1955 Kansas City Athletics | |
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Major League affiliations | |
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Location | |
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Other information | |
Owner(s) | Arnold Johnson |
Manager(s) | Lou Boudreau |
Local television | none |
Local radio | KMBC (Merle Harmon, Larry Ray) |
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The 1955 Kansas City Athletics season was the 55th season for the franchise in MLB's American League, and the first in Kansas City after playing the previous 54 in Philadelphia. The team won 63 games – only the fifth time in 20 years that they won more than 60 games – and lost 91, finishing sixth in the American League, 33 games behind the AL Champion New York Yankees.
Contents
Offseason[edit]
In 1954, the Mack family decided to sell the Philadelphia Athletics. Charlie Finley made an offer to purchase the team, but was refused.[1] Clint Murchison also made an offer to purchase the team with plans to relocate to Southern California, but was also refused. On October 12, 1954, the owners approved the sale of the Athletics to Chicago businessman Arnold Johnson, who moved the team from Philadelphia to Kansas City for the 1955 season. Finley would later buy the A's from Johnson's estate in 1960. Murchison's son, Clint Jr., would later become one of the founders of the National Football League's Dallas Cowboys franchise in 1960.
In 1955, the new Kansas City Athletics drew 1,393,054 to Municipal Stadium.
Notable transactions[edit]
Spring training[edit]
The A's and Philadelphia Phillies had played a Philadelphia City Series since 1903. The Kansas City A's returned to Philadelphia at the end of spring training in 1955, and the teams played two games. The A's beat the Phillies in the second game, 10–2, at Wilmington Park, home of the original Wilmington Blue Rocks.[3] Both games were played at Wilmington Park, Wilmington, DE on April 9, and April 10, 1955 immediately prior to the start of the regular season.
Regular season[edit]
Season standings[edit]
American League | W | L | Pct. | GB |
---|---|---|---|---|
New York Yankees | 96 | 58 | .623 | -- |
Cleveland Indians | 93 | 61 | .604 | 3 |
Chicago White Sox | 91 | 63 | .591 | 5 |
Boston Red Sox | 84 | 70 | .545 | 12 |
Detroit Tigers | 79 | 75 | .513 | 17 |
Kansas City Athletics | 63 | 91 | .409 | 33 |
Baltimore Orioles | 57 | 97 | .370 | 39 |
Washington Senators | 53 | 101 | .344 | 43 |
Notable transactions[edit]
- May 11, 1955: Sonny Dixon and cash were traded by the Athletics to the New York Yankees for Enos Slaughter and Johnny Sain.[4]
- May 31, 1955: Clete Boyer was signed as an amateur free agent (bonus baby) by the Athletics.[5]
- May 1955: Al Sima was traded by the Athletics to the Washington Senators for Gus Keriazakos.[6]
- September 10, 1955: Joe Ginsberg was purchased by the Athletics from the Seattle Rainiers.[7]
- September 12, 1955: Glenn Cox was purchased by the Athletics from the Brooklyn Dodgers.[8]
Roster[edit]
1955 Kansas City Athletics | |||||||||
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Roster | |||||||||
Pitchers
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Catchers
Infielders
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Outfielders
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Manager
Coaches
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Player stats[edit]
= Indicates team leader |
Batting[edit]
Starters by position[edit]
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 |
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1B | Power, VicVic Power | 147 | 596 | 190 | .319 | 19 | 76 |
2B | Finigan, JimJim Finigan | 150 | 549 | 135 | .255 | 9 | 68 |
3B | López, HéctorHéctor López | 128 | 483 | 140 | .290 | 15 | 68 |
LF | Zernial, GusGus Zernial | 120 | 413 | 105 | .254 | 30 | 84 |
Other batters[edit]
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 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Wilson, BillBill Wilson | 98 | 273 | 61 | .223 | 15 | 38 |
Slaughter, EnosEnos Slaughter | 108 | 267 | 86 | .322 | 5 | 34 |
Boyer, CleteClete Boyer | 47 | 79 | 19 | .241 | 0 | 6 |
George, AlexAlex George | 5 | 10 | 1 | .100 | 0 | 0 |
Mackenzie, EricEric Mackenzie | 1 | 1 | 0 | .000 | 0 | 0 |
Pitching[edit]
Starting pitchers[edit]
Note: G = Games played; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts
Player | G | IP | W | L | ERA | SO |
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Kellner, AlexAlex Kellner | 30 | 162.2 | 11 | 8 | 4.20 | 75 |
Cox, GlennGlenn Cox | 2 | 2.1 | 0 | 2 | 30.86 | 2 |
Other pitchers[edit]
Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts
Player | G | IP | W | L | ERA | SO |
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Ditmar, ArtArt Ditmar | 35 | 175.1 | 12 | 12 | 5.03 | 79 |
Ceccarelli, ArtArt Ceccarelli | 31 | 123.2 | 4 | 7 | 5.31 | 68 |
Boyer, CloydCloyd Boyer | 30 | 98.1 | 5 | 5 | 6.22 | 32 |
Craddock, WaltWalt Craddock | 4 | 15 | 0 | 2 | 7.80 | 9 |
Keriazakos, GusGus Keriazakos | 5 | 11.2 | 0 | 1 | 12.34 | 8 |
Relief pitchers[edit]
Note: G = Games pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; SV = Saves; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts
Player | G | W | L | SV | ERA | SO |
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Gorman, TomTom Gorman | 57 | 7 | 6 | 18 | 3.55 | 46 |
Harrington, BillBill Harrington | 34 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 4.11 | 26 |
Sain, JohnnyJohnny Sain | 25 | 2 | 5 | 1 | 5.44 | 12 |
Fricano, MarionMarion Fricano | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3.15 | 5 |
Burtschy, MoeMoe Burtschy | 7 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 10.32 | 9 |
Bishop, CharlieCharlie Bishop | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 5.40 | 4 |
Blackwell, EwellEwell Blackwell | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 6.75 | 2 |
Dixon, SonnySonny Dixon | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 16.20 | 0 |
Wilson, BillBill Wilson | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 | 1 |
Awards and honors[edit]
- Jim Finigan, third baseman, starter
- Vic Power, reserve
Farm system[edit]
LEAGUE CHAMPIONS: Lancaster
Welch franchise transferred to Marion and renamed, July 14, 1955
References[edit]
- ^ Charlie Finley: The Outrageous Story of Baseball's Super Showman, pp. 27, G. Michael Green and Roger D. Launius. Walker Publishing Company, New York, 2010, ISBN 978-0-8027-1745-0
- ^ Bob Davis page at Baseball Reference
- ^ Peterson, John E. (2003). Kansas City Athletics: A Baseball History, 1954–1967. McFarland. p. 52. ISBN 0-7864-1610-6. Retrieved May 22, 2009.
- ^ Enos Slaughter page at Baseball Reference
- ^ Clete Boyer page at Baseball Reference
- ^ Al Sima page at Baseball Reference
- ^ Joe Ginsberg page at Baseball Reference
- ^ Glenn Cox page at Baseball Reference
- ^ http://www.baseball-reference.com/teams/KCA/1955.shtml
- ^ http://baseball-almanac.com/asgbox/yr1955as.shtml
External links[edit]
- 1955 Kansas City Athletics team page at Baseball Reference
- 1955 Kansas City Athletics team page at www.baseball-almanac.com
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