1955 Brooklyn Dodgers season
1955 Brooklyn Dodgers | |
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1955 World Series Champions National League champions | |
| Major League affiliations | |
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| Location | |
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| Other information | |
| Owner(s) | Walter O'Malley, James & Dearie Mulvey, Mrs. John L. Smith |
| General manager(s) | Buzzie Bavasi |
| Manager(s) | Walter Alston |
| Local television | WOR-TV |
| Local radio | WMGM Vin Scully, Connie Desmond, Andre Baruch, Al Helfer WHOM Buck Canel |
| < Previous season Next season > | |
In 1955, the Brooklyn Dodgers finally fulfilled the promise of many previous Dodger teams. Although the club had won several pennants in the past, and had won as many as 105 games in 1953, it had never won a World Series. This team finished 13.5 games ahead in the National League pennant race, leading the league in both runs scored and fewest runs allowed. In the 1955 World Series, they finally beat their crosstown rivals, the New York Yankees. It was the Dodgers first and only World Series championship won while located in Brooklyn.
Contents
1 Offseason
2 Regular season
2.1 MVP controversy
2.2 Season standings
2.3 Record vs. opponents
2.4 Opening Day lineup
2.5 Notable transactions
2.6 Roster
3 Player stats
3.1 Batting
3.1.1 Starters by position
3.1.2 Other batters
3.2 Pitching
3.2.1 Starting pitchers
3.2.2 Other pitchers
3.2.3 Relief pitchers
4 1955 World Series
4.1 Game 1
4.2 Game 2
4.3 Game 3
4.4 Game 4
4.5 Game 5
4.6 Game 6
4.7 Game 7
5 Awards and honors
5.1 All-Stars
5.2 League top five finishers
6 Farm system
7 Notes
8 References
9 External links
Offseason
- October 8, 1954: Ray Moore was traded by the Dodgers to the Baltimore Orioles for Chico García.[1]
- December 13, 1954: Billy Cox and Preacher Roe were traded by the Dodgers to the Baltimore Orioles for Johnny Jancse, Harry Schwegeman and cash.[2]
- March 17, 1955: Erv Palica was traded by the Dodgers to the Baltimore Orioles for Frank Kellert and cash.[3]
Regular season
Sandy Koufax earned his first major league win with the Dodgers on August 27, 1955.
This season was basically a culmination of the careers of many legendary Dodger players. Catcher Roy Campanella won the 1955 National League Most Valuable Player award, his third in five years. Center fielder Duke Snider led the league in runs batted in and was second in the MVP voting. He also hit his 200th career home run on May 10. Jackie Robinson and Pee Wee Reese, both 36 years old, could still play. Gil Hodges, 31, hit 27 home runs (and drove in both Dodger runs in the seventh game of the Series), while Carl Furillo, 33, hit 26 home runs with a .314 batting average.
The pitching staff was anchored by Don Newcombe, who was 20–5. It was the first time a black pitcher had won 20 games in a season. The 22-year-old Johnny Podres was only 9–10 but became the hero of the 1955 World Series by shutting out the Yankees in the seventh game.
MVP controversy
Duke Snider finished second to teammate Campanella in the MVP voting by just five points, 226–221, with each man receiving eight first place votes. The voting then as now was conducted by the Baseball Writers' Association of America. Each voting member, one from each major league city, filled out a ballot selecting ten men. A player receiving a first place vote got 14 points, 9 points for second, and then values of 8–7–6–5–4–3–2–1 for those in places 3 through 10. A writer from Philadelphia who was sick and who had become hospitalized had turned in a ballot with Campanella listed in position number 1 as well as position number 5. The assumption had been that the writer had meant to write Snider's name into one of those slots. Unable to get a clarification from the ill writer the BBWAA, after considering disallowing the ballot, decided to accept it, count the first place vote for Campanella and count the fifth place vote as though it were left blank. Had the ballot been disallowed, the vote would have been won by Snider by three points. Had Snider gotten the fifth place vote, the final vote would have favored Snider 227–226. Duke did, however, win the Sporting News National League Player of the Year Award for 1955 and the Sid Mercer Award.[4][5]
Season standings
National League | W | L | Pct. | GB | Home | Road |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Brooklyn Dodgers | 98 | 55 | 0.641 | — | 56–21 | 42–34 |
Milwaukee Braves | 85 | 69 | 0.552 | 13½ | 46–31 | 39–38 |
New York Giants | 80 | 74 | 0.519 | 18½ | 44–35 | 36–39 |
Philadelphia Phillies | 77 | 77 | 0.500 | 21½ | 46–31 | 31–46 |
Cincinnati Redlegs | 75 | 79 | 0.487 | 23½ | 46–31 | 29–48 |
Chicago Cubs | 72 | 81 | 0.471 | 26 | 43–33 | 29–48 |
St. Louis Cardinals | 68 | 86 | 0.442 | 30½ | 41–36 | 27–50 |
Pittsburgh Pirates | 60 | 94 | 0.390 | 38½ | 36–39 | 24–55 |
Record vs. opponents
1955 National League Records Sources: [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team | BR | CHC | CIN | MIL | NYG | PHI | PIT | STL | |||||
Brooklyn | — | 14–7–1 | 12–10 | 15–7 | 13–9 | 16–6 | 14–8 | 14–8 | |||||
| Chicago | 7–14–1 | — | 11–11 | 7–15 | 12–10 | 10–12 | 11–11 | 14–8 | |||||
| Cincinnati | 10–12 | 11–11 | — | 9–13 | 9–13 | 11–11 | 14–8 | 11–11 | |||||
| Milwaukee | 7–15 | 15–7 | 13–9 | — | 14–8 | 14–8 | 11–11 | 11–11 | |||||
| New York | 9–13 | 10–12 | 13–9 | 8–14 | — | 10–12 | 17–5 | 13–9 | |||||
| Philadelphia | 6–16 | 12–10 | 11–11 | 8–14 | 12–10 | — | 15–7 | 13–9 | |||||
| Pittsburgh | 8–14 | 11–11 | 8–14 | 11–11 | 5–17 | 7–15 | — | 10–12 | |||||
| St. Louis | 8–14 | 8–14 | 11–11 | 11–11 | 9–13 | 9–13 | 12–10 | — | |||||
Opening Day lineup
| Opening Day Starters | |
|---|---|
| Name | Position |
| Jim Gilliam | Second baseman |
| Pee Wee Reese | Shortstop |
| Duke Snider | Center fielder |
| Gil Hodges | First baseman |
| Sandy Amorós | Left fielder |
| Jackie Robinson | Third baseman |
| Carl Furillo | Right fielder |
| Roy Campanella | Catcher |
| Carl Erskine | Starting pitcher |
Notable transactions
- June 7, 1955: Ron Negray was traded by the Dodgers to the Philadelphia Phillies for Dave Cole and cash.[6]
- June 9, 1955: Joe Black was traded by the Dodgers to the Cincinnati Reds for Bob Borkowski and cash.[7]
- September 12, 1955: Glenn Cox was purchased from the Dodgers by the Kansas City Athletics.[8]
Roster
| 1955 Brooklyn Dodgers | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Roster | |||||||||
Pitchers
| Catchers
Infielders
| Outfielders
| Manager
Coaches
| ||||||
Player stats
Batting
Starters by position
Note: Pos = Position; G = Games played; AB = At bats; R = runs; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in; SB = Stolen bases
| Pos | Player | G | AB | R | H | Avg. | HR | RBI | SB |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| C | Roy Campanella | 123 | 446 | 81 | 142 | .318 | 32 | 107 | 2 |
| 1B | Gil Hodges | 150 | 546 | 75 | 158 | .289 | 27 | 102 | 2 |
| 2B | Jim Gilliam | 147 | 538 | 110 | 134 | .249 | 7 | 40 | 15 |
| SS | Pee Wee Reese | 145 | 553 | 99 | 156 | .282 | 10 | 61 | 8 |
| 3B | Jackie Robinson | 105 | 317 | 51 | 81 | .256 | 8 | 36 | 12 |
| LF | Sandy Amorós | 119 | 388 | 59 | 96 | .247 | 10 | 51 | 10 |
| CF | Duke Snider | 148 | 538 | 126 | 166 | .309 | 42 | 136 | 9 |
| RF | Carl Furillo | 140 | 523 | 83 | 164 | .314 | 26 | 95 | 4 |
Other batters
Note: G = Games played; AB = At bats; R = runs; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in; SB = Stolen bases
| Player | G | AB | R | H | Avg. | HR | RBI | SB |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Don Hoak | 94 | 279 | 50 | 67 | .240 | 5 | 19 | 9 |
| Don Zimmer | 88 | 280 | 38 | 67 | .239 | 15 | 50 | 5 |
| Rube Walker | 48 | 103 | 6 | 26 | .252 | 2 | 13 | 1 |
| Frank Kellert | 39 | 80 | 12 | 26 | .325 | 4 | 19 | 0 |
| George Shuba | 44 | 51 | 8 | 14 | .275 | 1 | 8 | 0 |
| Dixie Howell | 16 | 42 | 2 | 11 | .262 | 0 | 5 | 0 |
| Walt Moryn | 11 | 19 | 3 | 5 | .263 | 1 | 3 | 0 |
| Bob Borkowski | 9 | 19 | 2 | 2 | .105 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Bert Hamric | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | .000 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Pitching
Starting pitchers
Note: G = Games pitched; GS = Games started; CG = Complete games; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; BB = Bases on balls; SO = Strikeouts
| Player | G | GS | CG | IP | W | L | ERA | BB | SO |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Don Newcombe | 34 | 31 | 17 | 233.2 | 20 | 5 | 3.20 | 38 | 143 |
| Carl Erskine | 31 | 29 | 7 | 194.2 | 11 | 8 | 3.79 | 64 | 84 |
| Johnny Podres | 27 | 24 | 5 | 159.1 | 9 | 10 | 3.95 | 57 | 114 |
| Billy Loes | 22 | 19 | 6 | 128 | 10 | 4 | 3.59 | 46 | 85 |
Other pitchers
Note: G = Games pitched; GS = Games started; CG = Complete games; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; BB = Bases on balls; SO = Strikeouts
| Player | G | GS | CG | IP | W | L | ERA | BB | SO |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Karl Spooner | 29 | 14 | 2 | 98.2 | 8 | 6 | 3.65 | 41 | 78 |
| Roger Craig | 21 | 10 | 3 | 90.2 | 5 | 3 | 2.78 | 43 | 48 |
| Russ Meyer | 18 | 11 | 2 | 73 | 6 | 2 | 5.42 | 31 | 26 |
| Sandy Koufax | 12 | 5 | 2 | 41.2 | 2 | 2 | 3.02 | 28 | 30 |
| Tommy Lasorda | 4 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 13.50 | 6 | 4 |
Relief pitchers
Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; SV = Saves; ERA = Earned run average; BB = Bases on balls; SO = Strikeouts
| Player | G | IP | W | L | SV | ERA | BB | SO |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Clem Labine | 60 | 144.1 | 13 | 5 | 11 | 3.24 | 55 | 67 |
| Ed Roebuck | 47 | 84 | 5 | 6 | 12 | 4.71 | 24 | 33 |
| Don Bessent | 24 | 63.1 | 8 | 1 | 3 | 2.70 | 21 | 29 |
| Jim Hughes | 24 | 42.2 | 0 | 2 | 6 | 4.22 | 19 | 20 |
| Joe Black | 6 | 15.1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2.93 | 5 | 9 |
| Chuck Templeton | 4 | 4.2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 11.57 | 5 | 3 |
1955 World Series
Game 1
September 28, 1955, at Yankee Stadium in New York
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brooklyn (N) | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 5 | 10 | 0 |
New York (A) | 0 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | x | 6 | 9 | 1 |
W: Whitey Ford (1–0) L: Don Newcombe (0–1) S: Bob Grim (1) | ||||||||||||
HR: BRO – Carl Furillo (1), Duke Snider (1) NYY – Elston Howard (1), Joe Collins (1, 2) | ||||||||||||
Game 2
September 29, 1955, at Yankee Stadium in New York
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brooklyn (N) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 5 | 2 |
New York (A) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | x | 4 | 8 | 0 |
W: Tommy Byrne (1–0) L: Billy Loes (0–1) | ||||||||||||
Game 3
September 30, 1955, at Ebbets Field in Brooklyn, New York
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| New York (A) | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 7 | 0 |
Brooklyn (N) | 2 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | x | 8 | 11 | 1 |
W: Johnny Podres (1–0) L: Bob Turley (0–1) | ||||||||||||
HR: NYY – Mickey Mantle (1) BRO – Roy Campanella (1) | ||||||||||||
Game 4
October 1, 1955, at Ebbets Field in Brooklyn, New York
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| New York (A) | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 9 | 0 |
Brooklyn (N) | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | x | 8 | 14 | 0 |
W: Clem Labine (1–0) L: Don Larsen (0–1) | ||||||||||||
HR: NYY – Gil McDougald (1) BRO – Roy Campanella (2), Gil Hodges (1), Duke Snider (2) | ||||||||||||
Game 5
October 2, 1955, at Ebbets Field in Brooklyn, New York
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| New York (A) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 6 | 0 |
Brooklyn (N) | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | x | 5 | 9 | 2 |
W: Roger Craig (1–0) L: Bob Grim (0–1) S: Clem Labine (1) | ||||||||||||
HR: NYY – Bob Cerv (1), Yogi Berra (1) BRO – Sandy Amorós (1), Duke Snider (3, 4) | ||||||||||||
Game 6
October 3, 1955, at Yankee Stadium in New York
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brooklyn (N) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 1 |
New York (A) | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | x | 5 | 8 | 0 |
W: Whitey Ford (2–0) L: Karl Spooner (0–1) | ||||||||||||
HR: NYY – Bill Skowron (1) | ||||||||||||
Game 7
October 4, 1955, at Yankee Stadium in New York
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Brooklyn (N) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 5 | 0 |
| New York (A) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 1 |
W: Johnny Podres (2–0) L: Tommy Byrne (1–1) | ||||||||||||
Awards and honors
National League Most Valuable Player
- Roy Campanella
World Series Most Valuable Player
- Johnny Podres
TSN Manager of the Year Award
- Walter Alston
TSN Executive of the Year Award
- Walter O'Malley
TSN Major League Player of the Year Award
- Duke Snider
TSN National League Player of the Year Award
- Duke Snider
All-Stars
1955 Major League Baseball All-Star Game
Duke Snider starter
Roy Campanella reserve
Gil Hodges reserve
Don Newcombe reserve
TSN Major League All-Star Team
- Don Newcombe
- Roy Campanella
- Duke Snider
League top five finishers
Roy Campanella
- #4 in NL in batting average (.318)
Jim Gilliam
- #5 in NL in runs scored (110)
- #5 in NL in stolen bases (15)
Clem Labine
- #3 in NL in saves (11)
Don Newcombe
- #2 in NL in wins (20)
- #2 in NL in ERA (3.20)
- #2 in NL in complete games (17)
- #5 in NL in strikeouts (143)
Ed Roebuck
- #2 in NL in saves (12)
Duke Snider
- MLB leader in RBI (136)
- MLB leader in runs scored (126)
- #2 in NL in on-base percentage (.418)
- #2 in NL in slugging percentage (.628)
- #3 in NL in doubles (34)
- #3 in NL in bases on balls (104)
- #4 in NL in home runs (42)
Farm system
| Level | Team | League | Manager |
|---|---|---|---|
AAA | Montreal Royals | International League | Greg Mulleavy |
AAA | St. Paul Saints | American Association | Max Macon |
AA | Ft. Worth Cats | Texas League | Tommy Holmes |
AA | Mobile Bears | Southern Association | Clay Bryant |
A | Elmira Pioneers | Eastern League | Ray Hathaway |
A | Pueblo Dodgers | Western League | Goldie Holt |
B | Asheville Tourists | Tri-State League | Earl Naylor |
B | Cedar Rapids Raiders | Illinois–Indiana–Iowa League | Ray Perry |
B | Newport News Dodgers | Piedmont League | George Scherger |
C | Bakersfield Indians | California League | Doc Alexson |
C | Great Falls Electrics | Pioneer League | Lou Rochelli |
D | Hornell Dodgers | Pennsylvania–Ontario–New York League | Boyd Bartley |
D | Shawnee Hawks | Sooner State League | Jack Banta |
D | Thomasville Dodgers | Georgia–Florida League | Pete Reiser |
D | Union City Dodgers | Kentucky–Illinois–Tennessee League | Joe Hauser |
Notes
^ Ray Moore at Baseball-Reference
^ Billy Cox at Baseball-Reference
^ Erv Palica at Baseball-Reference
^ The Duke of Flatbush by Duke Snider and Bill Gilbert
^ https://www.baseball-reference.com
^ Ron Negray at Baseball-Reference
^ Joe Black at Baseball-Reference
^ Glenn Cox at Baseball-Reference
References
- Baseball-Reference season page
- Baseball Almanac season page
External links
- 1955 Brooklyn Dodgers uniform
- Brooklyn Dodgers reference site
- Acme Dodgers page
- Retrosheet
Hometown Piece for Messrs. Alston and Reese by Marianne Moore
