (1975)
* Alex Grammas (1976–1977)
* George Bamberger (1978–1980)
* Buck Rodgers (1980–1982)
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* Ken Macha (2009–2010)
* Ron Roenicke (2011–2015)
* Craig Counsell (2015–2023)
* Pat Murphy (2024–present)

* v
* t
* e

Atlanta Braves managers

* Harry Wright (1871–1881)
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* Jack Slattery (1928)
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* Emil Fuchs (1929)
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* Casey Stengel (1938–1942)
* Bob Coleman (1943)
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* Johnny Cooney (1949)
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* Chuck Dressen (1960–1961)
* Birdie Tebbetts (1961–1962)
* Bobby Bragan (1963–1966)
* Billy Hitchcock (1966–1967)
* Ken Silvestri (1967)
* Lum Harris (1968–1972)
* Eddie Mathews (1972–1974)
* Clyde King (1974–1975)
* Connie Ryan (1975)
* Dave Bristol (1976–1977)
* Ted Turner (1977)
* Vern Benson (1977)
* Dave Bristol (1977)
* Bobby Cox (1978–1981)
* Joe Torre (1982–1984)
* Eddie Haas (1985)
* Bobby Wine (1985)
* Chuck Tanner (1986–1988)
* Russ Nixon (1988–1990)
* Bobby Cox (1990–2010)
* Fredi González (2011–2016)
* Brian Snitker (2016–present)

* v
* t
* e

San Francisco Giants managers

* John Clapp (1883)
* Jim Price (1884)
* John Montgomery Ward (1884)
* Jim Mutrie (1885–1891)
* Pat Powers (1892)
* John Montgomery Ward (1893–1894)
* George Davis (1895)
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* Cap Anson (1898)
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* Buck Ewing (1900)
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* Clyde King (1969–1970)
* Charlie Fox (1970–1974)
* Wes Westrum (1974–1975)
* Bill Rigney (1976)
* Joe Altobelli (1977–1979)
* Dave Bristol (1979–1980)
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* Danny Ozark (1984)
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* Roger Craig (1985–1992)
* Dusty Baker (1993–2002)
* Felipe Alou (2003–2006)
* Bruce Bochy (2007–2019)
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* Bob Melvin (2024–present)

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