# 1953 All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship

The 1953 All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship was the 67th staging of the All-Ireland hurling championship since its establishment by the Gaelic Athletic Association in 1887. The championship began on 3 May 1953 and ended on 7 September 1953.
Cork were the defending champions, and retained their All-Ireland crown following a 3-3 to 0-8 defeat of Galway in the final.

## Teams
### Team summaries

| Team | Colours | Most recent success | Most recent success | Most recent success |
| Team | Colours | All-Ireland | Provincial | League |
| Clare | Saffron and blue | 1914 | 1932 | 1945-46 |
| Cork | Red and white | 1952 | 1952 | 1952-53 |
| Dublin | Navy and blue | 1938 | 1952 | 1938-39 |
| Galway | Maroon and white | 1923 | 1922 | 1950-51 |
| Kilkenny | Black and amber | 1947 | 1950 | 1932-33 |
| Laois | Blue and white | 1915 | 1949 | |
| Limerick | Green and white | 1940 | 1940 | 1946-47 |
| Meath | Green and gold | | | |
| Offaly | Green, white and gold | | | |
| Tipperary | Blue and gold | 1951 | 1951 | 1951-52 |
| Waterford | Blue and white | 1948 | 1948 | |
| Westmeath | Maroon and white | | | |
| Wexford | Purple and gold | 1910 | 1951 | |

## Provincial championships
### Leinster Senior Hurling Championship

First round
Second round
Semi-finals
Final

### Munster Senior Hurling Championship

First round
Semi-finals
Final

## Championship statistics
### Top scorers
#### Top scorers overall

| Rank | Player | Club | Tally | Total | Matches | Average |
| 1 | Jimmy Smyth | Clare | 7-05 | 26 | 2 | 13.00 |
| 1 | Jim Langton | Kilkenny | 1-23 | 26 | 5 | 5.20 |
| 2 | Christy Ring | Cork | 2-14 | 20 | 3 | 6.66 |
| 3 | Patrick Greene | Clare | 5-01 | 16 | 2 | 8.00 |
| 3 | Harry Gray | Laois | 3-07 | 16 | 2 | 8.00 |
| 3 | Shem Downey | Kilkenny | 3-07 | 16 | 5 | 3.20 |
| 4 | Josie Hartnett | Cork | 4-02 | 14 | 3 | 4.66 |
| 4 | Tim Flood | Wexford | 2-08 | 14 | 2 | 7.00 |
| 5 | Nicky Rackard | Wexford | 3-03 | 12 | 2 | 6.00 |
| 6 | Willie Rispin | Meath | 3-01 | 10 | 2 | 5.00 |
| 6 | John Kiely | Waterford | 1-07 | 10 | 1 | 10.00 |

#### Top scorers in a single game

| Rank | Player | Club | Tally | Total | Opposition |
| 1 | Jimmy Smyth | Clare | 6-04 | 22 | Limerick |
| 2 | Tim Flood | Wexford | 2-06 | 12 | Laois |
| 3 | Christy Ring | Cork | 1-08 | 11 | Tipperary |
| 4 | Patrick Greene | Clare | 3-01 | 10 | Cork |
| 4 | John Kiely | Waterford | 1-07 | 10 | Tipperary |
| 5 | Nicky Rackard | Wexford | 2-03 | 9 | Kilkenny |
| 5 | Jim Langton | Kilkenny | 1-06 | 9 | Dublin |
| 6 | Harry Gray | Laois | 2-02 | 8 | Wexford |
| 6 | Jim Prior | Dublin | 2-02 | 8 | Kilkenny |
| 6 | Harry Gray | Laois | 1-05 | 8 | Offaly |

### Scoring

* Widest winning margin: 34 points
** Clare 10-8 - 1-1 Limerick (Munster quarter-final, 14 June 1953)
* Most goals in a match: 11
** Clare 10-8 - 1-1 Limerick (Munster quarter-final, 14 June 1953)
* Most points in a match: 21
** Cork 3-10 - 1-11 Tipperary (Munster final, 26 July 1953)
* Most goals by one team in a match: 10
** Clare 10-8 - 1-1 Limerick (Munster quarter-final, 14 June 1953)
* Most goals scored by a losing team: 4
** Clare 4-2 - 2-11 Cork (Munster semi-final, 28 June 1953)
* Most points scored by a losing team: 11
** Tipperary 1-11 - 3-10 Cork (Munster final, 26 July 1953)

### Miscellaneous

* Clare's 10-8 to 1-1 defeat of Limerick in the Munster quarter-final was a record-breaking game. It was Clare's first championship defeat of their near rivals since 1914. The 34-point winning margin remains a record between these two teams. Jimmy Smyth of Clare scored a Munster championship record of 6-4 against Limerick.

## Sources

* Corry, Eoghan, The GAA Book of Lists (Hodder Headline Ireland, 2005).
* Donegan, Des, The Complete Handbook of Gaelic Games (DBA Publications Limited, 2005).
* Horgan, Tim, Christy Ring: Hurling's Greatest (The Collins Press, 2007).
* Nolan, Pat, Flashbacks: A Half Century of Cork Hurling (The Collins Press, 2000).
* Sweeney, Éamonn, Munster Hurling Legends (The O'Brien Press, 2002).