1954 Chicago Cubs season

1954 Chicago Cubs
Major League affiliations
National League (since 1876)
Location
Wrigley Field (since 1916)
Chicago (since 1870)
Other information
Owner(s)	Philip K. Wrigley
General manager(s)	Wid Matthews
Manager(s)	Stan Hack
Local television	WGN-TV (Jack Brickhouse, Harry Creighton)
Local radio	WIND (Bert Wilson, Bob Elson)
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The 1954 Chicago Cubs season was the 83rd season of the Chicago Cubs franchise, the 79th in the National League and the 39th at Wrigley Field. The Cubs finished seventh in the National League with a record of 64–90.

Offseason

• November 30, 1953: Carl Sawatski was selected off waivers from the Cubs by the Chicago White Sox.^[1]
• December 7, 1953: Catfish Metkovich was purchased from the Cubs by the Milwaukee Braves.^[2]

Regular season

Season standings

National League	W	L	GB	Pct.
New York Giants	97	57	--	.630
Brooklyn Dodgers	92	62	5	.597
Milwaukee Braves	89	65	8	.578
Philadelphia Phillies	75	79	22	.487
Cincinnati Redlegs	74	80	23	.481
St. Louis Cardinals	72	82	25	.468
Chicago Cubs	64	90	33	.416
Pittsburgh Pirates	53	101	44	.344

Record vs. opponents

1954 National League Records Sources:
Team	BR	CHC	CIN	MIL	NYG	PHI	PIT	STL
Brooklyn	—	15–7	16–6	10–12	9–13	13–9	15–7	14–8
Chicago	7–15	—	8–14	6–16	7–15	7–15	15–7	14–8
Cincinnati	6–16	14–8	—	10–12	7–15	14–8	15–7	8–14
Milwaukee	12–10	16–6	12–10	—	10–12	13–9	14–8	12–10
New York	13–9	15–7	15–7	12–10	—	16–6	14–8	12–10
Philadelphia	9–13	15–7	8–14	9–13	6–16	—	16–6	12–10
Pittsburgh	7–15	7–15	7–15	8–14	8–14	6–16	—	10–12
St. Louis	8–14	8–14	14–8	10–12	10–12	10–12	12–10	—

Notable transactions

• April 30, 1954: Steve Bilko was purchased by the Cubs from the St. Louis Cardinals for $12,500.^[3]
• June 8, 1954: Billy Muffett was purchased by the Cubs from the Shreveport Sports.^[4]
• June 14, 1954: Luis Márquez was traded by the Cubs to the Pittsburgh Pirates for Hal Rice.^[5]
• September 8, 1954: Joe Garagiola was selected off waivers from the Cubs by the New York Giants.^[6]

Roster

1954 Chicago Cubs
Roster
Pitchers 27 Jim Brosnan 23 Bubba Church 23,39 Dave Cole 22 Jim Davis 18 Warren Hacker 19 Hal Jeffcoat 36 Johnny Klippstein 31 Al Lary 35 Turk Lown 24 Paul Minner 16 Howie Pollet 34 John Pyecha 17 Bob Rush 33 Bill Tremel 28 Jim Willis 38 Bob Zick		Catchers 25 Walker Cooper 48 Jim Fanning 11 Joe Garagiola  8 Clyde McCullough 55 El Tappe Infielders 37 Gene Baker 14 Ernie Banks 39,49 Steve Bilko 40 Dee Fondy  2 Randy Jackson 12 Chris Kitsos 21 Eddie Miksis 30 Vern Morgan  1 Bill Serena		Outfielders  7 Frank Baumholtz  4 Ralph Kiner 48 Luis Márquez 28 Hal Rice 52 Don Robertson  9 Hank Sauer 10 Bob Talbot Other batters  5 Bruce Edwards		Manager  6 Stan Hack Coaches 41 Ray Blades 20 Dutch Leonard 46 Bob Scheffing

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	Garagiola, JoeJoe Garagiola	63	153	43	.281	5	21
3B	Jackson, RandyRandy Jackson	126	484	132	.273	19	67

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
Bilko, SteveSteve Bilko	47	92	22	.239	4	12
Rice, HalHal Rice	51	72	11	.153	0	5
Márquez, LuisLuis Márquez	17	12	1	.083	0	0
Edwards, BruceBruce Edwards	4	3	0	.000	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
Rush, BobBob Rush	33	236.1	13	15	3.77	124
Cole, DaveDave Cole	18	84	3	8	5.36	37

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
Hacker, WarrenWarren Hacker	39	158.2	6	13	4.25	80
Klippstein, JohnnyJohnny Klippstein	36	148	4	11	5.29	69
Davis, JimJim Davis	46	127.2	11	7	3.52	58
Church, BubbaBubba Church	7	14.2	1	3	9.82	8

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
Jeffcoat, HalHal Jeffcoat	43	5	6	7	5.19	35
Brosnan, JimJim Brosnan	18	1	0	0	9.45	17

Farm system

Level	Team	League	Manager
Open	Los Angeles Angels	Pacific Coast League	Bill Sweeney
AA	Beaumont Exporters	Texas League	Les Fleming and Mickey Livingston
A	Macon Peaches	Sally League	Nick Cullop
A	Des Moines Bruins	Western League	Les Peden
B	Cedar Rapids Indians	Illinois–Indiana–Iowa League	Bill Prince
C	Stockton Ports	California League	Gene Handley
C	Magic Valley Cowboys	Pioneer League	Everett Robinson
C	Blackwell Broncos	Western Association	Joe Consoli and Al Kubski
D	Gainesville Owls	Sooner State League	Dick Rigazio
D	Hickory Rebels	Tar Heel League	Charles Teague

LEAGUE CHAMPIONS: Des Moines, Blackwell

Tar Heel League disbanded, June 21, 1954

Notes

1. Carl Sawatski at Baseball Reference
2. Catfish Metkovich at Baseball Reference
3. Steve Bilko at Baseball Reference
4. Billy Muffett at Baseball Reference
5. Hal Rice at Baseball Reference
6. Joe Garagiola at Baseball Reference

References

• Johnson, Lloyd; Wolff, Miles, eds. (1997). The Encyclopedia of Minor League Baseball (2nd ed.). Durham, North Carolina: Baseball America. ISBN 978-0-9637189-8-3.
• 1954 Chicago Cubs season at Baseball Reference