1952 Philadelphia Athletics season

1952 Philadelphia Athletics
Major League affiliations
American League (since 1901)
Location
Shibe Park (since 1909)
Philadelphia (since 1901)
Other information
Owner(s)	Earle Mack & Roy Mack
General manager(s)	Arthur Ehlers
Manager(s)	Jimmy Dykes
Local television	WPTZ/WCAU/WFIL (By Saam, Claude Haring)
Local radio	WIBG (By Saam, Claude Haring, George Walsh)
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The 1952 Philadelphia Athletics season saw the A's finish fourth in the American League with a record of 79 wins and 75 losses. They finished 16 games behind the eventual World Champion New York Yankees. The Athletics' 1952 campaign would be their final winning season in Philadelphia; it would also be their only winning season of the 1950s. Indeed, the Athletics would have to wait until 1968, their first season in Oakland, for their next winning record.

Offseason

• January 21, 1952: Wally Moses was released by the Athletics.^[1]

Regular season

The Athletics improved 9 games from their 70–84 record in 1951 and improved to 4th in the American League. A Most Valuable Player season was turned in by left-handed pitcher Bobby Shantz and the A.L. batting championship was won by Ferris Fain with a .320 batting average.

Gus Zernial hit 29 home runs and drove in 100 RBI while Eddie Joost chipped in 20 HRS and 75 RBI. However, outside Bobby Shantz, who went 24–7, their best pitcher record-wise was Harry Byrd, with a 15–15 record. They finished 16 games behind the New York Yankees. This would also be the last time that the Athletics would finish with a winning record until 1968, when the team began playing in Oakland.

Season standings

American League	W	L	Pct.	GB
New York Yankees	95	59	.617	--
Cleveland Indians	93	61	.604	2
Chicago White Sox	81	73	.526	14
Philadelphia Athletics	79	75	.513	16
Washington Senators	78	76	.506	17
Boston Red Sox	76	78	.494	19
St. Louis Browns	64	90	.416	31
Detroit Tigers	50	104	.325	45

Record vs. opponents

1952 American League Records Sources:
Team	BOS	CWS	CLE	DET	NYY	PHI	STL	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	—

Notable transactions

• May 10, 1952: Marion Fricano was purchased by the Athletics from the Brooklyn Dodgers.^[2]

Roster

1952 Philadelphia Athletics
Roster
Pitchers 38 Charlie Bishop 38 Harry Byrd 25 Dick Fowler 37 Marion Fricano 23 Bob Hooper 18 Tex Hoyle 22 Alex Kellner 21 Walt Kellner 37 Johnny Kucab 26 Morrie Martin 36 Len Matarazzo 20 Bobo Newsom 24 Carl Scheib 30 Bobby Shantz 34 Ed Wright 21 Sam Zoldak		Catchers  9 Joe Astroth 14 Ray Murray 15 Joe Tipton Infielders  3 Hal Bevan  8 Ferris Fain  4 Tom Hamilton 11 Billy Hitchcock  1 Eddie Joost  2 Skeeter Kell 16 Jack Littrell  5 Hank Majeski  5 Cass Michaels 16 Sherry Robertson 12 Pete Suder		Outfielders  7 Allie Clark 17 Dave Philley  6 Kite Thomas 10 Elmer Valo 19 Gus Zernial		Manager 35 Jimmy Dykes Coaches 32 Chief Bender 33 Bing Miller 28 Wally Moses 29 Tom Oliver

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
1B	Fain, FerrisFerris Fain	145	538	176	.327	2	59
2B	Kell, SkeeterSkeeter Kell	75	213	47	.221	0	17
SS	Joost, EddieEddie Joost	146	540	132	.244	20	75
OF	Zernial, GusGus Zernial	145	549	144	.262	29	100

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
Hamilton, TomTom Hamilton	9	10	2	.200	0	1

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
Shantz, BobbyBobby Shantz	33	279.2	24	7	2.48	152
Byrd, HarryHarry Byrd	37	228.1	15	15	3.31	116
Bishop, CharlieCharlie Bishop	6	30.2	2	2	6.46	17

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

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
Fowler, DickDick Fowler	18	1	2	0	6.44	14
Fricano, MarionMarion Fricano	2	0	0	0	1.80	0

Awards and honors

• Bobby Shantz, American League MVP

Farm system

Level	Team	League	Manager
AAA	Ottawa Athletics	International League	Frank Skaff
A	Savannah Indians	Sally League	George Staller
A	Lincoln Athletics	Western League	Les Bell
B	Fayetteville Athletics	Carolina League	Ducky Detweiler and Red Norris
B	Harrisburg Senators	Interstate League	Buck Etchison and Woody Wheaton
C	St. Hyacinthe A's	Provincial League	John Sosh
D	Cordele A's	Georgia–Florida League	Norm Wilson
D	Lexington Indians	North Carolina State League	Bob Deese, Ducky Detweiler, Carl Campbell and Cliff Bolton
D	Corning Athletics	PONY League	Joe Rullo

References

1. Wally Moses page at Baseball Reference
2. Marion Fricano page at Baseball Reference

External links

• 1952 Philadelphia Athletics team page at Baseball Reference
• 1952 Philadelphia Athletics team page at www.baseball-almanac.com