Wikipedia

1953 Major League Baseball season

The 1953 major league baseball season began on April 13, 1953. The regular season ended on September 27, with the Brooklyn Dodgers and New York Yankees as the regular season champions of the National League and American League, respectively. In a rematch of the previous season, the postseason began with Game 1 of the 50th World Series on September 30 and ended with Game 6 on October 5. In the fifth iteration of this Subway Series World Series matchup (and a rematch of the previous year), the Yankees defeated the Dodgers, four games to two, capturing their 16th championship in franchise history, concluding their 5-year World Series winning streak, an all-time record.

1953 MLB season
LeagueAmerican League (AL)
National League (NL)
SportBaseball
DurationRegular season:
  • April 14 – September 27, 1953 (AL)
  • April 13 – September 27, 1953 (NL)
World Series:
  • September 30 – October 5, 1953
Games154
Teams16 (8 per league)
TV partner(s)ABC, NBC
Regular season
Season MVPAL: Al Rosen (CLE)
NL: Roy Campanella (BRO)
AL championsNew York Yankees
  AL runners-upCleveland Indians
NL championsBrooklyn Dodgers
  NL runners-upMilwaukee Braves
World Series
Venue
ChampionsNew York Yankees
  Runners-upBrooklyn Dodgers
Finals MVPBilly Martin (NYY)
MLB seasons

The 20th All-Star Game was held on July 14 at Crosley Field in Cincinnati, Ohio, home of the Cincinnati Redlegs; the National League won, 5–1.

The Reds lengthened their name to Redlegs due to the escalating Cold War and resulting red scare; as Cincinnati's general manager Gabe Paul noted later, "We wanted to be certain we weren't confused with the 'Russian Reds'."[1]

The 1953 season had the first relocation in professional baseball since the Milwaukee Brewers moved to St. Louis in 1902 to become the Browns, with the Boston Braves, coincidentally, relocating to Milwaukee. It was the first National League relocation since the St. Louis Maroons moved to Indianapolis and became the Indianapolis Hoosiers. This season began a trend of relocation which would occur several times throughout the 1950s and 1960s. The was also the last season for the Browns in St. Louis, moving east to Baltimore the following season to become the Orioles.

On September 13, the Philadelphia Athletics became the seventh team in professional baseball to break the color line when they fielded Bob Trice; the Chicago Cubs became the eighth team just four days later when they fielded future Hall-of-Famer Ernie Banks.[2]

This was also the first regular season of the televised Major League Baseball Game of the Week, originally broadcast on ABC.

Schedule

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The 1953 schedule consisted of 154 games for all teams in the American League and National League, each of which had eight teams. Each team was scheduled to play 22 games against the other seven teams of their respective league. This continued the format put in place since the 1904 season (except for 1919) and would be used until 1961 in the American League and 1962 in the National League.

National League Opening Day took place on April 13, featuring the newly relocated Milwaukee Braves and Cincinnati Reds, while American League Opening Day took place the following day, featuring six teams. This was the first season since 1951 that both leagues opened on different days. The final day of the scheduled regular season was on September 27, which saw all sixteen teams play, continuing the trend from 1946. The World Series took place between September 30 and October 5.

Rule changes

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The 1953 season saw the following rule changes:

  • Players involved in waiver transactions after the June 15 deadline now had to pass through waivers in both leagues, not just in their respective leagues.[3]
    • In addition, waiver claims were prioritized in reverse order of the team’s record to give less-competitive teams the first opportunity to acquire a player.[3]
  • Rules regarding signing bonus players were amended:[3]
    • Previously, what defined a bonus player in the majors was $6,000 (equivalent to $72,200 in 2025), Triple-A was $4,000 (equivalent to $48,100 in 2025), and lower level leagues were progressively less. Now, all leagues classified above Class B (including majors) considered more than $4,000 as the line for being considered a bonus player, while Class B and lower placed this line at $3,000 (equivalent to $36,100 in 2025).
    • Bonus players signed to major-league contract were required to spend the first two years on the parent team before he could farmed out; if signed to minor-league contract, the player could not be moved up or down in the farms system for one year.
    • The commissioner was granted the authority to levy fines of $2,000 (equivalent to $24,100 in 2025) or more on clubs and $500 (equivalent to $6,000 in 2025) or more on officials who violated the rule, as well as suspend any guilty parties.
  • Rules regarding high-school players were amended. Players would be allowed to sign at any time, but could not play until their original class graduated. A student who left school early could be granted permission to play at any time.[4] Violation of the high-school signing rule could lead to the commissioner declaring the illegally signed player a free agent and levying a fine on the team.[3]
  • A new amendment regarding players being optioned or recalled to and from minor leagues was implemented. A major-league player optioned to the minor leagues was required to remain with the minor-league team for at least 10 days (and must be physically fit to play). In addition, any player optioned after July 31 must remain with the minor-league team until the minor-league's season concluded (with an exception granted in case of an open roster spot on the major-league team due to an emergency injury, allowing immediate recalls only in this situation).[3]

Teams

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League Team City Ballpark Capacity Manager[5]
American League Boston Red Sox Boston, Massachusetts Fenway Park 34,824 Lou Boudreau
Chicago White Sox Chicago, Illinois Comiskey Park 47,400 Paul Richards
Cleveland Indians Cleveland, Ohio Cleveland Stadium 73,811 Al López
Detroit Tigers Detroit, Michigan Briggs Stadium 58,000 Fred Hutchinson
New York Yankees New York, New York Yankee Stadium 67,000 Casey Stengel
Philadelphia Athletics Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Connie Mack Stadium 33,166 Jimmy Dykes
St. Louis Browns St. Louis, Missouri Busch Stadium 30,500 Marty Marion
Washington Senators Washington, D.C. Griffith Stadium 29,731 Bucky Walters
National League Brooklyn Dodgers New York, New York Ebbets Field 32,111 Chuck Dressen
Chicago Cubs Chicago, Illinois Wrigley Field 36,755 Phil Cavarretta
Cincinnati Redlegs Cincinnati, Ohio Crosley Field 29,439 Rogers Hornsby
Buster Mills
Milwaukee Braves Milwaukee, Wisconsin Milwaukee County Stadium 36,011 Charlie Grimm
New York Giants New York, New York Polo Grounds 54,500 Leo Durocher
Philadelphia Phillies Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Connie Mack Stadium 33,166 Steve O'Neill
Pittsburgh Pirates Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Forbes Field 34,249 Fred Haney
St. Louis Cardinals St. Louis, Missouri Busch Stadium 30,500 Eddie Stanky

Standings

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American League

American League
Team W L Pct. GB Home Road
New York Yankees 9952 .656 — 50‍–‍27 49‍–‍25
Cleveland Indians 9262 .597 8½ 53‍–‍24 39‍–‍38
Chicago White Sox 8965 .578 11½ 41‍–‍36 48‍–‍29
Boston Red Sox 8469 .549 16 38‍–‍38 46‍–‍31
Washington Senators 7676 .500 23½ 39‍–‍36 37‍–‍40
Detroit Tigers 6094 .390 40½ 30‍–‍47 30‍–‍47
Philadelphia Athletics 5995 .383 41½ 27‍–‍50 32‍–‍45
St. Louis Browns 54100 .351 46½ 23‍–‍54 31‍–‍46

National League

National League
Team W L Pct. GB Home Road
Brooklyn Dodgers 10549 .682 — 60‍–‍17 45‍–‍32
Milwaukee Braves 9262 .597 13 45‍–‍31 47‍–‍31
Philadelphia Phillies 8371 .539 22 48‍–‍29 35‍–‍42
St. Louis Cardinals 8371 .539 22 48‍–‍30 35‍–‍41
New York Giants 7084 .455 35 38‍–‍39 32‍–‍45
Cincinnati Redlegs 6886 .442 37 38‍–‍39 30‍–‍47
Chicago Cubs 6589 .422 40 43‍–‍34 22‍–‍55
Pittsburgh Pirates 50104 .325 55 26‍–‍51 24‍–‍53

Tie games

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11 tie games (5 in AL, 6 in NL), which are not factored into winning percentage or games behind (and were often replayed again) occurred throughout the season.

American League

  • Chicago White Sox, 2
  • Cleveland Indians, 1
  • Detroit Tigers, 4
  • Philadelphia Athletics, 3

National League

  • Brooklyn Dodgers, 1
  • Chicago Cubs, 1
  • Cincinnati Redlegs, 1
  • Milwaukee Braves, 3
  • New York Giants, 1
  • Philadelphia Phillies, 2
  • St. Louis Cardinals, 3

Postseason

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The postseason began on September 30 and ended on October 5 with the New York Yankees defeating the Brooklyn Dodgers in the 1953 World Series in six games.

Bracket

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Managerial changes

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Off-season

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Team Former Manager New Manager
Pittsburgh Pirates Billy Meyer Fred Haney

In-season

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Team Former Manager New Manager
Cincinnati Reds Rogers Hornsby Buster Mills

League leaders

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American League

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Hitting leaders[6]
Stat Player Total
AVG Mickey Vernon (WSH) .337
OPS Al Rosen (CLE) 1.034
HR Al Rosen (CLE) 43
RBI Al Rosen (CLE) 145
R Al Rosen (CLE) 115
H Harvey Kuenn (DET) 209
SB Minnie Minoso (CWS) 25
Pitching leaders[7]
Stat Player Total
W Bob Porterfield (WSH) 22
L Harry Byrd (PHA) 20
ERA Eddie Lopat (NYY) 2.42
K Billy Pierce (CWS) 186
IP Bob Lemon (CLE) 286.2
SV Ellis Kinder (BOS) 27
WHIP Eddie Lopat (NYY) 1.127

National League

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Hitting leaders[8]
Stat Player Total
AVG Carl Furillo (BRO) .344
OPS Duke Snider (BRO) 1.046
HR Eddie Mathews (MIL) 47
RBI Roy Campanella (BRO) 142
R Duke Snider (BRO) 132
H Richie Ashburn (PHI) 205
SB Bill Bruton (MIL) 26
Pitching leaders[9]
Stat Player Total
W Robin Roberts (PHI)
Warren Spahn (MIL)		 23
L Murry Dickson (PIT)
Warren Hacker (CHC)		 19
ERA Warren Spahn (MIL) 2.10
K Robin Roberts (PHI) 198
IP Robin Roberts (PHI) 346.2
SV Al Brazle (STL) 18
WHIP Warren Spahn (MIL) 1.058

Milestones

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Batters

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  • Vic Raschi (NYY):
    • Set an American League record by a pitcher when he hits for seven RBIs in a single game on August 4.[10]

Pitchers

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No-hitters

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  • Bobo Holloman (SLB):
    • Holloman threw his first career no-hitter and fourth no-hitter in franchise history, by defeating the Philadelphia Athletics 6–0 on May 6. Holloman walked five and struck out three.[11] It was his first career start.[12]

Miscellaneous

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  • Boston Red Sox:
    • Set a modern (1900–present) major league record for most runs scored in the seventh inning, by scoring 17 runs against the Detroit Tigers on June 18.[13]

Awards and honors

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Regular season

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Other awards

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Baseball Hall of Fame

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Home field attendance

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Team name Wins %± Home attendance %± Per game
Milwaukee Braves[19] 92 43.8% 1,826,397 549.3% 23,119
New York Yankees[20] 99 4.2% 1,537,811 −5.6% 19,972
Chicago White Sox[21] 89 9.9% 1,191,353 −3.3% 15,274
Brooklyn Dodgers[22] 105 9.4% 1,163,419 6.9% 14,916
Cleveland Indians[23] 92 −1.1% 1,069,176 −26.0% 13,707
Boston Red Sox[24] 84 10.5% 1,026,133 −8.0% 13,502
Detroit Tigers[25] 60 20.0% 884,658 −13.8% 11,198
St. Louis Cardinals[26] 83 −5.7% 880,242 −3.6% 11,285
Philadelphia Phillies[27] 83 −4.6% 853,644 13.0% 10,944
New York Giants[28] 70 −23.9% 811,518 −17.6% 10,539
Chicago Cubs[29] 65 −15.6% 763,658 −25.5% 9,918
Washington Senators[30] 76 −2.6% 595,594 −14.8% 7,941
Pittsburgh Pirates[31] 50 19.0% 572,757 −16.6% 7,438
Cincinnati Redlegs[32] 68 −1.4% 548,086 −9.3% 7,027
Philadelphia Athletics[33] 59 −25.3% 362,113 −42.3% 4,642
St. Louis Browns[34] 54 −15.6% 297,238 −42.7% 3,860

Venues

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With the relocation of the Boston Braves from Boston, Massachusetts to Milwaukee, Wisconsin as the Milwaukee Braves, they leave Braves Field (where they played 38 seasons) and move into Milwaukee County Stadium. They would go on to play there for 13 seasons through 1965 before again relocating.

Two venues were renamed early in the year:

The St. Louis Browns would play their last game at Busch Stadium on September 27 against the Chicago White Sox, relocating to Baltimore, Maryland at Baltimore Memorial Stadium as the Baltimore Orioles for the start of the 1954 season.

Media

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All American League teams (except for the St. Louis Browns) signed a two-year reciprocal agreement that guaranteed the visiting team a percentage of the radio and television broadcast revenue. The result of the Browns not signing said agreement, was that the team was shut out of the television and radio market at home and on the road.[3]

In the National League, while the St. Louis Cardinals forged agreements with the Chicago Cubs and Cincinnati Redlegs, other teams could continue to broadcast games with opponents, even if they had not signed an agreement to do so.[3]

Television

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ABC executive Edgar J. Scherick approached MLB with a Saturday Game of the Week. With fewer outlets than CBS or NBC, ABC needed paid programming (or "anything for bills" as Scherick put it). At first, ABC hesitated at the idea of a nationally televised regular season baseball program, but gave Scherick the green light to sign up teams. Prior to the Sports Broadcasting Act of 1961, antitrust laws only allowed the networks to make deals with individual teams instead of pooling rights directly from a central league authority. Unfortunately, only three (the Philadelphia Athletics, Cleveland Indians,[39] and Chicago White Sox[40][41] were interested.[42] To make matters worse, Major League Baseball barred the Game of the Week from airing within fifty miles of any big-league city.[43]

The All-Star Game and World Series aired exclusively on NBC.

See also

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References

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  1. ↑ Lamb, Chris (April 7, 2021). "From 'Redlegs' to 'Red Scare' to 'Twilight Zone:' The Strange Trip of the Cincinnati Reds' Nickname". USA Today. Retrieved March 23, 2024.
  2. ↑ "These players integrated each MLB team". MLB.com. Retrieved November 14, 2024.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Wolf, Gergory H. "1952 Winter Meetings: Changing Demographics and Broadcast Challenges". Society for American Baseball Research. Retrieved June 10, 2025.
  4. ↑ Bryant, Steven. "1951 Winter Meetings: Open Classification". Society for American Baseball Research. Retrieved June 3, 2025.
  5. ↑ "1953 Major League Managers". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved February 5, 2025.
  6. ↑ "1953 American League Batting Leaders". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved February 5, 2025.
  7. ↑ "1953 American League Pitching Leaders". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved February 5, 2025.
  8. ↑ "1953 National League Batting Leaders". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved February 5, 2025.
  9. ↑ "1953 National League Pitching Leaders". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved February 5, 2025.
  10. ↑ "MLB RBI Records". Baseball Almanac. Retrieved May 7, 2026.
  11. ↑ "Philadelphia Athletics vs St. Louis Browns Box Score: May 6, 1953". Baseball Reference. Retrieved April 28, 2026.
  12. ↑ "Bobo Holloman 1953 Pitching Game Logs". Baseball Reference. Retrieved April 28, 2026.
  13. ↑ DeRosa, Theo. "The most runs scored in each inning, from the 1st to the 26th(!)". MLB.com. Retrieved April 20, 2026.
  14. ↑ "Major League Player of the Year Award by The Sporting News". Baseball Almanac. Retrieved January 14, 2025.
  15. ↑ "Pitcher of the Year Award by The Sporting News". Baseball Almanac. Retrieved January 14, 2025.
  16. ↑ "Rookie of the Year Award by The Sporting News". Baseball Almanac. Retrieved January 14, 2025.
  17. ↑ "Manager of the Year Award by The Sporting News". Baseball Almanac. Retrieved January 14, 2025.
  18. ↑ "MLB Executive of the Year Award". Baseball Almanac. Retrieved January 14, 2025.
  19. ↑ "Atlanta Braves Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved September 8, 2020.
  20. ↑ "New York Yankees Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved September 8, 2020.
  21. ↑ "Chicago White Sox Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved September 8, 2020.
  22. ↑ "Los Angeles Dodgers Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved September 8, 2020.
  23. ↑ "Cleveland Indians Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved September 8, 2020.
  24. ↑ "Boston Red Sox Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved September 8, 2020.
  25. ↑ "Detroit Tigers Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved September 8, 2020.
  26. ↑ "St. Louis Cardinals Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved September 8, 2020.
  27. ↑ "Philadelphia Phillies Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved September 8, 2020.
  28. ↑ "San Francisco Giants Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved September 8, 2020.
  29. ↑ "Chicago Cubs Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved September 8, 2020.
  30. ↑ "Minnesota Twins Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved September 8, 2020.
  31. ↑ "Pittsburgh Pirates Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved September 8, 2020.
  32. ↑ "Cincinnati Reds Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved September 8, 2020.
  33. ↑ "Oakland Athletics Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved September 8, 2020.
  34. ↑ "Baltimore Orioles Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved September 8, 2020.
  35. ↑ Chuck Darrow (February 12, 2012). "This Week in Philly Sports History: That's 'Connie Mack' to You". Philadelphia Daily News.
  36. ↑ "Cards buy Sportsman's Park from Browns in $800,000 transaction". The Day. New London, Connecticut. Associated Press. April 10, 1953. p. 15.
  37. ↑ "Beer company plans to deal baseball's Cardinals". Lodi News-Sentinel. Associated Press. October 26, 1995. p. 13.
  38. ↑ "Budweiser tag given baseball park in St. Louis". Times-News. Hendersonville, North Carolina. United Press International. April 10, 1953. p. 8.
  39. ↑ Ames, Walter (June 13, 1953). "Major League Ball Game on KECA-TV; Topper Series Set as 'Irma' Replacement". Los Angeles Times. p. A5.
  40. ↑ "Albany Club Owner Asks for Video Of Major League Games in His Area". Hartford Courant. Associated Press. June 6, 1953.
  41. ↑ Ames, Walter (May 8, 1954). "L.A.-Las Vegas Relay Ready by Fall; Lamenting Berle Seeks New Home". Los Angeles Times. p. A5.
  42. ↑ "TV Baseball Ban Denied By Official". The Daily Reporter. Associated Press. March 11, 1954. p. 1.
  43. ↑ "Club Owners Veto Television of Spring Games". The Spokane-Review. Associated Press. March 14, 1954. p. 1.
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