James Alton Bragan (March 12, 1929 – June 2, 2001) was an

infielder An infielder is a baseball player stationed at one of four defensive "infield" positions on the baseball field. Standard arrangement of positions In a game of baseball, two teams of nine players take turns playing offensive and defensive roles. ...

, manager and league president in American minor league baseball, a

scout Scout may refer to: Youth movement *Scout (Scouting), a child, usually 10–18 years of age, participating in the worldwide Scouting movement **Scouts (The Scout Association), section for 10-14 year olds in the United Kingdom **Scouts BSA, sectio ...

and

coach Coach may refer to: Guidance/instruction * Coach (sport), a director of athletes' training and activities * Coaching, the practice of guiding an individual through a process ** Acting coach, a teacher who trains performers Transportation * Co ...

at the Major League level, and a

college baseball College baseball is baseball that is played on the intercollegiate level at institutions of higher education. In comparison to football and basketball, college competition in the United States plays a smaller role in developing professional pl ...

coach during a 40-plus year career in the game. He was the brother of MLB

catcher Catcher is a Baseball positions, position in baseball and softball. When a Batter (baseball), batter takes their at bat, turn to hit, the catcher crouches behind home plate, in front of the (home plate, home) Umpire (baseball), umpire, and recei ...

shortstop Shortstop, abbreviated SS, is the baseball or softball fielding position between second and third base, which is considered to be among the most demanding defensive positions. Historically the position was assigned to defensive specialists who ...

, manager and coach

Bobby Bragan Robert Randall Bragan (October 30, 1917 – January 21, 2010) was an American shortstop, catcher, manager, and coach in Major League Baseball and an influential minor league executive. His professional baseball career encompassed 73 years, fro ...

, also a minor league president. Born in

Birmingham, Alabama Birmingham ( ) is a city in the north central region of the U.S. state of Alabama. Birmingham is the seat of Jefferson County, Alabama's most populous county. As of the 2021 census estimates, Birmingham had a population of 197,575, down 1% fr ...

, Jimmy Bragan attended

Mississippi State University Mississippi State University for Agriculture and Applied Science, commonly known as Mississippi State University (MSU), is a public land-grant research university adjacent to Starkville, Mississippi. It is classified among "R1: Doctoral Unive ...

and signed with the

Brooklyn Dodgers The Brooklyn Dodgers were a Major League Baseball team founded in 1884 as a member of the American Association (19th century), American Association before joining the National League in 1890. They remained in Brooklyn until 1957, after which the ...

in 1950. When his eight-year playing career ended, he became the manager of the Class D

Bluefield Dodgers Bluefield may refer to: * Bluefield, Virginia, US * Bluefield, West Virginia, US *Nvidia BlueField, a line of computer hardware See also *Bluefields, Nicaragua *Bluefields, Jamaica Bluefields is a settlement in Westmoreland Parish on the Car ...

in 1957 and then joined the

Cincinnati Reds The Cincinnati Reds are an American professional baseball team based in Cincinnati. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) National League Central, Central division and were a charter member of ...

organization as a scout. He remained a scout with the Reds through 1966 and then joined the major league club as first base coach from 1967–69 on the staff of

Dave Bristol James David Bristol (born June 23, 1933) is an American former manager in Major League Baseball in the 1960s and 1970s. He managed the Cincinnati Reds, Milwaukee Brewers, Atlanta Braves, and San Francisco Giants during this period. Success in th ...

. Bragan moved to the

Montreal Expos The Montreal Expos (french: link=no, Les Expos de Montréal) were a Canadian professional baseball team based in Montreal, Quebec. The Expos were the first Major League Baseball (MLB) franchise located outside the United States. They played in t ...

in 1970, where he was first base coach through early 1971, and third base coach in 1972. He also was manager of the Expos' Triple-A

Winnipeg Whips The Winnipeg Whips were a professional Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A minor league baseball team based in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada that played in the International League from 1970 to 1971. The team was affiliated with the Montreal Expos of Ma ...

for the latter half of 1971, head baseball coach of Mississippi State University in 1975, and a coach with the

Milwaukee Brewers The Milwaukee Brewers are an American professional baseball team based in Milwaukee. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) National League Central, Central division. The Brewers are named for t ...

in 1976–77. He was president of the Double-A Southern League from 1981–94, one of the most successful periods in that league's history. The league subsequently created the Jimmy Bragan Executive of the Year Award in his honor. In 1994 he was presented with the

King of Baseball King of Baseball was a ceremonial title awarded annually from 1951 to 2019 by Minor League Baseball to recognize an individual for their longtime dedication and service to professional baseball. It was awarded during baseball's Winter Meetings a ...

award given by Minor League Baseball. Bragan died in

Westover, Alabama Westover is a city in Shelby County, Alabama, United States. The city is part of the Birmingham Metropolitan Statistical Area. The city was officially incorporated on January 31, 2001 although it was established in 1901 and had a population of ...

, in 2001 at the age of 72.http://www.thedeadballera.com/Obits/Scouts/Bragan.Jimmy.Obit.html

Baseball coaching record

References

External links

1929 births 2001 deaths Baseball players from Birmingham, Alabama Chattanooga Lookouts managers Cincinnati Reds coaches Cincinnati Reds scouts Cleveland Indians scouts Columbia Reds players Elmira Pioneers players Fort Worth Cats players Macon Dodgers players Major League Baseball first base coaches Major League Baseball third base coaches Miami Sun Sox players Milwaukee Brewers coaches Minor league baseball executives Mississippi State Bulldogs baseball coaches Mississippi State Bulldogs baseball players Mobile Bears players Montreal Expos coaches Montreal Expos scouts Nashville Vols players Newport News Dodgers players Savannah Redlegs players {{baseball-manager-stub