1953 Philadelphia Athletics season

The 1953 Philadelphia Athletics season involved the A's finishing 7th in the American League with a record of 59 wins and 95 losses, 41½ games behind the New York Yankees, who would win their fifth consecutive World Series Championship. It was also the penultimate season for the franchise in Philadelphia.

1953 Philadelphia Athletics
Major League affiliations
American League (since 1901)
Location
Connie Mack Stadium (since 1909) Philadelphia (since 1901)
Other information
Owner(s)	Earle Mack & Roy Mack
General manager(s)	Arthur Ehlers
Manager(s)	Jimmy Dykes
Local television	WPTZ/WCAU/WFIL
Local radio	WIBG (By Saam, Claude Haring)
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Offseason

• January 27, 1953: Ferris Fain and Bob Wilson (minors) were traded by the Athletics to the Chicago White Sox for Joe DeMaestri, Ed McGhee and Eddie Robinson.[1]
• February 2, 1953: Sam Zoldak was released by the Athletics.[2]

Regular season

During the season, Bob Trice became the first black player in the history of the Athletics.[3]

Season standings

American League	W	L	Pct.	GB	Home	Road
New York Yankees	99	52	0.656	—	50–27	49–25
Cleveland Indians	92	62	0.597	8½	53–24	39–38
Chicago White Sox	89	65	0.578	11½	41–36	48–29
Boston Red Sox	84	69	0.549	16	38–38	46–31
Washington Senators	76	76	0.500	23½	39–36	37–40
Detroit Tigers	60	94	0.390	40½	30–47	30–47
Philadelphia Athletics	59	95	0.383	41½	27–50	32–45
St. Louis Browns	54	100	0.351	46½	23–54	31–46

Record vs. opponents

1953 American League Records Sources:
Team	BOS	CWS	CLE	DET	NYY	PHI	STL	WSH
Boston	—	6–16	13–9	13–9	10–11	15–7	17–5	10–12
Chicago	16–6	—	11–11–1	14–8–1	9–13	10–12	17–5	12–10
Cleveland	9–13	11–11–1	—	14–8	11–11	19–3	17–5	11–11
Detroit	9–13	8–14–1	8–14	—	6–16	11–11–3	7–15	11–11
New York	11–10	13–9	11–11	16–6	—	17–5	17–5	14–6
Philadelphia	7–15	12–10	3–19	11–11–3	5–17	—	13–9	8–14
St. Louis	5–17	5–17	5–17	15–7	5–17	9–13	—	10–12
Washington	12–10	10–12	11–11	11–11	6–14	14–8	12–10	—

Roster

1953 Philadelphia Athletics
Roster
Pitchers 38 Charlie Bishop 39 Harry Byrd 25 Joe Coleman 15 Frank Fanovich 37 Marion Fricano 18 Bill Harrington 22 Alex Kellner 21 Walt Kellner 41 John Mackinson 26 Morrie Martin 34 Rinty Monahan 20 Bobo Newsom 23 Dick Rozek 24 Carl Scheib 30 Bobby Shantz 23 Bob Trice		Catchers  9 Joe Astroth 14 Ray Murray 45 Neal Watlington Infielders  3 Loren Babe  2 Joe DeMaestri 7,36 Tommy Giordano  4 Tom Hamilton  1 Eddie Joost 11 Don Kolloway  5 Cass Michaels  8 Eddie Robinson 12 Pete Suder  7 Spider Wilhelm		Outfielders  7 Allie Clark  6 Carmen Mauro 16 Ed McGhee 17 Dave Philley  6 Kite Thomas 10 Elmer Valo 19 Gus Zernial		Manager 35 Jimmy Dykes Coaches 32 Chief Bender 31 Les McCrabb 33 Bing Miller 28 Wally Moses 29 Tom Oliver

Player stats

Starters by position

Note: Pos = Position; G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in

Pos	Player	G	AB	H	Avg.	HR	RBI
1B	Eddie Robinson	156	615	152	.247	22	102
SS	Joe DeMaestri	111	420	107	.255	6	35
OF	Ed McGhee	104	358	94	.263	1	29

Other batters

Note: G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in

Player	G	AB	H	Avg.	HR	RBI
Tom Hamilton	58	56	11	.196	0	5

Starting pitchers

Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts

Player	G	IP	W	L	ERA	SO
Harry Byrd	40	236.2	11	20	5.51	122
Bob Trice	3	23	2	1	5.48	4

Other pitchers

Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts

Player	G	IP	W	L	ERA	SO
Marion Fricano	39	211	9	12	3.88	67
Charlie Bishop	39	160.2	3	14	5.66	66
Joe Coleman	21	90	3	4	4.00	18

Relief pitchers

Note: G = Games pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; SV = Saves; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts

Player	G	W	L	SV	ERA	SO
Frank Fanovich	26	0	3	0	5.55	37

Farm system

Level	Team	League	Manager
AAA	Ottawa Athletics	International League	Frank Skaff
A	Williamsport Athletics	Eastern League	George Staller
A	Savannah Indians	Sally League	Les Bell
B	Fayetteville Athletics	Carolina League	Buck Etchison, Bill Bergeron, Bob Eiziminger and Kemp Wicker
C	St. Hyacinthe A's	Provincial League	John Sosh and Joe Rullo
D	Welch Miners	Appalachian League	Jack Crosswhite
D	Cordele A's	Georgia–Florida League	Joe Rullo and Lew Richardson
D	Hopkinsville Hoppers	KITTY League	Norm Wilson and Ed Wright

LEAGUE CHAMPIONS: Savannah, Welch

References

1. Joe DeMaestri at Baseball Reference
2. Sam Zoldak at Baseball Reference
3. Great Baseball Feats, Facts and Figures, 2008 Edition, p. 199, David Nemec and Scott Flatow, A Signet Book, Penguin Group, New York, ISBN 978-0-451-22363-0

External links

• 1953 Philadelphia Athletics at Baseball Reference
• 1953 Philadelphia Athletics at Baseball Almanac