Before being signed by the Yankees before the 1950 season, Bridewiser spent time in the United States Army during the World War II era and attended the University of Southern California.[1] On August 2, 1945, he enlisted in the army.[2]
He made his big league debut on September 29, 1951 for the Yankees. He spent three years with them, playing in only 51 games but batting a solid .327 in 49 at bats.
He did poorly while with the White Sox. He spent 1955 and part of 1956 with them, batting only .203 in 69 at bats total. In May 1956, he was traded by the White Sox with Harry Byrd and Bob Kennedy to the Tigers for Fred Hatfield and Jim Delsing. He did not improve much with them, hitting only .218 in 156 at bats. Overall that year, he hit .216.
He played his final season in 1957 with the Orioles, who purchased him from the Tigers in February of that year. He hit .268 in his final season, belting the only home run of his career that year – a three-run shot off of Boston Red Sox pitcher Frank Sullivan. He played his final game on September 21, 1957.
Overall, he hit .252 in his career. In 329 games, he collected 156 hits in 620 at bats, scoring 79 runs and driving in 50. He doubled 22 times, tripled six times and homered once. He walked 63 times and struck out only 77 times. He had a great eye at the plate, striking out only 12.4% of the time.
^D.S.S. Form 1 Military Draft Registration Card completed on February 13, 1945 on his 18th birthday. Place of residence is listed as "Los Angeles, California" and place of birth is listed as "Lancaster, Ohio".
^"Index Record for James E Bridesweser WWII Army Enlistment Records", (Army Serial Number 39757609), Fold3 by Ancestry.com website. Retrieved August 22, 2020.
