1953 Major League Baseball season - Wikipedia
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This article is about the 1953 Major League Baseball season only. For information on all of baseball, see 1953 in baseball.
| 1953 MLB season | |
|---|---|
| League | American League (AL) National League (NL) |
| Sport | Baseball |
| Duration | Regular season:
|
| Number of games | 154 |
| Number of teams | 16 (8 per league) |
| TV partner(s) | ABC, NBC |
| Regular season | |
| Season MVP | AL: Al Rosen (CLE) NL: Roy Campanella (BKN) |
| AL champions | New York Yankees |
| AL runners-up | Cleveland Indians |
| NL champions | Brooklyn Dodgers |
| NL runners-up | Milwaukee Braves |
| World Series | |
| Champions | New York Yankees |
| Runners-up | Brooklyn Dodgers |
| Finals MVP | Billy Martin (NYY) |
| MLB seasons | |
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.
The 20th Major League Baseball All-Star Game was played on July 14, hosted by the Cincinnati Reds in Cincinnati, Ohio, with the National League winning, 5–1.
The Cincinnati Reds changed their name to the Cincinnati 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 would see the first relocation in professional baseball since the Milwaukee Brewers moved from Milwaukee, Wisconsin, to St. Louis, Missouri, as the St. Louis Browns, with the Boston Braves, coincidentally, relocating to Milwaukee as the Milwaukee Braves. It would be the first National League relocation since the St. Louis Maroons moved to Indianapolis, Indiana, and became the Indianapolis Hoosiers. This season began a trend of relocation which would occur several times throughout the 1950s and 1960s. The season would also prove to be the last season of the Browns franchise in St. Louis, moving to Baltimore, Maryland, the following season as the Baltimore 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.
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.
| World Series | ||||
| AL | New York Yankees | 4 | ||
| NL | Brooklyn Dodgers | 2 |
| Baseball Writers' Association of America Awards | ||
|---|---|---|
| BBWAA Award | National League | American League |
| Rookie of the Year | Jim Gilliam (BKN) | Harvey Kuenn (DET) |
| Most Valuable Player | Roy Campanella (BKN) | Al Rosen (CLE) |
- Babe Ruth Award (World Series MVP): Billy Martin (NYY)
| The Sporting News Awards | ||
|---|---|---|
| Award | National League | American League |
| Player of the Year[3] | — | Al Rosen (CLE) |
| Pitcher of the Year[4] | Warren Spahn (MIL) | Bob Porterfield (WSH) |
| Rookie of the Year[5] | Jim Gilliam (BKN) | Harvey Kuenn (DET) |
| Manager of the Year[6] | — | Casey Stengel (NYY) |
| Executive of the Year[7] | Lou Perini (MIL) | — |
Baseball Hall of Fame
[edit]
- Chief Bender
- Dizzy Dean
- Al Simmons
- Bobby Wallace
- Ed Barrow (executive)
- Harry Wright (executive)
- Tom Connolly (umpire)
- Bill Klem (umpire)
Home field attendance
[edit]
| Team name | Wins | %± | Home attendance | %± | Per game |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Milwaukee Braves[8] | 92 | 43.8% | 1,826,397 | 549.3% | 23,119 |
| New York Yankees[9] | 99 | 4.2% | 1,537,811 | −5.6% | 19,972 |
| Chicago White Sox[10] | 89 | 9.9% | 1,191,353 | −3.3% | 15,274 |
| Brooklyn Dodgers[11] | 105 | 9.4% | 1,163,419 | 6.9% | 14,916 |
| Cleveland Indians[12] | 92 | −1.1% | 1,069,176 | −26.0% | 13,707 |
| Boston Red Sox[13] | 84 | 10.5% | 1,026,133 | −8.0% | 13,502 |
| Detroit Tigers[14] | 60 | 20.0% | 884,658 | −13.8% | 11,198 |
| St. Louis Cardinals[15] | 83 | −5.7% | 880,242 | −3.6% | 11,285 |
| Philadelphia Phillies[16] | 83 | −4.6% | 853,644 | 13.0% | 10,944 |
| New York Giants[17] | 70 | −23.9% | 811,518 | −17.6% | 10,539 |
| Chicago Cubs[18] | 65 | −15.6% | 763,658 | −25.5% | 9,918 |
| Washington Senators[19] | 76 | −2.6% | 595,594 | −14.8% | 7,941 |
| Pittsburgh Pirates[20] | 50 | 19.0% | 572,757 | −16.6% | 7,438 |
| Cincinnati Redlegs[21] | 68 | −1.4% | 548,086 | −9.3% | 7,027 |
| Philadelphia Athletics[22] | 59 | −25.3% | 362,113 | −42.3% | 4,642 |
| St. Louis Browns[23] | 54 | −15.6% | 297,238 | −42.7% | 3,860 |
Television coverage
[edit]
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,[24] and Chicago White Sox[25][26] were interested.[27] To make matters worse, Major League Baseball barred the Game of the Week from airing within fifty miles of any big-league city.[28]
The All-Star Game and World Series aired exclusively on NBC.
- 1953 All-American Girls Professional Baseball League season
- 1953 Nippon Professional Baseball season
- ^ Lamb, Chris (April 7, 2021). "From 'Redlegs' to 'Red Scare' to 'Twilight Zone:' The Strange Trip of the Cincinnati Reds' Nickname". USA Today. USA Today. Retrieved March 23, 2024.
- ^ "These players integrated each MLB team". MLB.com. Retrieved November 14, 2024.
- ^ "Major League Player of the Year Award by The Sporting News | Baseball Almanac". www.baseball-almanac.com. Retrieved January 14, 2025.
- ^ "Pitcher of the Year Award by The Sporting News | Baseball Almanac". www.baseball-almanac.com. Retrieved January 14, 2025.
- ^ "Rookie of the Year Award by The Sporting News | Baseball Almanac". www.baseball-almanac.com. Retrieved January 14, 2025.
- ^ "Manager of the Year Award by The Sporting News | Baseball Almanac". www.baseball-almanac.com. Retrieved January 14, 2025.
- ^ "MLB Executive of the Year Award | Baseball Almanac". www.baseball-almanac.com. Retrieved January 14, 2025.
- ^ "Atlanta Braves Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved September 8, 2020.
- ^ "New York Yankees Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved September 8, 2020.
- ^ "Chicago White Sox Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved September 8, 2020.
- ^ "Los Angeles Dodgers Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved September 8, 2020.
- ^ "Cleveland Indians Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved September 8, 2020.
- ^ "Boston Red Sox Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved September 8, 2020.
- ^ "Detroit Tigers Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved September 8, 2020.
- ^ "St. Louis Cardinals Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved September 8, 2020.
- ^ "Oakland Athletics Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved September 8, 2020.
- ^ "San Francisco Giants Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved September 8, 2020.
- ^ "Chicago Cubs Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved September 8, 2020.
- ^ "Minnesota Twins Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved September 8, 2020.
- ^ "Pittsburgh Pirates Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved September 8, 2020.
- ^ "Cincinnati Reds Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved September 8, 2020.
- ^ "Oakland Athletics Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved September 8, 2020.
- ^ "Baltimore Orioles Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved September 8, 2020.
- ^ Ames, Walter (June 13, 1953). "Major League Ball Game on KECA-TV; Topper Series Set as 'Irma' Replacement". Los Angeles Times. p. A5.
- ^ "Albany Club Owner Asks for Video Of Major League Games in His Area". Hartford Courant. Associated Press. June 6, 1953.
- ^ Ames, Walter (May 8, 1954). "L.A.-Las Vegas Relay Ready by Fall; Lamenting Berle Seeks New Home". Los Angeles Times. p. A5.
- ^ "TV Baseball Ban Denied By Official". The Daily Reporter. Associated Press. March 11, 1954. p. 1.
- ^ "Club Owners Veto Television of Spring Games". The Spokane-Review. Associated Press. March 14, 1954. p. 1.