1949 Philadelphia Athletics season

1949 Philadelphia Athletics
Major League affiliations
American League (since 1901)
Location
Shibe Park (since 1909)
Philadelphia (since 1901)
Other information
Owner(s)	Connie Mack
Manager(s)	Connie Mack
Local television	WPTZ/WCAU/WFIL
Local radio	WIBG (By Saam, George Walsh, Claude Haring)
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The 1949 Philadelphia Athletics season involved the A's finishing 5th in the American League with a record of 81 wins and 73 losses.

Offseason

• November 10, 1948: Tod Davis was drafted by the Athletics from the Chicago White Sox in the 1948 rule 5 draft.^[1]
• December 16, 1948: Bob Savage was selected off waivers from the Athletics by the St. Louis Browns.^[2]
• Prior to 1949 season: Skeeter Kell was signed as an amateur free agent by the Athletics.^[3]

Regular season

The 1949 Philadelphia Athletics team set a major league team record of 217 double plays, a record which still stands as of 2010.^[4][5]

Season standings

American League	W	L	Pct.	GB
New York Yankees	97	57	.630	--
Boston Red Sox	96	58	.623	1
Cleveland Indians	89	65	.578	8
Detroit Tigers	87	67	.565	10
Philadelphia Athletics	81	73	.526	16
Chicago White Sox	63	91	.409	34
St. Louis Browns	53	101	.344	44
Washington Senators	50	104	.325	47

Record vs. opponents

1949 American League Records Sources:
Team	BOS	CWS	CLE	DET	NYY	PHI	STL	WSH
Boston	—	17–5	8–14	15–7–1	9–13	14–8	15–7	18–4
Chicago	5–17	—	7–15	8–14	7–15	6–16	15–7	15–7
Cleveland	14–8	15–7	—	13–9	10–12	9–13	15–7	13–9
Detroit	7–15–1	14–8	9–13	—	11–11	14–8	14–8	18–4
New York	13–9	15–7	12–10	11–11	—	14–8	17–5–1	15–7
Philadelphia	8–14	16–6	13–9	8–14	8–14	—	12–10	16–6
St. Louis	7–15	7–15	7–15	8–14	5–17–1	10–12	—	9–13
Washington	4–18	7–15	9–13	4–18	7–15	6–16	13–9	—

Notable transactions

• September 28, 1949: Bill McCahan and $25,000 were traded by the Athletics to the Brooklyn Dodgers for Kermit Wahl.^[6]

Roster

1949 Philadelphia Athletics
Roster
Pitchers 19 Lou Brissie 20 Joe Coleman 25 Dick Fowler 17,11 Bubba Harris 36 Clem Hausmann 22 Alex Kellner 21 Phil Marchildon 23 Bill McCahan 24 Carl Scheib 30 Bobby Shantz 28,34 Jim Wilson		Catchers 9,14 Joe Astroth  9 Mike Guerra  8 Buddy Rosar Infielders 11,39 Hank Biasatti 16,31 Tod Davis  5 Ferris Fain 41,18 Nellie Fox  1 Eddie Joost  3 Hank Majeski 12 Pete Suder		Outfielders  4 Sam Chapman 11 Bobby Estalella 34 Augie Galan  2 Wally Moses 10 Elmer Valo 13,15 Don White  6 Taffy Wright		Manager -- Connie Mack Coaches 26 Earle Brucker, Sr. 35 Jimmy Dykes 29 Dave Keefe 27 Earle Mack 31 Les McCrabb 32 Al Simmons

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

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
White, DonDon White	57	169	36	.213	0	10
Davis, TodTod Davis	31	75	20	.267	1	6
Estalella, BobbyBobby Estalella	8	20	5	.250	0	3

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
Coleman, JoeJoe Coleman	33	240.1	13	14	3.86	109
Brissie, LouLou Brissie	34	229.1	16	11	4.28	118
Fowler, DickDick Fowler	31	213.1	15	11	3.75	43

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
McCahan, BillBill McCahan	7	20.2	1	1	2.61	3

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
Harris, BubbaBubba Harris	37	1	1	3	5.44	18

Farm system

Level	Team	League	Manager
A	Savannah Indians	Sally League	Frank Skaff
A	Lincoln Athletics	Western League	Jimmie DeShong
B	Martinsville Athletics	Carolina League	George Staller
C	Kewanee A's	Central Association	Harold Hoffman
C	Youngstown Athletics	Middle Atlantic League	Eddie Morgan
D	Welch Miners	Appalachian League	Bill Hoffner and Emil Kreshka
D	Tarboro Athletics	Coastal Plain League	Joe Antolick
D	Moultrie Athletics	Georgia–Florida League	Bill Peterman
D	Lexington Indians	North Carolina State League	Archie Templeton and Walt Van Grofski
D	Portsmouth A's	Ohio–Indiana League	Homer Lee Cox
D	Red Springs Red Robins	Tobacco State League	Red Norris

LEAGUE CHAMPIONS: Kewanee, Red Springs

References

1. Tod Davis at Baseball-Reference
2. Bob Savage at Baseball-Reference
3. Skeeter Kell at Baseball-Reference
4. Old A's Were Masters of the Double Play, by Norman L. Macht, Baseball Digest, December 1989, Vol. 48, No. 12, ISSN 0005-609X
5. "A Record with Legs: Most Double Plays Turned in a Season". philadelphiaathletics.org. Retrieved 23 January 2016.
6. Kermit Wahl at Baseball-Reference

External links

• 1949 Philadelphia Athletics team at Baseball-Reference
• 1949 Philadelphia Athletics team page at baseball-almanac.com