In 1976, Bristol was hired as manager of the Atlanta Braves. Midway through the 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. After the Braves broke the streak with third-base coach Vern Benson as interim manager, Bristol—who had returned to his offseason home in Andrews, North Carolina—was brought back to finish out what was at the time the worst season in the Atlanta portion of Braves history (61–101—including a 60–100 record by Bristol). He was fired at the end of the season. He last managed in MLB with the Giants late in the season and all of before he was replaced by Frank Robinson, prior to the 1981 season. He finished with a career managerial record of 657 win and 764 defeats (.462).