| 1952 Philadelphia Athletics | |
|---|---|
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| League | American League |
| Ballpark | Shibe Park |
| City | Philadelphia |
| Owners | Earle Mack &Roy Mack |
| General managers | Arthur Ehlers |
| Managers | Jimmy Dykes |
| Television | WPTZ/WCAU/WFIL (By Saam, Claude Haring) |
| Radio | WIBG (By Saam, Claude Haring, George Walsh) |
The1952Philadelphia Athletics season saw the A's finish fourth and in thefirst division of theAmerican League with a record of 79 wins and 75 losses. They finished 16 games behind the eventualWorld Series champion New York Yankees. Managed byJimmy Dykes, they attracted 627,100 fans toShibe Park, seventh among the Junior Circuit's eight teams.
The Athletics' 1952 campaign would be their final winning season inPhiladelphia; only two years later, in November 1954, the franchise would move toKansas City; 1952 would also be the Athletics' only winning season of the 1950s. They would have to wait until1968, their first season inOakland, for their next winning record.
The Athletics improved nine games from their 70–84 record in1951 and improved to fourth in the American League. AMost Valuable Player season was turned in by left-handed pitcherBobby Shantz and the A.L.batting championship was won byFerris Fain with a .320 average.
Gus Zernial hit 29 home runs and drove in 100 RBI whileEddie Joost chipped in 20 HRs and 75 RBI. However, outside Shantz, who went 24–7, their best pitcherrecord-wise wasHarry Byrd, with a 15–15 record.
| Team | W | L | Pct. | GB | Home | Road |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| New York Yankees | 95 | 59 | .617 | — | 49–28 | 46–31 |
| Cleveland Indians | 93 | 61 | .604 | 2 | 49–28 | 44–33 |
| Chicago White Sox | 81 | 73 | .526 | 14 | 44–33 | 37–40 |
| Philadelphia Athletics | 79 | 75 | .513 | 16 | 45–32 | 34–43 |
| Washington Senators | 78 | 76 | .506 | 17 | 42–35 | 36–41 |
| Boston Red Sox | 76 | 78 | .494 | 19 | 50–27 | 26–51 |
| St. Louis Browns | 64 | 90 | .416 | 31 | 42–35 | 22–55 |
| Detroit Tigers | 50 | 104 | .325 | 45 | 32–45 | 18–59 |
Sources:[1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8] | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team | BOS | CWS | CLE | DET | NYY | PHA | SLB | WSH | |||||
| Boston | — | 12–10 | 9–13 | 16–6 | 8–14 | 12–10 | 11–11 | 8–14 | |||||
| Chicago | 10–12 | — | 8–14–1 | 17–5 | 8–14 | 11–11 | 14–8 | 13–9–1 | |||||
| Cleveland | 13–9 | 14–8–1 | — | 16–6 | 10–12 | 13–9 | 15–7 | 12–10 | |||||
| Detroit | 6–16 | 5–17 | 6–16 | — | 9–13 | 5–17–1 | 8–14 | 11–11–1 | |||||
| New York | 14–8 | 14–8 | 12–10 | 13–9 | — | 13–9 | 14–8 | 15–7 | |||||
| Philadelphia | 10–12 | 11–11 | 9–13 | 17–5–1 | 9–13 | — | 14–8 | 9–13 | |||||
| St. Louis | 11–11 | 8–14 | 7–15 | 14–8 | 8–14 | 8–14 | — | 8–14–1 | |||||
| Washington | 14–8 | 9–13–1 | 10–12 | 11–11–1 | 7–15 | 13–9 | 14–8–1 | — | |||||
| 1952 Philadelphia Athletics | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Roster | |||||||||
| Pitchers | Catchers Infielders | Outfielders | Manager Coaches | ||||||
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 | Joe Astroth | 104 | 337 | 84 | .249 | 1 | 36 |
| 1B | Ferris Fain | 145 | 538 | 176 | .327 | 2 | 59 |
| 2B | Skeeter Kell | 75 | 213 | 47 | .221 | 0 | 17 |
| SS | Eddie Joost | 146 | 540 | 132 | .244 | 20 | 75 |
| 3B | Billy Hitchcock | 119 | 407 | 100 | .246 | 1 | 56 |
| OF | Gus Zernial | 145 | 549 | 144 | .262 | 29 | 100 |
| OF | Elmer Valo | 129 | 388 | 109 | .281 | 5 | 47 |
| OF | Dave Philley | 151 | 586 | 154 | .263 | 7 | 71 |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pete Suder | 74 | 228 | 55 | .241 | 1 | 20 |
| Cass Michaels | 55 | 200 | 50 | .250 | 1 | 18 |
| Allie Clark | 71 | 186 | 51 | .274 | 7 | 29 |
| Ray Murray | 44 | 136 | 28 | .206 | 1 | 10 |
| Hank Majeski | 34 | 117 | 30 | .256 | 2 | 20 |
| Kite Thomas | 75 | 116 | 29 | .250 | 6 | 18 |
| Joe Tipton | 23 | 68 | 13 | .191 | 3 | 8 |
| Sherry Robertson | 43 | 60 | 12 | .200 | 0 | 5 |
| Hal Bevan | 8 | 17 | 6 | .353 | 0 | 4 |
| Tom Hamilton | 9 | 10 | 2 | .200 | 0 | 1 |
| Jack Littrell | 4 | 2 | 0 | .000 | 0 | 0 |
Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts
| Player | G | IP | W | L | ERA | SO |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bobby Shantz | 33 | 279.2 | 24 | 7 | 2.48 | 152 |
| Alex Kellner | 34 | 231.1 | 12 | 14 | 4.36 | 105 |
| Harry Byrd | 37 | 228.1 | 15 | 15 | 3.31 | 116 |
| Charlie Bishop | 6 | 30.2 | 2 | 2 | 6.46 | 17 |
| Morrie Martin | 5 | 25.1 | 0 | 2 | 6.39 | 13 |
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 Scheib | 30 | 158.0 | 11 | 7 | 4.39 | 42 |
| Bob Hooper | 43 | 144.1 | 8 | 15 | 5.18 | 40 |
| Bobo Newsom | 14 | 47.2 | 3 | 3 | 3.59 | 22 |
| Charlie Bishop | 6 | 30.2 | 2 | 2 | 6.46 | 17 |
Note: G = Games pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; SV = Saves; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts
| Player | G | W | L | SV | ERA | SO |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Johnny Kucab | 25 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 5.26 | 17 |
| Ed Wright | 24 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 6.53 | 9 |
| Dick Fowler | 18 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 6.44 | 14 |
| Tex Hoyle | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 27.00 | 1 |
| Marion Fricano | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1.80 | 0 |
| Walt Kellner | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6.75 | 2 |
| Len Matarazzo | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 | 0 |