July 2, 2025 • 37 mins
Dave Bristol just turned 92 on June 23rd—and he’s packed a lifetime of baseball into those years. A member of the Reds Hall of Fame, Bristol managed Cincinnati in the late ’60s before leading the Brewers, Braves, and Giants, and later coaching with the Expos and Phillies. Born in Macon, Georgia, he's one of the game's great storytellers, with decades of dugout memories to share. Enjoy this journey back to baseball's golden era.
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Announcer (00:00):
In this great land of ours, the springtime brings out
the flowers, the green grass,and boys of all ages.
From houses in every block intown come boys with ball gloves,
all of them headed for thenearest vacant lot to play
baseball.
So off they go.
All of their time isn't spenton the vacant lot.
(00:23):
Some of it spent at CrosleyField watching the reds play
ball.
Podcast open.
Mike Koser (01:14):
On June 23rd, Dave Bristol celebrated his 92nd
birthday.
A proud member of the Reds Hallof Fame, Bristol managed
Cincinnati from 1966 to 1969.
He then went on to lead theBrewers, Braves, and Giants
throughout the 70s.
He also spent time on thecoaching staffs of the Expos and
Phillies.
Born in Macon, Georgia, Bristolis not only a baseball lifer,
(01:39):
but one of the game's greatstorytellers.
And we're honored to have himon this month's episode of the
Lost Ballparks Podcast.
Dave Bristol (01:45):
Hear me now?
Mike Koser (01:46):
Uh perfect.
Can you hear me okay?
Dave Bristol (01:48):
Yeah, I'm good now.
Mike Koser (01:49):
Yeah.
Thanks for doing this.
I'm looking forward to talkingwith you.
I've heard so much about you,and uh yeah, it's just great to
have you on Lost Ballparkstoday.
Dave Bristol (01:57):
You got it.
You got it.
Mike Koser (01:58):
So you went to high school in Chattanooga.
My wife and I were visitingsome friends in Chattanooga last
year, and I took a walk aroundEngle Stadium, such a historic
ballpark.
Did you ever go to EngleStadium?
Dave Bristol (02:12):
Yeah, I worked out there when I was in school.
It was a Washington Farm Club,and I they thought they were
gonna sign me.
Mike Koser (02:20):
So did you ever see a game at Engle Stadium?
Dave Bristol (02:23):
Yes, yes.
Mike Koser (02:24):
What stood out to you about uh about that
ballpark?
Dave Bristol (02:28):
How long the left field fence was and how high the
wall at Engle Stadium.
Mike Koser (02:33):
It's funny because I I know firsthand that the wall
is high.
Um well, first of all, the uhEngle Stadium kind of sits in a
state of disrepair.
Dave Bristol (02:42):
Yes, I I know it.
Mike Koser (02:44):
Uh it's closed off to the public.
There's no way to get in andlook at it.
It just it looks like it's justfalling apart.
And it honestly is just reallysad to see it like that.
But I had to go to the outfieldwall to get a peek in, and I
climbed up that wall.
It took my life in my hands toto look inside.
But uh it was worth it just tosee you know the playing surface
(03:05):
where uh legends like LouGehrig, Babe Ruth, Satchel
Paige, and Willie Mays played,also, Um much of the film 42,
the Jackie Robinson story, wasuh was shot at Engle Stadium in
Chattanooga.
So it's a historic ballpark.
Hopefully they can find someway to uh um to save it.
So, Dave, in 1962, you managedthe Cincinnati Reds Class A
(03:27):
team, the Macon Peaches.
Announcer (03:29):
Red officials know proper instruction here can make
a difference in a boy's career.
Nothing is spared in the boys'baseball education.
Mike Koser (03:38):
The team played its home games at Luther Williams
Field, which first opened in1929.
What do you remember aboutLuther Williams Field and Macon,
Georgia?
Dave Bristol (03:48):
Well, you know, being a minor league manager,
you didn't worry about that, butit had the hottest clubhouse
and no air conditioning in theworld.
Mike Koser (03:57):
Macon, Georgia in July, August.
Dave Bristol (04:00):
Macon in the summer is hot weather.
Mike Koser (04:03):
How would you guys stay cool?
Dave Bristol (04:04):
Well, go outside.
Mike Koser (04:09):
And you had a 21-year-old on that team by the
name of Pete Rose, who made nosecret that you were one of his
favorite managers.
I think he felt like youmanaged the way that he played.
Pete Rose (04:18):
He actually gets mad when the game's over because he
knows he has to leave theballpark.
It's it's it's great to have amanager like that because uh all
the fellas h is respect.
And uh I just Well, you know,I'd walk through hell in a
gasoline suit for it.
Mike Koser (04:33):
Didn't he hit like .330 for you that summer?
Dave Bristol (04:37):
Yeah, eight guys off that team went to the big
leagues.
Mike Koser (04:40):
Did you have any indication that uh in that
summer that that this kid PeteRose at 21 was was going to be
something special?
I mean .330, even in MaconGeorgia, that's pretty good.
Dave Bristol (04:52):
Well, Tommy Helms was a shortstop and he hit .340.
Mike Koser (04:56):
Yeah.
Dave Bristol (04:57):
And didn't win the pennant, but won the playoffs.
Mike Koser (05:00):
By 1964, you were managing the Red's Top Farm
Club, the San Diego Padres ofthe Pacific Coast League.
The team played at WestgatePark, right off Friars Road in
San Diego, uh, near the 163junction.
I live maybe 30 minutes fromwhere that ballpark once stood.
It's now part of the FashionValley Mall.
But every time I'm there, Ifind myself looking out toward
(05:23):
the hillside where those talleucalyptus trees once stood
beyond the outfield wall and tryjust trying to picture what
Westgate Park must have beenlike.
When the park opened in 1958,local sports writer Jack Murphy
wrote that not even YankeeStadium or Boston's Fenway Park
can surpass the comforts andconveniences of the Padres new
home.
(05:43):
What do you remember aboutWestgate Park?
What made it special to you?
Dave Bristol (05:47):
Well, I thought it was it was big league after
coming from Macon.
It was a great ever everythingyou've got in San Diego, I
thought was good.
And I was there in 64 and wewent and went back in 65.
Mike Koser (06:01):
Though it only stood for nine summers, Westgate Park
was widely considered one ofthe finest minor league
ballparks of its time.
It had this distinctiveV-shaped grandstand covered by a
cantilevered metal roof, fourlight towers that leaned in
toward the field at a dramaticangle, and even a
climate-controlled storage roomthat could hold up to 10,000
(06:23):
bags of peanuts.
Did you know about the peanutroom?
Dave Bristol (06:26):
No, no.
I wasn't interested in peanuts,I was interested in winning.
Mike Koser (06:31):
Do you remember Toonies?
Your owner, the owner of thePadres back then, Arnold Smith.
Dave Bristol (06:37):
Yeah.
Mike Koser (06:38):
This was his big bright idea.
Essentially, it was uh hotdog-shaped snacks, but made with
fish instead of meat.
As the story goes, they didn'texactly catch on with fans and
were eventually replaced withthe real thing.
Did you ever try one?
Dave Bristol (06:54):
No, no.
The thing I remember we had thebest general manager, and he
helped me more than anybody inthe world, Eddie Leishman.
Did you remember that name?
Mike Koser (07:05):
Yeah.
Dave Bristol (07:06):
Oh, he was so wonderful.
He was so good.
He guided me, and and uh when Icome to the ballpark each day,
I'd always go by his office andwe'd talk baseball and then go
to the clubhouse.
He was so good.
And uh, you know, he he hadbeen a former player and uh he
knew baseball as well as anybodyI'd have been around.
(07:28):
I loved him.
Loved him.
Mike Koser (07:30):
Yeah, and he probably steered you clear of uh
ever having to try a toonie.
I'm sure.
No, I wasn't.
No, no.
It doesn't sound too good, doesit?
Uh a hot dog made with fish?
Dave Bristol (07:42):
Oh, no way, no way.
Mike Koser (07:44):
In 1966, you joined the Cincinnati Reds coaching
staff.
Uh Pete Rose was just 25 at thetime, Tony Perez 24.
Uh, the seeds of the big redmachine were starting to take
root.
Dave Bristol (07:55):
Yeah, we had a lot of good young players, and uh,
you know, there were someveterans on the club.
Uh and uh hell uh Nuxhall wasolder than I was.
Yeah.
Because I I I had to tellNuxhall the next spring training
that that we're going torelease him.
And I he said, no, no, no.
(08:16):
And I said, Yeah, they're goingto put you second in the on the
radio team.
I said, that'd be good.
Hell, he wound up staying 40years.
Yeah, Joe Nuxhall, what alegend.
Joe Nuxhall (08:28):
So Tuesday night from St.
Louis, this is the oldleft-hander rounding third and
heading for home.
Good afternoon, everyone.
Mike Koser (08:35):
Yeah.
Dave Bristol (08:35):
Yeah.
Mike Koser (08:36):
But he wasn't he he wanted to stay and play, huh?
Dave Bristol (08:39):
Oh, yeah.
You know, the the uh you'retalking about the team.
The Reds had good teams uhin '60, '61, they won they win
the World Series.
They they were good.
63, 64.
Uh, it was just a continuation,and then we added young players
(08:59):
every year.
Mike Koser (09:00):
Yeah.
Dave Bristol (09:00):
Shamsky, Mel Queen, Ted Davidson, uh, Helms,
Rose, Tony Perez, Tommy Harper.
Yeah.
Plus the Reds that traded JimmyWynn and Curt Flood, two other
good guys.
The red s farm system wasproducing.
Mike Koser (09:18):
The Reds were still playing at the corner of Findlay
and Western in 1966.
That would be historicCrosley Field.
Waite Hoyt (09:25):
Yes, indeed, today's game is to be played right here
at Crosley Field, which hasbeen the home of the Cincinnati
Reds for as long as the oldestcitizen can remember.
Mike Koser (09:34):
For so many fans, that ballpark held and holds a
special place in their heartsand in baseball history.
Tell me about Crosley Field.
Dave Bristol (09:43):
Well, the first thing you remember about that,
you uh I had gone there when theReds uh invited me when they
were signing me, and I uh took atrain up there and worked out
and signed, and then went andplayed minor league ball.
And then I guess the ti thetimes I was back was when the
(10:05):
Reds would have uh meetings ofall the minor league club uh
managers and we'd bring them toCincinnati.
And but the first thing younotice is that uh hill around
the outfield.
Mike Koser (10:19):
That 15-degree incline in front of the outfield
wall.
Uh Dave, for for outfielderswho were new to the team,
whether they came up from theminors or arrived via a trade,
how did you help them get usedto the terrace at Crosley Field?
Dave Bristol (10:34):
Well, some of them never got used to it.
I saw Sunday afternoonWillie...
Willie Stagell fell down fourtimes going after a ball over
his head.
Tricky to navigate.
Very much so, very much so.
But that's what you had to playwith, and it was the infield
(10:56):
was turtle back.
It...
after you passed second andshortstop, it went downhill
again, and then it that's wherewater would stand when it
rained.
Then it'd go up to the terrace.
And and plus that big highscoreboard.
Mike Koser (11:10):
Yeah, 58-foot-tall scoreboard with the iconic
Longines clock on top.
Dave Bristol (11:15):
Right.
And you know, they put a yellowstripe across that scoreboard
while uh during the time I wasthere, and any ball to hit above
the yellow line was a home run.
But before that, it was in playoff the scoreboard.
Mike Koser (11:31):
Yeah, nobody was hitting a home run over that
scoreboard.
Dave Bristol (11:34):
No, no.
Mike Koser (11:36):
Crosley Field is just one of those ballparks that
had so much character.
Announcer (11:39):
Those who maintain this beautiful ballpark have
done their job well indeed.
Mike Koser (11:43):
From the 82-foot tall flagpole in left center
that was actually in play, theright field seats that were
known as the Sun Deck during theday, and then the moon deck at
night.
Dave Bristol (11:55):
Yes, yeah.
And they had about a waist-highuh wall and then uh a fence on
the on the on the top of the ofthe brick wall, I think.
And I saw Clemente jump up onthat, stand up on the uh brick
wall and reach as high as hecould and hit the ball, knocked
a home run back in the ballpark.
Mike Koser (12:17):
Wow.
In your early days with theReds, you developed a reputation
as the kind of manager whowould come to the park early or
stay late just to help a playerwork through a slump.
Do any of those quiet momentsstand out to you where it was
just you and a player out thereputting in the extra work?
Dave Bristol (12:33):
Yeah.
I remember uh getting JohnnyBench out there and throwing
balls to him, blocking theblocking uh you know, blocking
the ball and uh in nineteen uhsixty eight on a Friday night,
Rose didn't do too well, and Isaid, Hey, season's gonna end on
(12:54):
Saturday and Sunday at the lasttwo games.
And Gaylord Perry was pitchingagainst us on Saturday.
So I told Rose, be out here ateleven o'clock and get some
extra hitting in.
And we did.
The first four times up he gothit off Gaylord Perry, and uh he
(13:14):
slid into second base andHal Lanier said, Boy, that's
something, and Pete Rose, yeah,of course.
He said, Matty Alou is threefor four in uh Chicago.
So Rose goes up the fifth timeand hits a double to finish five
for five.
Then the next day, first timeup, he hit a double off Sadecki,
(13:36):
and I took him out of the gameand that was his first uh bat
ting title.
Pete Rose (13:41):
I would just like to be the best in my uh profession.
You know, uh I'd I'd like to beuh a guy, a guy, you know, this
might sound uh bighead orsomething, but uh, you know, you
get on airplanes and you talkto people and you you know you
they don't know who you are andyou say you heard of Willie
Mays.
They said, Yeah, I heard ofWillie Mays.
I'd just like to be somebodylike that and be a good enough
fella, along with being a goodenough ball player to uh for
(14:02):
everybody to know who you are.
Dave Bristol (14:04):
The next year, listen to this.
We're in Atlanta, the last gameof the season.
He's on the on-deck circle, andsome fans sitting at the same
box right on the field said,Pete, Clemenete is four for four
in Montreal.
You need a hit.
So he went up and bunted aperfect bunt.
(14:24):
You couldn't have rolled it outthere and got a hit, and that
was his second batting title.
Mike Koser (14:30):
That's so crazy.
Just a little inside uh tipfrom a fan at Atlanta Stadium.
That's nuts.
Dave Bristol (14:38):
Yeah, on the own, he was on the own deck circle
and the guy hollered and said,Pete, you he was listening to
the other game.
Said you need a hit.
Mike Koser (14:46):
Fans lucky enough to catch a game at Crosley Field
can still remember organistRonnie Dale playing before and
after the games, and the beervendors shouting, "get moody
with Hudy".
Did you ever crack open a Hudyafter a game?
Dave Bristol (15:02):
Did I?
Mike Koser (15:03):
Yeah.
Dave Bristol (15:04):
No, no, no.
You know, another thing Iremember about Crosley Field,
they had those little miniaturebat nights.
Mike Koser (15:12):
Oh, yeah.
Dave Bristol (15:13):
And those guys down the third baseline were uh
into Hudy's pretty good.
And they were hit and gotfighting with those bats.
They didn't have any more batnights to give away.
I mean, guys were bleeding andeverything.
Golly, it was awful.
Mike Koser (15:32):
Oh my gosh.
Yeah, that's probably the lastof that.
Dave Bristol (15:35):
First time I was named manager at the all-star
break, Jim Maloney was thefirst, he he won the first game
I managed.
And the last game that Imanaged in Atlanta, he won the
first and last games I managedin Cincinnati.
Mike Koser (15:53):
The Reds clubhouse was tucked behind the grandstand
at Crosley Field.
So walk me through this.
What was the path that you tookthat got you from the clubhouse
to the dugout and from thedugout back to the clubhouse?
Dave Bristol (16:04):
Well, uh there's a passage way just past the Reds
dugout on the on the uh rightside.
And there's a your little lanethat led underneath the stands,
up in the parking lot, and thengo up, uh had to walk up right
and then turn back left into theclubhouse.
Mike Koser (16:25):
But again, after a game, I mean fans in the parking
lot have a chance to be closeto you, to to heckle you after a
loss.
Did you ever get any of thatafter losing a game?
Dave Bristol (16:35):
No.
The fans were always good to mein Cincinnati.
Mike Koser (16:38):
Oh, that's good.
That's good.
Dave Bristol (16:40):
Yeah.
Mike Koser (16:40):
Okay, so after you win the first game, July 14th,
1966, as manager of the Reds,you head to Atlanta, to Atlanta
Stadium, which of course waslater named Fulton County
Stadium.
The Reds were facing theBraves.
Uh again, this is 1966.
Hank Aaron steps up to theplate, and you walk out to the
mound to pull out your pitcher.
You bring in outfielder MelQueen to pitch.
(17:02):
And as Mel arrives at themound, he spots runners on first
and third.
Hank Aaron standing at theplate, and he looks at you and
asks, Are you sure I'm the manyou want out here?
Do you remember what happenednext?
Dave Bristol (17:13):
I sure do.
Hank Aaron was a hitter.
And as I walked off, I said,Hank, this is this guy's first
pitch, his first time pitching.
He might be a little wild.
You better screw that helmetdown.
And the writers asked him afterthe game, they said, What did
Bristol say to you?
And he told em and he said, Bythe way, what's that manager's
(17:36):
name?
Mike Koser (17:38):
By the way, he ended up popping up to center field,
so whatever was in your head atthe time, it worked.
Dave Bristol (17:44):
Well, that's the only time he ever popped up.
Mike Koser (17:47):
You managed against some of the best players in
baseball history during the1960s.
Dave Bristol (17:51):
Hey, Mike, you are exactly right, and people
forget about that.
Mike Koser (17:55):
Yeah, no, seriously, you think about Roberto
Clemente, Willie Mays, HankAaron.
Which one of those guys stoodout the most to you?
Dave Bristol (18:03):
Well, i when I came home at the end of the
year, first year, people at mytown uh town asked me, he said,
Who's the best player you saw?
I said, Clemente.
And I said, also, it was theend of Mays's career, and he
could still play as good asanybody I ever saw.
(18:24):
Pete Rose hit a ball one nightand cr at crosley field and
hustled into a double, and hehit that ball, the ground ball
to center field, and Maysfielded it.
So Mays is the first hitter thenext inning.
He chopped the ball, beat itout, stole second, stole third,
and then scored on a high hopperand hollered over at Pete,
(18:47):
said, Pete, that's the way youplay the game.
Oh man, what a good player.
What a good player.
Mike Koser (18:55):
You made it to the Astrodome.
The second year was open.
Announcer (18:58):
From the Astrodome in Houston, the Astros game of the
day is on the air.
Mike Koser (19:03):
What do you remember about the first time you walked
into the eighth wonder of theworld?
Dave Bristol (19:09):
Well, the winter meetings were held that year in
December in Houston, and they uhHoffheinz took uh everybody who
wanted to go, had a bus to takeeverybody out there to look at
it.
Mike Koser (19:23):
Yeah, you're talking about uh the judge, yeah, Roy
Hoffheinz, who at the time wasthe owner of the Astros.
Dave Bristol (19:29):
Yeah, to show everybody the the and tell them
how long the dugouts were and soforth.
Announcer (19:36):
Inside, a look at more than 50,000 paying guests
settled in their comfortablepadded seats at 72 degrees
temperature and 50% relativehumidity.
No rain, sun, wind, dust,perspiration, splinters, hard
benches, mosquitoes, or snow.
It's the Astro dome.
Inside, a world of its own.
Dave Bristol (19:59):
When we went in there, I I I told the bus
driver, I said, Be there early.
I want to take all my playersout there and let them sit and
look at it and get it over it,and don't be looking and awing
during the game.
We're there to win the game.
But it it was something else.
It was something else.
Mike Koser (20:17):
You were let go by the Reds at the end of the 1969
season and then hired by theSeattle Pilots.
The pilots' inaugural seasonwas 1969.
Announcer (20:25):
The pilots' first season had many memorable
moments, too many to chroniclehere, but they gave their fans
plenty to yell about and thensome.
Mike Koser (20:33):
But the team's financial footing was shaky, to
say the least, from the start.
So you end up joining the teamspring training 1970.
And at some point, Dave, youdiscovered that the team may not
be going back to Seattle atall.
Dave Bristol (20:48):
Well, Bud Selig came out there every weekend in
spring training trying to make adeal with Dewey Soriano to buy
the club.
The last day of springtraining, they finally
consummated the deal.
So we didn't know where we'regoing.
So they told the bus rider anduh there's a semi-truck, it
(21:11):
takes all the players' extraequipment and kitchen stuff and
so forth.
They told him, Drive towardsSalt Lake.
If you hear it's been sold,turn right to Milwaukee.
If not, continue on to Seattle.
Mike Koser (21:27):
So as a manager uh uh of a ball club who, by the
way, has to uh uh be in chargeof their own housing, how do you
plan for that?
Dave Bristol (21:36):
I I w you just roll with a punch and then we we
boarded the plane going toMilwaukee.
Mike Koser (21:42):
So the team gets sold, and you and the ball club
make the flight to Milwaukee.
Home games that year for thenow Milwaukee Brewers were
played at County Stadium.
And since the Braves had leftfor Atlanta a few years earlier,
I imagine that the city waseager to welcome baseball back.
Uh tell me about County Stadiumin 1970.
Dave Bristol (22:03):
Well, Opening Day, uh we were playing the Angels.
Andy Messersmith was pitching,and it might be in the coldest
day I've ever seen a day game.
And uh it was cold.
Right before uh I've got agreat big picture of me standing
in the corner of the dugoutwith Bud Selig, and we're both
(22:23):
grinning.
You know, it's opening day.
Mike Koser (22:26):
Yeah.
Dave Bristol (22:27):
And I sent Bud that picture to get autographed,
and I wrote at the bottom, Iguess this was the last day that
we were both smiling all yearbecause it was a tough year.
Mike Koser (22:41):
I mean, it's uh it's an expansion ball club, and I
mean a couple of tough years.
You end up being let go byMilwaukee uh in 1972.
Dave Bristol (22:50):
Well, I I remember when uh I had the press
conference at the Kenmore Hotelin Mil in Boston.
That's where we were playingthat day, and Frank Lane opened,
he was the general manager.
And he said, Dave, I don't knowhow we're going to get along
(23:10):
without you, but in the morningwe're gonna start trying.
And you know what my reply was?
Mike Koser (23:18):
What?
Dave Bristol (23:19):
It was a neat incision, and the patient will
be up within a day.
And got on the first plane tocome home.
Golly.
Mike Koser (23:31):
I picture you spending those warm summer
evenings in Andrews, NorthCarolina, with a cool mountain
breeze blowing, sitting by theradio, checking box scores in
the paper, and listening to asmany games as you could.
Jack Buck (23:43):
Cardinals are two behind Pittsburgh.
Pittsburgh and Milwaukee, wherewill be idle tonight.
Cardinals three and a halfahead of Milwaukee.
Mike Koser (23:49):
Who are some of the teams, some of the broadcasts
that you could get?
Dave Bristol (23:52):
KMOX in St. Louis.
Announcer (23:54):
Game Audio
Dave Bristol (23:54):
WLW in Cincinnati
Announcer (23:54):
Game audio
Dave Bristol (24:16):
That's where I listened most.
Mike Koser (24:18):
Those late night radio broadcasts when you were
listening from your home inNorth Carolina kept you
connected to the game.
Dave Bristol (24:25):
Exactly.
Exactly.
Forget 'em, you know, thisis...
I live right in the mountain.
Uh I live three miles fromresume speed.
Mike Koser (24:34):
Three miles from resume speed?
Yeah.
Well, you came down from themountain pretty quick.
You joined the expo's coachingstaff and were with Montreal
from 1973 to 1975.
What can you tell me aboutJarry Park in Montreal, the
expo's first home, while theywaited for Olympic Stadium to be
(24:55):
ready?
Dave Bristol (24:56):
Well, I was happy to have a job, took a $40,000
cut from managing to coachinthird base for Gene Mauch and
Jarry Park....
I had a good time there, andthe fans were outstanding and
met a lot of nice people.
It was good.
Jarry Park was truly one of akind.
Announcer (25:17):
Strike call!ed 0-1, and the game is underway here at
Jarry Park.
Mike Koser (25:22):
It was this little ballpark nestled right in the
middle of a sprawling communitypark, and fans would often say
that going to an expos gamethere felt like uh a family
picnic.
Announcer (25:32):
There are a lot of people, perhaps thousands of
them, still outside theballpark, trying to get in here
this afternoon.
The kids here are having awhale of a time, especially uh
those youngsters who havereceived a bat.
Mike Koser (25:47):
It was the last of the single-deck Major League
ballparks, and the grounds crewhad quite the challenge.
Every April they had to clearsnow off the field.
Fans would sometimes watch thegame from atop the snow piles
that would accumulate beyond theoutfield wall.
Dave Bristol (26:02):
Yeah, that's true.
That's very true.
And you know, they had toresolve a lot of it, and the sod
would some of it would come upat time.
Because it was cold there earlyin the year.
The grass was was not green,far from it.
No, no, they they painted itsometimes.
Mike Koser (26:19):
And I've heard that when the sunset over the left
field bleachers, games could bedelayed because uh it was nearly
impossible and actuallydownright dangerous for the
first baseman to try to catch athrow uh from a shortstop or
third baseman looking right intothe sun.
Dave Bristol (26:33):
Well, it was right directly in the first baseman's
eyes.
Sometimes you had to delay thegame till it went behind uh the
bleachers, I'm telling you.
Because somebody coulda gotkilled, you know, the third
baseman threw to first, no wayyou could see it.
No way.
Mike Koser (26:49):
As the Expo's third base coach, you must have
noticed that little gap betweenthe field level seats down the
third baseline and the outfieldbleachers at Jarry Park,
especially those chilly Apriland May games, the wind would
rip right through that gap.
I remember hearing that someshortstops would put cotton
balls in their ears just toavoid earaches from that wind.
(27:11):
Do you remember dealing withthat?
Dave Bristol (27:13):
Yeah, and you had to walk down that left field
line to go to the own clubhouse,too.
Yeah.
But hey, you knew it was gonnabe when you signed on, so I just
came from Milwaukee and I knewhow cold it was.
Mike Koser (27:28):
Do you have a favorite Montreal memory that
comes to mind working uh as acoach for the expos?
Dave Bristol (27:33):
Well, uh working for Gene Mauch was fun.
I loved him, and Cal McLish wasthe pitching coach, and Cal and
I roomed together.
You know, all of them are deadnow.
All the coaches are dead.
Duke Snider was there.
I I really like Larry Doby, andI wish after knowing all I've
(27:57):
read about him, I we I'd askedhim more questions about what
how it's like playing uh on that'48 Cleveland winning team.
I could kick myself for notdoing that.
Mike Koser (28:10):
Larry Doby was the first to integrate on the
American League side, joiningthe Cleveland Indians in 1947,
right?
Right.
And he was with the Indians in1948 when they won the World
Series, and and so he was partof the Montreal Expo's coaching
staff with you uh in the 70s.
Dave Bristol (28:28):
Yeah, one or two years, yeah.
Duke Snider was there one year,uh, and he's in the Hall of
Fame.
I always wish I'd asked himmore after reading Boys of
Summer.
Golly damn.
Mike Koser (28:40):
So, so good.
It's one of my favorite books,one of the best books ever.
Boys of Summer by Roger Kahndetailing um the Brooklyn
Dodgers at Ebbet's Field.
Dave Bristol (28:50):
Yeah, you're right.
In 1977, you were managing theAtlanta Braves, and owner Ted
Turner informs you that in themiddle of the season he's gonna
send you on a 10-day scoutingtrip, at which point he took
over the team as manager.
Now, when you heard that he wasgonna do that, you must have
been thinking that there's noway this guy is serious.
(29:11):
Well, I was in Pittsburgh when I was informed,
and I told him, I said, thecommissioner won't allow you to
do that.
No, he said, I'm going to, youknow, how headstrong he was.
Yeah.
So uh he managed that night inPittsburgh, and then the next
day it was a Friday.
He called me and said, I'll seeyou at the ballpark tomorrow,
(29:31):
because Bowie Kuhn stopped thatright quick.
But that was the mostembarrassing moment I've ever
been in in baseball.
Mike Koser (29:39):
But not completely atypical for Ted Turner,
especially at that time.
Dave Bristol (29:44):
Yeah.
Well, he just burnt differentgas than the rest of it.
Mike Koser (29:49):
That's uh that's a good way of putting it.
So Atlanta Stadium, which waslater named Fulton County
Stadium and also nicknamed thelaunching pad.
Do you have some good memoriesfrom when you managed at that
stadium?
As a manager for the Braves?
Dave Bristol (30:01):
Well, I remember uh watching uh Henry Aaron hit
that home run and uh Tom Housejumping up and catching it and
running back in and giving it tohim.
Tom House, you remember him uhleft hand right pitcher?
He's the one that ran up andcaught that ball and then
brought it back, gave it toHenry.
Mike Koser (30:20):
Tom House was part of the Braves pitching staff and
uh and he was down at thebullpen at the time, and the
ball he caught, uh a historicone, was home run number 715 for
Hank Aaron, which took him pastBabe Ruth for the all-time home
run record.
Announcer (30:33):
714.
Here's the pitch by Downing...
Mike Koser (30:53):
Dave, you managed the San Francisco Giants in 1979
and then again in 1980.
In 1979, Hall of Famer WillieMcCovey is 41.
Do you have any stories thatyou can share about McCovey
about "stretch"?
Dave Bristol (31:06):
That's the hardest job I've ever had in baseball.
Telling him that his career wasover.
But being the uh uh the greatguy he is, hey Mike, he is one
of the finest people I evermanaged.
Mike Koser (31:21):
Really?
Dave Bristol (31:22):
Yeah, he and Dale Murphy were the b both I love
them both.
But anyway, McCovey said, We'regoing on a three-day trip to
San Diego where he had playedearlier.
He said, Can I make that trip?
I said, sure.
So we came back and we'replaying the Reds on an afternoon
(31:44):
game, and I pinchedd h it himin the eighth inning, and he got
a base hit and drove in thewinning run.
And then I I sent Rich Murray,Eddie Murray's brother, in to
pinch run for him, and he got astanding ovation.
Mike Koser (31:59):
This was back at at Candlestick Park?
Dave Bristol (32:01):
Yeah, back at Candlestick, yeah.
Announcer (32:03):
This was one of the largest Thursday afternoon
crowns in candlestick parkhistory, and they were there to
say goodbye to stretch.
Dave Bristol (32:10):
What a great guy.
What a I cannot, and he was sogood.
One of my boys was the bat boy,and he he told Lance, he said,
Don't you ever be withoutbaseball shoes.
I I'm signed with puma, and Ican get you all you want.
And they were they were bigbuddies.
Lance was nine or ten yearsold.
(32:31):
So he'd get him shoes.
Mike Koser (32:32):
Oh my gosh, what a great memory.
Dave Bristol (32:34):
Oh, yeah.
Mike Koser (32:35):
There was Jack Clark, who in 1979 was 23 years
old, but even at that young age,he could still hit the ball a
mile.
Dave Bristol (32:43):
He had a lot of talent, a lot of talent.
Mike Koser (32:45):
And Vida Blue pitched for you.
Dave Bristol (32:47):
Yeah.
Mike Koser (32:48):
Uh was part of your pitching staff, as was Tom
Griffin.
Uh Tom, by the way, is an usherat my church.
Dave Bristol (32:54):
No.
Mike Koser (32:55):
Yeah.
Dave Bristol (32:56):
Hey, hey, text me his when you get through, text
me his phone number, will you?
Mike Koser (33:02):
Yeah, he's such a good guy.
Dave Bristol (33:04):
Oh, wonderful.
I I really tried to help himconfidence-wise.
He had good ability, but he hewas unsure of himself.
But man, oh man, he developedbetter.
Mike Koser (33:15):
Dave, you've you've been in some cold places,
Milwaukee, Montreal, SanFrancisco.
And I I know people might say,oh, San Francisco, come on,
that's California.
It's got to be warmer.
But no, actually, sometimescandlestick was was colder than
all of those other ones puttogether.
Dave Bristol (33:30):
Yeah, you got that right.
That's three coldest.
, Golly.
Have you been to the newballpark in San Francisco?
Mike Koser (33:37):
I have.
I love it.
I love it.
It is?
It's nice.
It is.
It's one of my favorites.
Dave Bristol (33:43):
Oh, good.
That's great.
Yeah.
I'm glad to hear that.
Mike Koser (33:46):
Dave, as a member of the Phillies coaching staff,
you made it to the World Seriesin 1983.
That's something that every kiddreams about.
Dave Bristol (33:53):
Well, I was the one of the kids that dreamed
about it.
Yeah.
Oh man.
Joe Morgan and Gary Matthewsgot hot in September, and they
they really helped us.
Mike Koser (34:05):
Dave, you look back at that roster for the 1983
World Series, both teams hadHall of Famers.
For the Orioles, Jim Palmer,Cal Ripken Jr., Eddie Murray.
The Phillies had 300 gamewinners Steve Carlton, Mike
Schmidt, uh Joe Morgan, TonyPerez, and would have had a
fifth if not for the gamblingsuspension in Pete Rose, who was
playing in his final WorldSeries.
Dave Bristol (34:26):
That's right.
People don't realize that.
Mike Koser (34:30):
The vet in Philadelphia was known for a
less than great playing surface.
Announcer (34:35):
The Phillies are at home, and the fences loom
awfully close, and it isartificial turf.
Mike Koser (34:41):
The turf became known as the "field of seams".
Dave Bristol (34:45):
Well, sometimes from coaching third base, and
this was especially true in St.
Louis, when the turf it got oldand night at night, early
night, when the lights wouldshine on it, and you'd see a
ground ball or think a groundball was hit toward right field.
It was tough coaching thirdbecause you you couldn't see it.
(35:06):
A white baseball against thatshiny uh worn-out astro turf.
Tough boy, tough.
New it's pretty bright green, but after many summers it begins to fade and that light shade of green starts to blend in with the baseball.
Exactly.
Exactly, exactly.
Mike Koser (35:24):
Dave at 92, you are still coaching a a Division II
school?
Dave Bristol (35:28):
Young Harris, uh college division two, yeah.
Yeah, I go over there aboutevery day.
I didn't this year because it'sso cold and everything.
Mike Koser (35:37):
Those young men are lucky to have you.
Dave Bristol (35:39):
Well, hey, they've had some good players.
I tell you one player that Iwhen I first went there, sh you
remember a guy with ColoradoCharlie Blackmon?
Mike Koser (35:49):
Yeah, he just retired.
Dave Bristol (35:50):
He's a good guy.
I still stay in touch with him.
He went to Young Harris when itwas a two-year college, and
then he graduated from GeorgiaTech.
Mike Koser (36:00):
He's a good egg.
Dave Bristol (36:01):
Oh boy.
A good player, too.
Mike Koser (36:04):
Dave, listen, thank thank you for doing this.
Dave Bristol (36:06):
Well, hey, you're very knowledgeable and very
informed, and you knoweverything, man.
Mike Koser (36:12):
I don't know about that, but it it sure has been
fun.
Have a great day, Dave, and uhthank you for coming on Lost
Ballparks.
I appreciate it.
Dave Bristol (36:18):
Thank you, thank you.
I appreciate it, Mike.
Take care.
Mike Koser (36:22):
In doing the research for this episode, I
will tell you the one commonthread through everything that
I've read is that Dave Bristol'splayers loved him.
He was a brother to them, afather, and a teacher all
wrapped in one.
Pete Rose said of Dave Bristol,he raised me.
I there's another great story.
Uh, there was a time in the 60swhen the Cincinnati Reds, the
(36:44):
team Dave was managing, was notplaying well, just a kind of a
rough stretch of games.
And after one uh particulartough loss, Dave said to his
team in the clubhouse, guys,there will be two buses leaving
the hotel for the ballparktomorrow.
The two o'clock bus will be forthose of you who need a little
extra work.
The empty bus will leave at 5o'clock.
(37:06):
Special thanks to Scott Hanickand Kevin Kernan for helping
make that interview happen.
In this great land of ours, the springtime brings out
the flowers, the green grass,and boys of all ages.
From houses in every block intown come boys with ball gloves,
all of them headed for thenearest vacant lot to play
baseball.
So off they go.
All of their time isn't spenton the vacant lot.
(00:23):
Some of it spent at CrosleyField watching the reds play
ball.
Podcast open.
Mike Koser (01:14):
On June 23rd, Dave Bristol celebrated his 92nd
birthday.
A proud member of the Reds Hallof Fame, Bristol managed
Cincinnati from 1966 to 1969.
He then went on to lead theBrewers, Braves, and Giants
throughout the 70s.
He also spent time on thecoaching staffs of the Expos and
Phillies.
Born in Macon, Georgia, Bristolis not only a baseball lifer,
(01:39):
but one of the game's greatstorytellers.
And we're honored to have himon this month's episode of the
Lost Ballparks Podcast.
Dave Bristol (01:45):
Hear me now?
Mike Koser (01:46):
Uh perfect.
Can you hear me okay?
Dave Bristol (01:48):
Yeah, I'm good now.
Mike Koser (01:49):
Yeah.
Thanks for doing this.
I'm looking forward to talkingwith you.
I've heard so much about you,and uh yeah, it's just great to
have you on Lost Ballparkstoday.
Dave Bristol (01:57):
You got it.
You got it.
Mike Koser (01:58):
So you went to high school in Chattanooga.
My wife and I were visitingsome friends in Chattanooga last
year, and I took a walk aroundEngle Stadium, such a historic
ballpark.
Did you ever go to EngleStadium?
Dave Bristol (02:12):
Yeah, I worked out there when I was in school.
It was a Washington Farm Club,and I they thought they were
gonna sign me.
Mike Koser (02:20):
So did you ever see a game at Engle Stadium?
Dave Bristol (02:23):
Yes, yes.
Mike Koser (02:24):
What stood out to you about uh about that
ballpark?
Dave Bristol (02:28):
How long the left field fence was and how high the
wall at Engle Stadium.
Mike Koser (02:33):
It's funny because I I know firsthand that the wall
is high.
Um well, first of all, the uhEngle Stadium kind of sits in a
state of disrepair.
Dave Bristol (02:42):
Yes, I I know it.
Mike Koser (02:44):
Uh it's closed off to the public.
There's no way to get in andlook at it.
It just it looks like it's justfalling apart.
And it honestly is just reallysad to see it like that.
But I had to go to the outfieldwall to get a peek in, and I
climbed up that wall.
It took my life in my hands toto look inside.
But uh it was worth it just tosee you know the playing surface
(03:05):
where uh legends like LouGehrig, Babe Ruth, Satchel
Paige, and Willie Mays played,also, Um much of the film 42,
the Jackie Robinson story, wasuh was shot at Engle Stadium in
Chattanooga.
So it's a historic ballpark.
Hopefully they can find someway to uh um to save it.
So, Dave, in 1962, you managedthe Cincinnati Reds Class A
(03:27):
team, the Macon Peaches.
Announcer (03:29):
Red officials know proper instruction here can make
a difference in a boy's career.
Nothing is spared in the boys'baseball education.
Mike Koser (03:38):
The team played its home games at Luther Williams
Field, which first opened in1929.
What do you remember aboutLuther Williams Field and Macon,
Georgia?
Dave Bristol (03:48):
Well, you know, being a minor league manager,
you didn't worry about that, butit had the hottest clubhouse
and no air conditioning in theworld.
Mike Koser (03:57):
Macon, Georgia in July, August.
Dave Bristol (04:00):
Macon in the summer is hot weather.
Mike Koser (04:03):
How would you guys stay cool?
Dave Bristol (04:04):
Well, go outside.
Mike Koser (04:09):
And you had a 21-year-old on that team by the
name of Pete Rose, who made nosecret that you were one of his
favorite managers.
I think he felt like youmanaged the way that he played.
Pete Rose (04:18):
He actually gets mad when the game's over because he
knows he has to leave theballpark.
It's it's it's great to have amanager like that because uh all
the fellas h is respect.
And uh I just Well, you know,I'd walk through hell in a
gasoline suit for it.
Mike Koser (04:33):
Didn't he hit like .330 for you that summer?
Dave Bristol (04:37):
Yeah, eight guys off that team went to the big
leagues.
Mike Koser (04:40):
Did you have any indication that uh in that
summer that that this kid PeteRose at 21 was was going to be
something special?
I mean .330, even in MaconGeorgia, that's pretty good.
Dave Bristol (04:52):
Well, Tommy Helms was a shortstop and he hit .340.
Mike Koser (04:56):
Yeah.
Dave Bristol (04:57):
And didn't win the pennant, but won the playoffs.
Mike Koser (05:00):
By 1964, you were managing the Red's Top Farm
Club, the San Diego Padres ofthe Pacific Coast League.
The team played at WestgatePark, right off Friars Road in
San Diego, uh, near the 163junction.
I live maybe 30 minutes fromwhere that ballpark once stood.
It's now part of the FashionValley Mall.
But every time I'm there, Ifind myself looking out toward
(05:23):
the hillside where those talleucalyptus trees once stood
beyond the outfield wall and tryjust trying to picture what
Westgate Park must have beenlike.
When the park opened in 1958,local sports writer Jack Murphy
wrote that not even YankeeStadium or Boston's Fenway Park
can surpass the comforts andconveniences of the Padres new
home.
(05:43):
What do you remember aboutWestgate Park?
What made it special to you?
Dave Bristol (05:47):
Well, I thought it was it was big league after
coming from Macon.
It was a great ever everythingyou've got in San Diego, I
thought was good.
And I was there in 64 and wewent and went back in 65.
Mike Koser (06:01):
Though it only stood for nine summers, Westgate Park
was widely considered one ofthe finest minor league
ballparks of its time.
It had this distinctiveV-shaped grandstand covered by a
cantilevered metal roof, fourlight towers that leaned in
toward the field at a dramaticangle, and even a
climate-controlled storage roomthat could hold up to 10,000
(06:23):
bags of peanuts.
Did you know about the peanutroom?
Dave Bristol (06:26):
No, no.
I wasn't interested in peanuts,I was interested in winning.
Mike Koser (06:31):
Do you remember Toonies?
Your owner, the owner of thePadres back then, Arnold Smith.
Dave Bristol (06:37):
Yeah.
Mike Koser (06:38):
This was his big bright idea.
Essentially, it was uh hotdog-shaped snacks, but made with
fish instead of meat.
As the story goes, they didn'texactly catch on with fans and
were eventually replaced withthe real thing.
Did you ever try one?
Dave Bristol (06:54):
No, no.
The thing I remember we had thebest general manager, and he
helped me more than anybody inthe world, Eddie Leishman.
Did you remember that name?
Mike Koser (07:05):
Yeah.
Dave Bristol (07:06):
Oh, he was so wonderful.
He was so good.
He guided me, and and uh when Icome to the ballpark each day,
I'd always go by his office andwe'd talk baseball and then go
to the clubhouse.
He was so good.
And uh, you know, he he hadbeen a former player and uh he
knew baseball as well as anybodyI'd have been around.
(07:28):
I loved him.
Loved him.
Mike Koser (07:30):
Yeah, and he probably steered you clear of uh
ever having to try a toonie.
I'm sure.
No, I wasn't.
No, no.
It doesn't sound too good, doesit?
Uh a hot dog made with fish?
Dave Bristol (07:42):
Oh, no way, no way.
Mike Koser (07:44):
In 1966, you joined the Cincinnati Reds coaching
staff.
Uh Pete Rose was just 25 at thetime, Tony Perez 24.
Uh, the seeds of the big redmachine were starting to take
root.
Dave Bristol (07:55):
Yeah, we had a lot of good young players, and uh,
you know, there were someveterans on the club.
Uh and uh hell uh Nuxhall wasolder than I was.
Yeah.
Because I I I had to tellNuxhall the next spring training
that that we're going torelease him.
And I he said, no, no, no.
(08:16):
And I said, Yeah, they're goingto put you second in the on the
radio team.
I said, that'd be good.
Hell, he wound up staying 40years.
Yeah, Joe Nuxhall, what alegend.
Joe Nuxhall (08:28):
So Tuesday night from St.
Louis, this is the oldleft-hander rounding third and
heading for home.
Good afternoon, everyone.
Mike Koser (08:35):
Yeah.
Dave Bristol (08:35):
Yeah.
Mike Koser (08:36):
But he wasn't he he wanted to stay and play, huh?
Dave Bristol (08:39):
Oh, yeah.
You know, the the uh you'retalking about the team.
The Reds had good teams uhin '60, '61, they won they win
the World Series.
They they were good.
63, 64.
Uh, it was just a continuation,and then we added young players
(08:59):
every year.
Mike Koser (09:00):
Yeah.
Dave Bristol (09:00):
Shamsky, Mel Queen, Ted Davidson, uh, Helms,
Rose, Tony Perez, Tommy Harper.
Yeah.
Plus the Reds that traded JimmyWynn and Curt Flood, two other
good guys.
The red s farm system wasproducing.
Mike Koser (09:18):
The Reds were still playing at the corner of Findlay
and Western in 1966.
That would be historicCrosley Field.
Waite Hoyt (09:25):
Yes, indeed, today's game is to be played right here
at Crosley Field, which hasbeen the home of the Cincinnati
Reds for as long as the oldestcitizen can remember.
Mike Koser (09:34):
For so many fans, that ballpark held and holds a
special place in their heartsand in baseball history.
Tell me about Crosley Field.
Dave Bristol (09:43):
Well, the first thing you remember about that,
you uh I had gone there when theReds uh invited me when they
were signing me, and I uh took atrain up there and worked out
and signed, and then went andplayed minor league ball.
And then I guess the ti thetimes I was back was when the
(10:05):
Reds would have uh meetings ofall the minor league club uh
managers and we'd bring them toCincinnati.
And but the first thing younotice is that uh hill around
the outfield.
Mike Koser (10:19):
That 15-degree incline in front of the outfield
wall.
Uh Dave, for for outfielderswho were new to the team,
whether they came up from theminors or arrived via a trade,
how did you help them get usedto the terrace at Crosley Field?
Dave Bristol (10:34):
Well, some of them never got used to it.
I saw Sunday afternoonWillie...
Willie Stagell fell down fourtimes going after a ball over
his head.
Tricky to navigate.
Very much so, very much so.
But that's what you had to playwith, and it was the infield
(10:56):
was turtle back.
It...
after you passed second andshortstop, it went downhill
again, and then it that's wherewater would stand when it
rained.
Then it'd go up to the terrace.
And and plus that big highscoreboard.
Mike Koser (11:10):
Yeah, 58-foot-tall scoreboard with the iconic
Longines clock on top.
Dave Bristol (11:15):
Right.
And you know, they put a yellowstripe across that scoreboard
while uh during the time I wasthere, and any ball to hit above
the yellow line was a home run.
But before that, it was in playoff the scoreboard.
Mike Koser (11:31):
Yeah, nobody was hitting a home run over that
scoreboard.
Dave Bristol (11:34):
No, no.
Mike Koser (11:36):
Crosley Field is just one of those ballparks that
had so much character.
Announcer (11:39):
Those who maintain this beautiful ballpark have
done their job well indeed.
Mike Koser (11:43):
From the 82-foot tall flagpole in left center
that was actually in play, theright field seats that were
known as the Sun Deck during theday, and then the moon deck at
night.
Dave Bristol (11:55):
Yes, yeah.
And they had about a waist-highuh wall and then uh a fence on
the on the on the top of the ofthe brick wall, I think.
And I saw Clemente jump up onthat, stand up on the uh brick
wall and reach as high as hecould and hit the ball, knocked
a home run back in the ballpark.
Mike Koser (12:17):
Wow.
In your early days with theReds, you developed a reputation
as the kind of manager whowould come to the park early or
stay late just to help a playerwork through a slump.
Do any of those quiet momentsstand out to you where it was
just you and a player out thereputting in the extra work?
Dave Bristol (12:33):
Yeah.
I remember uh getting JohnnyBench out there and throwing
balls to him, blocking theblocking uh you know, blocking
the ball and uh in nineteen uhsixty eight on a Friday night,
Rose didn't do too well, and Isaid, Hey, season's gonna end on
(12:54):
Saturday and Sunday at the lasttwo games.
And Gaylord Perry was pitchingagainst us on Saturday.
So I told Rose, be out here ateleven o'clock and get some
extra hitting in.
And we did.
The first four times up he gothit off Gaylord Perry, and uh he
(13:14):
slid into second base andHal Lanier said, Boy, that's
something, and Pete Rose, yeah,of course.
He said, Matty Alou is threefor four in uh Chicago.
So Rose goes up the fifth timeand hits a double to finish five
for five.
Then the next day, first timeup, he hit a double off Sadecki,
(13:36):
and I took him out of the gameand that was his first uh bat
ting title.
Pete Rose (13:41):
I would just like to be the best in my uh profession.
You know, uh I'd I'd like to beuh a guy, a guy, you know, this
might sound uh bighead orsomething, but uh, you know, you
get on airplanes and you talkto people and you you know you
they don't know who you are andyou say you heard of Willie
Mays.
They said, Yeah, I heard ofWillie Mays.
I'd just like to be somebodylike that and be a good enough
fella, along with being a goodenough ball player to uh for
(14:02):
everybody to know who you are.
Dave Bristol (14:04):
The next year, listen to this.
We're in Atlanta, the last gameof the season.
He's on the on-deck circle, andsome fans sitting at the same
box right on the field said,Pete, Clemenete is four for four
in Montreal.
You need a hit.
So he went up and bunted aperfect bunt.
(14:24):
You couldn't have rolled it outthere and got a hit, and that
was his second batting title.
Mike Koser (14:30):
That's so crazy.
Just a little inside uh tipfrom a fan at Atlanta Stadium.
That's nuts.
Dave Bristol (14:38):
Yeah, on the own, he was on the own deck circle
and the guy hollered and said,Pete, you he was listening to
the other game.
Said you need a hit.
Mike Koser (14:46):
Fans lucky enough to catch a game at Crosley Field
can still remember organistRonnie Dale playing before and
after the games, and the beervendors shouting, "get moody
with Hudy".
Did you ever crack open a Hudyafter a game?
Dave Bristol (15:02):
Did I?
Mike Koser (15:03):
Yeah.
Dave Bristol (15:04):
No, no, no.
You know, another thing Iremember about Crosley Field,
they had those little miniaturebat nights.
Mike Koser (15:12):
Oh, yeah.
Dave Bristol (15:13):
And those guys down the third baseline were uh
into Hudy's pretty good.
And they were hit and gotfighting with those bats.
They didn't have any more batnights to give away.
I mean, guys were bleeding andeverything.
Golly, it was awful.
Mike Koser (15:32):
Oh my gosh.
Yeah, that's probably the lastof that.
Dave Bristol (15:35):
First time I was named manager at the all-star
break, Jim Maloney was thefirst, he he won the first game
I managed.
And the last game that Imanaged in Atlanta, he won the
first and last games I managedin Cincinnati.
Mike Koser (15:53):
The Reds clubhouse was tucked behind the grandstand
at Crosley Field.
So walk me through this.
What was the path that you tookthat got you from the clubhouse
to the dugout and from thedugout back to the clubhouse?
Dave Bristol (16:04):
Well, uh there's a passage way just past the Reds
dugout on the on the uh rightside.
And there's a your little lanethat led underneath the stands,
up in the parking lot, and thengo up, uh had to walk up right
and then turn back left into theclubhouse.
Mike Koser (16:25):
But again, after a game, I mean fans in the parking
lot have a chance to be closeto you, to to heckle you after a
loss.
Did you ever get any of thatafter losing a game?
Dave Bristol (16:35):
No.
The fans were always good to mein Cincinnati.
Mike Koser (16:38):
Oh, that's good.
That's good.
Dave Bristol (16:40):
Yeah.
Mike Koser (16:40):
Okay, so after you win the first game, July 14th,
1966, as manager of the Reds,you head to Atlanta, to Atlanta
Stadium, which of course waslater named Fulton County
Stadium.
The Reds were facing theBraves.
Uh again, this is 1966.
Hank Aaron steps up to theplate, and you walk out to the
mound to pull out your pitcher.
You bring in outfielder MelQueen to pitch.
(17:02):
And as Mel arrives at themound, he spots runners on first
and third.
Hank Aaron standing at theplate, and he looks at you and
asks, Are you sure I'm the manyou want out here?
Do you remember what happenednext?
Dave Bristol (17:13):
I sure do.
Hank Aaron was a hitter.
And as I walked off, I said,Hank, this is this guy's first
pitch, his first time pitching.
He might be a little wild.
You better screw that helmetdown.
And the writers asked him afterthe game, they said, What did
Bristol say to you?
And he told em and he said, Bythe way, what's that manager's
(17:36):
name?
Mike Koser (17:38):
By the way, he ended up popping up to center field,
so whatever was in your head atthe time, it worked.
Dave Bristol (17:44):
Well, that's the only time he ever popped up.
Mike Koser (17:47):
You managed against some of the best players in
baseball history during the1960s.
Dave Bristol (17:51):
Hey, Mike, you are exactly right, and people
forget about that.
Mike Koser (17:55):
Yeah, no, seriously, you think about Roberto
Clemente, Willie Mays, HankAaron.
Which one of those guys stoodout the most to you?
Dave Bristol (18:03):
Well, i when I came home at the end of the
year, first year, people at mytown uh town asked me, he said,
Who's the best player you saw?
I said, Clemente.
And I said, also, it was theend of Mays's career, and he
could still play as good asanybody I ever saw.
(18:24):
Pete Rose hit a ball one nightand cr at crosley field and
hustled into a double, and hehit that ball, the ground ball
to center field, and Maysfielded it.
So Mays is the first hitter thenext inning.
He chopped the ball, beat itout, stole second, stole third,
and then scored on a high hopperand hollered over at Pete,
(18:47):
said, Pete, that's the way youplay the game.
Oh man, what a good player.
What a good player.
Mike Koser (18:55):
You made it to the Astrodome.
The second year was open.
Announcer (18:58):
From the Astrodome in Houston, the Astros game of the
day is on the air.
Mike Koser (19:03):
What do you remember about the first time you walked
into the eighth wonder of theworld?
Dave Bristol (19:09):
Well, the winter meetings were held that year in
December in Houston, and they uhHoffheinz took uh everybody who
wanted to go, had a bus to takeeverybody out there to look at
it.
Mike Koser (19:23):
Yeah, you're talking about uh the judge, yeah, Roy
Hoffheinz, who at the time wasthe owner of the Astros.
Dave Bristol (19:29):
Yeah, to show everybody the the and tell them
how long the dugouts were and soforth.
Announcer (19:36):
Inside, a look at more than 50,000 paying guests
settled in their comfortablepadded seats at 72 degrees
temperature and 50% relativehumidity.
No rain, sun, wind, dust,perspiration, splinters, hard
benches, mosquitoes, or snow.
It's the Astro dome.
Inside, a world of its own.
Dave Bristol (19:59):
When we went in there, I I I told the bus
driver, I said, Be there early.
I want to take all my playersout there and let them sit and
look at it and get it over it,and don't be looking and awing
during the game.
We're there to win the game.
But it it was something else.
It was something else.
Mike Koser (20:17):
You were let go by the Reds at the end of the 1969
season and then hired by theSeattle Pilots.
The pilots' inaugural seasonwas 1969.
Announcer (20:25):
The pilots' first season had many memorable
moments, too many to chroniclehere, but they gave their fans
plenty to yell about and thensome.
Mike Koser (20:33):
But the team's financial footing was shaky, to
say the least, from the start.
So you end up joining the teamspring training 1970.
And at some point, Dave, youdiscovered that the team may not
be going back to Seattle atall.
Dave Bristol (20:48):
Well, Bud Selig came out there every weekend in
spring training trying to make adeal with Dewey Soriano to buy
the club.
The last day of springtraining, they finally
consummated the deal.
So we didn't know where we'regoing.
So they told the bus rider anduh there's a semi-truck, it
(21:11):
takes all the players' extraequipment and kitchen stuff and
so forth.
They told him, Drive towardsSalt Lake.
If you hear it's been sold,turn right to Milwaukee.
If not, continue on to Seattle.
Mike Koser (21:27):
So as a manager uh uh of a ball club who, by the
way, has to uh uh be in chargeof their own housing, how do you
plan for that?
Dave Bristol (21:36):
I I w you just roll with a punch and then we we
boarded the plane going toMilwaukee.
Mike Koser (21:42):
So the team gets sold, and you and the ball club
make the flight to Milwaukee.
Home games that year for thenow Milwaukee Brewers were
played at County Stadium.
And since the Braves had leftfor Atlanta a few years earlier,
I imagine that the city waseager to welcome baseball back.
Uh tell me about County Stadiumin 1970.
Dave Bristol (22:03):
Well, Opening Day, uh we were playing the Angels.
Andy Messersmith was pitching,and it might be in the coldest
day I've ever seen a day game.
And uh it was cold.
Right before uh I've got agreat big picture of me standing
in the corner of the dugoutwith Bud Selig, and we're both
(22:23):
grinning.
You know, it's opening day.
Mike Koser (22:26):
Yeah.
Dave Bristol (22:27):
And I sent Bud that picture to get autographed,
and I wrote at the bottom, Iguess this was the last day that
we were both smiling all yearbecause it was a tough year.
Mike Koser (22:41):
I mean, it's uh it's an expansion ball club, and I
mean a couple of tough years.
You end up being let go byMilwaukee uh in 1972.
Dave Bristol (22:50):
Well, I I remember when uh I had the press
conference at the Kenmore Hotelin Mil in Boston.
That's where we were playingthat day, and Frank Lane opened,
he was the general manager.
And he said, Dave, I don't knowhow we're going to get along
(23:10):
without you, but in the morningwe're gonna start trying.
And you know what my reply was?
Mike Koser (23:18):
What?
Dave Bristol (23:19):
It was a neat incision, and the patient will
be up within a day.
And got on the first plane tocome home.
Golly.
Mike Koser (23:31):
I picture you spending those warm summer
evenings in Andrews, NorthCarolina, with a cool mountain
breeze blowing, sitting by theradio, checking box scores in
the paper, and listening to asmany games as you could.
Jack Buck (23:43):
Cardinals are two behind Pittsburgh.
Pittsburgh and Milwaukee, wherewill be idle tonight.
Cardinals three and a halfahead of Milwaukee.
Mike Koser (23:49):
Who are some of the teams, some of the broadcasts
that you could get?
Dave Bristol (23:52):
KMOX in St. Louis.
Announcer (23:54):
Game Audio
Dave Bristol (23:54):
WLW in Cincinnati
Announcer (23:54):
Game audio
Dave Bristol (24:16):
That's where I listened most.
Mike Koser (24:18):
Those late night radio broadcasts when you were
listening from your home inNorth Carolina kept you
connected to the game.
Dave Bristol (24:25):
Exactly.
Exactly.
Forget 'em, you know, thisis...
I live right in the mountain.
Uh I live three miles fromresume speed.
Mike Koser (24:34):
Three miles from resume speed?
Yeah.
Well, you came down from themountain pretty quick.
You joined the expo's coachingstaff and were with Montreal
from 1973 to 1975.
What can you tell me aboutJarry Park in Montreal, the
expo's first home, while theywaited for Olympic Stadium to be
(24:55):
ready?
Dave Bristol (24:56):
Well, I was happy to have a job, took a $40,000
cut from managing to coachinthird base for Gene Mauch and
Jarry Park....
I had a good time there, andthe fans were outstanding and
met a lot of nice people.
It was good.
Jarry Park was truly one of akind.
Announcer (25:17):
Strike call!ed 0-1, and the game is underway here at
Jarry Park.
Mike Koser (25:22):
It was this little ballpark nestled right in the
middle of a sprawling communitypark, and fans would often say
that going to an expos gamethere felt like uh a family
picnic.
Announcer (25:32):
There are a lot of people, perhaps thousands of
them, still outside theballpark, trying to get in here
this afternoon.
The kids here are having awhale of a time, especially uh
those youngsters who havereceived a bat.
Mike Koser (25:47):
It was the last of the single-deck Major League
ballparks, and the grounds crewhad quite the challenge.
Every April they had to clearsnow off the field.
Fans would sometimes watch thegame from atop the snow piles
that would accumulate beyond theoutfield wall.
Dave Bristol (26:02):
Yeah, that's true.
That's very true.
And you know, they had toresolve a lot of it, and the sod
would some of it would come upat time.
Because it was cold there earlyin the year.
The grass was was not green,far from it.
No, no, they they painted itsometimes.
Mike Koser (26:19):
And I've heard that when the sunset over the left
field bleachers, games could bedelayed because uh it was nearly
impossible and actuallydownright dangerous for the
first baseman to try to catch athrow uh from a shortstop or
third baseman looking right intothe sun.
Dave Bristol (26:33):
Well, it was right directly in the first baseman's
eyes.
Sometimes you had to delay thegame till it went behind uh the
bleachers, I'm telling you.
Because somebody coulda gotkilled, you know, the third
baseman threw to first, no wayyou could see it.
No way.
Mike Koser (26:49):
As the Expo's third base coach, you must have
noticed that little gap betweenthe field level seats down the
third baseline and the outfieldbleachers at Jarry Park,
especially those chilly Apriland May games, the wind would
rip right through that gap.
I remember hearing that someshortstops would put cotton
balls in their ears just toavoid earaches from that wind.
(27:11):
Do you remember dealing withthat?
Dave Bristol (27:13):
Yeah, and you had to walk down that left field
line to go to the own clubhouse,too.
Yeah.
But hey, you knew it was gonnabe when you signed on, so I just
came from Milwaukee and I knewhow cold it was.
Mike Koser (27:28):
Do you have a favorite Montreal memory that
comes to mind working uh as acoach for the expos?
Dave Bristol (27:33):
Well, uh working for Gene Mauch was fun.
I loved him, and Cal McLish wasthe pitching coach, and Cal and
I roomed together.
You know, all of them are deadnow.
All the coaches are dead.
Duke Snider was there.
I I really like Larry Doby, andI wish after knowing all I've
(27:57):
read about him, I we I'd askedhim more questions about what
how it's like playing uh on that'48 Cleveland winning team.
I could kick myself for notdoing that.
Mike Koser (28:10):
Larry Doby was the first to integrate on the
American League side, joiningthe Cleveland Indians in 1947,
right?
Right.
And he was with the Indians in1948 when they won the World
Series, and and so he was partof the Montreal Expo's coaching
staff with you uh in the 70s.
Dave Bristol (28:28):
Yeah, one or two years, yeah.
Duke Snider was there one year,uh, and he's in the Hall of
Fame.
I always wish I'd asked himmore after reading Boys of
Summer.
Golly damn.
Mike Koser (28:40):
So, so good.
It's one of my favorite books,one of the best books ever.
Boys of Summer by Roger Kahndetailing um the Brooklyn
Dodgers at Ebbet's Field.
Dave Bristol (28:50):
Yeah, you're right.
In 1977, you were managing theAtlanta Braves, and owner Ted
Turner informs you that in themiddle of the season he's gonna
send you on a 10-day scoutingtrip, at which point he took
over the team as manager.
Now, when you heard that he wasgonna do that, you must have
been thinking that there's noway this guy is serious.
(29:11):
Well, I was in Pittsburgh when I was informed,
and I told him, I said, thecommissioner won't allow you to
do that.
No, he said, I'm going to, youknow, how headstrong he was.
Yeah.
So uh he managed that night inPittsburgh, and then the next
day it was a Friday.
He called me and said, I'll seeyou at the ballpark tomorrow,
(29:31):
because Bowie Kuhn stopped thatright quick.
But that was the mostembarrassing moment I've ever
been in in baseball.
Mike Koser (29:39):
But not completely atypical for Ted Turner,
especially at that time.
Dave Bristol (29:44):
Yeah.
Well, he just burnt differentgas than the rest of it.
Mike Koser (29:49):
That's uh that's a good way of putting it.
So Atlanta Stadium, which waslater named Fulton County
Stadium and also nicknamed thelaunching pad.
Do you have some good memoriesfrom when you managed at that
stadium?
As a manager for the Braves?
Dave Bristol (30:01):
Well, I remember uh watching uh Henry Aaron hit
that home run and uh Tom Housejumping up and catching it and
running back in and giving it tohim.
Tom House, you remember him uhleft hand right pitcher?
He's the one that ran up andcaught that ball and then
brought it back, gave it toHenry.
Mike Koser (30:20):
Tom House was part of the Braves pitching staff and
uh and he was down at thebullpen at the time, and the
ball he caught, uh a historicone, was home run number 715 for
Hank Aaron, which took him pastBabe Ruth for the all-time home
run record.
Announcer (30:33):
714.
Here's the pitch by Downing...
Mike Koser (30:53):
Dave, you managed the San Francisco Giants in 1979
and then again in 1980.
In 1979, Hall of Famer WillieMcCovey is 41.
Do you have any stories thatyou can share about McCovey
about "stretch"?
Dave Bristol (31:06):
That's the hardest job I've ever had in baseball.
Telling him that his career wasover.
But being the uh uh the greatguy he is, hey Mike, he is one
of the finest people I evermanaged.
Mike Koser (31:21):
Really?
Dave Bristol (31:22):
Yeah, he and Dale Murphy were the b both I love
them both.
But anyway, McCovey said, We'regoing on a three-day trip to
San Diego where he had playedearlier.
He said, Can I make that trip?
I said, sure.
So we came back and we'replaying the Reds on an afternoon
(31:44):
game, and I pinchedd h it himin the eighth inning, and he got
a base hit and drove in thewinning run.
And then I I sent Rich Murray,Eddie Murray's brother, in to
pinch run for him, and he got astanding ovation.
Mike Koser (31:59):
This was back at at Candlestick Park?
Dave Bristol (32:01):
Yeah, back at Candlestick, yeah.
Announcer (32:03):
This was one of the largest Thursday afternoon
crowns in candlestick parkhistory, and they were there to
say goodbye to stretch.
Dave Bristol (32:10):
What a great guy.
What a I cannot, and he was sogood.
One of my boys was the bat boy,and he he told Lance, he said,
Don't you ever be withoutbaseball shoes.
I I'm signed with puma, and Ican get you all you want.
And they were they were bigbuddies.
Lance was nine or ten yearsold.
(32:31):
So he'd get him shoes.
Mike Koser (32:32):
Oh my gosh, what a great memory.
Dave Bristol (32:34):
Oh, yeah.
Mike Koser (32:35):
There was Jack Clark, who in 1979 was 23 years
old, but even at that young age,he could still hit the ball a
mile.
Dave Bristol (32:43):
He had a lot of talent, a lot of talent.
Mike Koser (32:45):
And Vida Blue pitched for you.
Dave Bristol (32:47):
Yeah.
Mike Koser (32:48):
Uh was part of your pitching staff, as was Tom
Griffin.
Uh Tom, by the way, is an usherat my church.
Dave Bristol (32:54):
No.
Mike Koser (32:55):
Yeah.
Dave Bristol (32:56):
Hey, hey, text me his when you get through, text
me his phone number, will you?
Mike Koser (33:02):
Yeah, he's such a good guy.
Dave Bristol (33:04):
Oh, wonderful.
I I really tried to help himconfidence-wise.
He had good ability, but he hewas unsure of himself.
But man, oh man, he developedbetter.
Mike Koser (33:15):
Dave, you've you've been in some cold places,
Milwaukee, Montreal, SanFrancisco.
And I I know people might say,oh, San Francisco, come on,
that's California.
It's got to be warmer.
But no, actually, sometimescandlestick was was colder than
all of those other ones puttogether.
Dave Bristol (33:30):
Yeah, you got that right.
That's three coldest.
, Golly.
Have you been to the newballpark in San Francisco?
Mike Koser (33:37):
I have.
I love it.
I love it.
It is?
It's nice.
It is.
It's one of my favorites.
Dave Bristol (33:43):
Oh, good.
That's great.
Yeah.
I'm glad to hear that.
Mike Koser (33:46):
Dave, as a member of the Phillies coaching staff,
you made it to the World Seriesin 1983.
That's something that every kiddreams about.
Dave Bristol (33:53):
Well, I was the one of the kids that dreamed
about it.
Yeah.
Oh man.
Joe Morgan and Gary Matthewsgot hot in September, and they
they really helped us.
Mike Koser (34:05):
Dave, you look back at that roster for the 1983
World Series, both teams hadHall of Famers.
For the Orioles, Jim Palmer,Cal Ripken Jr., Eddie Murray.
The Phillies had 300 gamewinners Steve Carlton, Mike
Schmidt, uh Joe Morgan, TonyPerez, and would have had a
fifth if not for the gamblingsuspension in Pete Rose, who was
playing in his final WorldSeries.
Dave Bristol (34:26):
That's right.
People don't realize that.
Mike Koser (34:30):
The vet in Philadelphia was known for a
less than great playing surface.
Announcer (34:35):
The Phillies are at home, and the fences loom
awfully close, and it isartificial turf.
Mike Koser (34:41):
The turf became known as the "field of seams".
Dave Bristol (34:45):
Well, sometimes from coaching third base, and
this was especially true in St.
Louis, when the turf it got oldand night at night, early
night, when the lights wouldshine on it, and you'd see a
ground ball or think a groundball was hit toward right field.
It was tough coaching thirdbecause you you couldn't see it.
(35:06):
A white baseball against thatshiny uh worn-out astro turf.
Tough boy, tough.
New it's pretty bright green, but after many summers it begins to fade and that light shade of green starts to blend in with the baseball.
Exactly.
Exactly, exactly.
Mike Koser (35:24):
Dave at 92, you are still coaching a a Division II
school?
Dave Bristol (35:28):
Young Harris, uh college division two, yeah.
Yeah, I go over there aboutevery day.
I didn't this year because it'sso cold and everything.
Mike Koser (35:37):
Those young men are lucky to have you.
Dave Bristol (35:39):
Well, hey, they've had some good players.
I tell you one player that Iwhen I first went there, sh you
remember a guy with ColoradoCharlie Blackmon?
Mike Koser (35:49):
Yeah, he just retired.
Dave Bristol (35:50):
He's a good guy.
I still stay in touch with him.
He went to Young Harris when itwas a two-year college, and
then he graduated from GeorgiaTech.
Mike Koser (36:00):
He's a good egg.
Dave Bristol (36:01):
Oh boy.
A good player, too.
Mike Koser (36:04):
Dave, listen, thank thank you for doing this.
Dave Bristol (36:06):
Well, hey, you're very knowledgeable and very
informed, and you knoweverything, man.
Mike Koser (36:12):
I don't know about that, but it it sure has been
fun.
Have a great day, Dave, and uhthank you for coming on Lost
Ballparks.
I appreciate it.
Dave Bristol (36:18):
Thank you, thank you.
I appreciate it, Mike.
Take care.
Mike Koser (36:22):
In doing the research for this episode, I
will tell you the one commonthread through everything that
I've read is that Dave Bristol'splayers loved him.
He was a brother to them, afather, and a teacher all
wrapped in one.
Pete Rose said of Dave Bristol,he raised me.
I there's another great story.
Uh, there was a time in the 60swhen the Cincinnati Reds, the
(36:44):
team Dave was managing, was notplaying well, just a kind of a
rough stretch of games.
And after one uh particulartough loss, Dave said to his
team in the clubhouse, guys,there will be two buses leaving
the hotel for the ballparktomorrow.
The two o'clock bus will be forthose of you who need a little
extra work.
The empty bus will leave at 5o'clock.
(37:06):
Special thanks to Scott Hanickand Kevin Kernan for helping
make that interview happen.
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