Longtime Red Sox spokesman Bresciani dead at 76

BOSTON (AP) Longtime Boston Red Sox head of public relations Dick Bresciani has died at age 76.

The Red Sox say he died Saturday of complications from leukemia

Known as ''Bresh,'' Bresciani spent 42 years with the ballclub and was a member of the Red Sox, UMass and Cape Cod Baseball League Halls of Fame. In 1997, he received Major League Baseball's prestigious Robert O. Fishel Award for public relations excellence.

Bresciani (pronounced BRESH-ee-ah-nee) joined the Red Sox in 1972 and was the media face of the team for decades. Even after being promoted to vice president in 2003, he frequented the press box to share his encyclopedic memory of players and games from Red Sox history.

Red Sox President Larry Lucchino called Bresciani the team's institutional memory.