# 1953 Brooklyn Dodgers season

The 1953 Brooklyn Dodgers repeated as National League champions by posting a 105–49 record. However, Brooklyn again failed to capture the World Series, losing in six games to the American League champion New York Yankees.
The Dodgers' .682 winning percentage in 1953 stood as the best single-season winning percentage in franchise history for a full season until 2022, when they posted a .685 mark (111-51). (In 2020, the Dodgers posted a .717 mark (43–17) during a shortened 60-game season.)

## Offseason

* October 10, 1952: Dixie Howell was purchased by the Dodgers from the Cincinnati Reds.
* October 10, 1952: Clyde King was purchased from the Dodgers by the Cincinnati Reds.
* October 14, 1952: Billy Hunter was traded by the Dodgers to the St. Louis Browns for Ray Coleman, Stan Rojek, Bob Mahoney and cash.
* January 17, 1953: Andy Pafko was traded by the Dodgers to the Milwaukee Braves for Roy Hartsfield and cash.
* February 16, 1953: The Dodgers traded Rocky Bridges to the Cincinnati Reds and Jim Pendleton to the Milwaukee Braves as part of a four-team trade. The Philadelphia Phillies sent Russ Meyer to the Dodgers. The Braves sent cash to the Reds and Earl Torgeson to the Phillies. The Reds sent Joe Adcock to the Braves, and the Phillies sent cash to the Braves.

## Regular season

Duke Snider had a hitting streak of 27 games.

### Season standings

vteNational League :
| Team | W | L | Pct. | GB | Home | Road |
| Brooklyn Dodgers | 105 | 49 | .682 | — | 60‍–‍17 | 45‍–‍32 |
| Milwaukee Braves | 92 | 62 | .597 | 13 | 45‍–‍31 | 47‍–‍31 |
| Philadelphia Phillies | 83 | 71 | .539 | 22 | 48‍–‍29 | 35‍–‍42 |
| St. Louis Cardinals | 83 | 71 | .539 | 22 | 48‍–‍30 | 35‍–‍41 |
| New York Giants | 70 | 84 | .455 | 35 | 38‍–‍39 | 32‍–‍45 |
| Cincinnati Redlegs | 68 | 86 | .442 | 37 | 38‍–‍39 | 30‍–‍47 |
| Chicago Cubs | 65 | 89 | .422 | 40 | 43‍–‍34 | 22‍–‍55 |
| Pittsburgh Pirates | 50 | 104 | .325 | 55 | 26‍–‍51 | 24‍–‍53 |

### Record vs. opponents

1953 National League recordvte Sources: :
| Team | BR | CHC | CIN | MIL | NYG | PHI | PIT | STL |
| Brooklyn | — | 13–9–1 | 15–7 | 13–9 | 15–7 | 14–8 | 20–2 | 15–7 |
| Chicago | 9–13–1 | — | 12–10 | 8–14 | 9–13 | 5–17 | 11–11 | 11–11 |
| Cincinnati | 7–15 | 10–12 | — | 8–14 | 9–13 | 12–10 | 15–7 | 7–15–1 |
| Milwaukee | 9–13 | 14–8 | 14–8 | — | 14–8–1 | 13–9–1 | 15–7 | 13–9–1 |
| New York | 7–15 | 13–9 | 13–9 | 8–14–1 | — | 9–13 | 11–11 | 9–13 |
| Philadelphia | 8–14 | 17–5 | 10–12 | 9–13–1 | 13–9 | — | 15–7 | 11–11–1 |
| Pittsburgh | 2–20 | 11–11 | 7–15 | 7–15 | 11–11 | 7–15 | — | 5–17 |
| St. Louis | 7–15 | 11–11 | 15–7–1 | 9–13–1 | 13–9 | 11–11–1 | 17–5 | — |

### Opening Day Lineup

Opening Day Lineup :
| # | Name | Position |
| 19 | Jim Gilliam | 2B |
| 1 | Pee Wee Reese | SS |
| 4 | Duke Snider | CF |
| 42 | Jackie Robinson | 3B |
| 39 | Roy Campanella | C |
| 29 | Don Thompson | LF |
| 14 | Gil Hodges | 1B |
| 6 | Carl Furillo | RF |
| 17 | Carl Erskine | P |

### Notable transactions

* May 25, 1953: Bud Byerly was traded by the Dodgers to the New York Giants for Norman Fox (minors).

### Roster
## Player stats
### Batting
#### Starters by position

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 |
| C | Roy Campanella | 144 | 519 | 162 | .312 | 41 | 142 |
| 1B | Gil Hodges | 141 | 520 | 157 | .302 | 31 | 122 |
| 2B | Jim Gilliam | 151 | 605 | 168 | .278 | 6 | 63 |
| 3B | Billy Cox | 100 | 327 | 95 | .291 | 10 | 44 |
| SS | Pee Wee Reese | 140 | 524 | 142 | .271 | 13 | 61 |
| OF | Duke Snider | 153 | 590 | 198 | .336 | 42 | 126 |
| OF | Jackie Robinson | 136 | 484 | 159 | .329 | 12 | 95 |
| OF | Carl Furillo | 132 | 479 | 165 | .344 | 21 | 92 |

#### Other batters

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 |
| Bobby Morgan | 69 | 196 | 51 | .260 | 7 | 33 |
| George Shuba | 74 | 169 | 43 | .254 | 5 | 23 |
| Wayne Belardi | 69 | 163 | 39 | .239 | 11 | 34 |
| Don Thompson | 96 | 153 | 37 | .242 | 1 | 12 |
| Rube Walker | 43 | 95 | 23 | .242 | 3 | 9 |
| Dick Williams | 30 | 55 | 12 | .218 | 2 | 5 |
| Bill Antonello | 40 | 43 | 7 | .163 | 1 | 4 |
| Carmen Mauro | 8 | 9 | 0 | .000 | 0 | 0 |
| Dick Teed | 1 | 1 | 0 | .000 | 0 | 0 |
| Dixie Howell | 1 | 1 | 0 | .000 | 0 | 0 |

### Pitching
#### Starting pitchers

Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts
| Player | G | IP | W | L | ERA | SO |
| Carl Erskine | 39 | 246.2 | 20 | 6 | 3.54 | 187 |
| Russ Meyer | 34 | 191.1 | 15 | 5 | 4.56 | 106 |
| Billy Loes | 32 | 162.2 | 14 | 8 | 4.54 | 75 |
| Preacher Roe | 25 | 157.0 | 11 | 3 | 4.36 | 85 |
| Ray Moore | 1 | 8.0 | 0 | 1 | 3.38 | 4 |

#### Other pitchers

Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts
| Player | G | IP | W | L | ERA | SO |
| Bob Milliken | 37 | 117.2 | 8 | 4 | 3.37 | 65 |
| Johnny Podres | 33 | 115.0 | 9 | 4 | 4.23 | 82 |
| Glenn Mickens | 4 | 6.1 | 0 | 1 | 11.37 | 5 |

#### Relief pitchers

Note: G = Games pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; SV = Saves; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts
| Player | G | W | L | SV | ERA | SO |
| Jim Hughes | 48 | 4 | 3 | 9 | 3.47 | 49 |
| Clem Labine | 37 | 11 | 6 | 7 | 2.77 | 44 |
| Joe Black | 34 | 6 | 3 | 5 | 5.33 | 42 |
| Ben Wade | 32 | 7 | 5 | 3 | 3.79 | 65 |
| Ralph Branca | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 9.82 | 5 |
| Erv Palica | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 12.00 | 3 |

## 1953 World Series
### Game 1

September 30, 1953, at Yankee Stadium in New York
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E |
| Brooklyn (N) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 12 | 2 |
| New York (A) | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 3 | x | 9 | 12 | 0 |
| W: Johnny Sain (1–0) L: Clem Labine (0–1) |||||||||||||
| HR: BRO – Jim Gilliam (1), Gil Hodges (1), George Shuba (1) NYY – Yogi Berra (1), Joe Collins (1) |||||||||||||

### Game 2

October 1, 1953, at Yankee Stadium in New York
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E |
| Brooklyn (N) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 9 | 1 |
| New York (A) | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | x | 4 | 5 | 0 |
| W: Ed Lopat (1–0) L: Preacher Roe (0–1) |||||||||||||
| HR: NYY – Billy Martin (1), Mickey Mantle (1) |||||||||||||

### Game 3

October 2, 1953, 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 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 6 | 0 |
| Brooklyn (N) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | x | 3 | 9 | 0 |
| W: Carl Erskine (1–0) L: Vic Raschi (0–1) |||||||||||||
| HR: BRO – Roy Campanella (1) |||||||||||||

### Game 4

October 3, 1953, 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 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 9 | 0 |
| Brooklyn (N) | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | x | 7 | 12 | 0 |
| W: Billy Loes (1–0) L: Whitey Ford (0–1) S: Clem Labine (1) |||||||||||||
| HR: NYY – Gil McDougald (1) BRO – Duke Snider (1) |||||||||||||

### Game 5

October 4, 1953, at Ebbets Field in Brooklyn, New York
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E |
| New York (A) | 1 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 11 | 11 | 1 |
| Brooklyn (N) | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 7 | 14 | 1 |
| W: Jim McDonald (1–0) L: Johnny Podres (0–1) S: Allie Reynolds (1) |||||||||||||
| HR: NYY – Gene Woodling (1), Mickey Mantle (2), Billy Martin (2), Gil McDougald (2) BRO – Billy Cox (1), Jim Gilliam (1) |||||||||||||

### Game 6

October 5, 1953, at Yankee Stadium in New York
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E |
| Brooklyn (N) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 8 | 3 |
| New York (A) | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 13 | 0 |
| W: Allie Reynolds (1–0) L: Clem Labine (0–2) |||||||||||||
| HR: BRO – Carl Furillo (1) |||||||||||||

## Awards and honors

* National League Most Valuable Player
** Roy Campanella
* National League Rookie of the Year
** Jim Gilliam
* TSN Player of the Year Award
** Roy Campanella
* TSN NL Rookie of the Year Award
** Jim Gilliam

### All-Stars

* 1953 Major League Baseball All-Star Game
** Roy Campanella, starter, catcher
** Pee Wee Reese, starter, shortstop
** Carl Furillo, reserve
** Gil Hodges, reserve
** Jackie Robinson, reserve
** Duke Snider, reserve
* TSN Major League All-Star Team
** Roy Campanella, catcher
** Carl Furillo, outfield
** Duke Snider, outfield
** Pee Wee Reese, shortstop

## Farm system

| Level | Team | League | Manager |
| AAA | Montreal Royals | International League | Walter Alston |
| AAA | St. Paul Saints | American Association | Clay Bryant |
| AA | Ft. Worth Cats | Texas League | Max Macon |
| AA | Mobile Bears | Southern Association | Ed Head |
| A | Elmira Pioneers | Eastern League | Al Brancato |
| A | Pueblo Dodgers | Western League | George Pfister |
| B | Asheville Tourists | Tri-State League | Ray Hathaway |
| B | Miami Sun Sox | Florida International League | Doc Alexson |
| B | Newport News Dodgers | Piedmont League | Stan Wasiak |
| C | Great Falls Electrics | Pioneer League | Lou Rochelli |
| C | Santa Barbara Dodgers | California League | George Scherger |
| D | Hornell Dodgers | Pennsylvania–Ontario–New York League | Mervin Dornburg Jack Banta |
| D | Shawnee Hawks | Sooner State League | Boyd Bartley |
| D | Sheboygan Indians | Wisconsin State League | Joe Hauser |
| D | Thomasville Dodgers | Georgia–Florida League | John Angelone |
| D | Union City Dodgers | Kentucky–Illinois–Tennessee League | Earl Naylor |
LEAGUE CHAMPIONS: Montreal