1955 Pittsburgh Pirates season

1955 Pittsburgh Pirates
Major League affiliations
National League (since 1887)
Location
Forbes Field (since 1909)
Pittsburgh[1] (since 1907)
Other information
Owner(s)	John W. Galbreath (majority shareholder); Bing Crosby, Thomas Johnson, Branch Rickey (minority shareholders)
General manager(s)	Branch Rickey
Manager(s)	Fred Haney
Local television	none
Local radio	KDKA Bob Prince, Dick Bingham
< Previous season     Next season  >

The 1955 Pittsburgh Pirates season was the 74th season of the Pittsburgh Pirates franchise; the 69th in the National League. The Pirates finished eighth and last in the league standings with a record of 60–94.

Offseason

• Prior to 1955 season: Ellis Burton was signed as an amateur free agent by the Pirates.^[2]

Regular season

Season standings

National League	W	L	GB	Pct.
Brooklyn Dodgers	98	55	--	.641
Milwaukee Braves	85	69	13.5	.552
New York Giants	80	74	18.5	.519
Philadelphia Phillies	77	77	21.5	.500
Cincinnati Redlegs	75	79	23.5	.487
Chicago Cubs	72	81	26	.471
St. Louis Cardinals	68	86	30.5	.442
Pittsburgh Pirates	60	94	38.5	.390

Record vs. opponents

1955 National League Records Sources:
Team	BR	CHC	CIN	MIL	NYG	PHI	PIT	STL
Brooklyn	—	14–7–1	12–10	15–7	13–9	16–6	14–8	14–8
Chicago	7–14–1	—	11–11	7–15	12–10	10–12	11–11	14–8
Cincinnati	10–12	11–11	—	9–13	9–13	11–11	14–8	11–11
Milwaukee	7–15	15–7	13–9	—	14–8	14–8	11–11	11–11
New York	9–13	10–12	13–9	8–14	—	10–12	17–5	13–9
Philadelphia	6–16	12–10	11–11	8–14	12–10	—	15–7	13–9
Pittsburgh	8–14	11–11	8–14	11–11	5–17	7–15	—	10–12
St. Louis	8–14	8–14	11–11	11–11	9–13	9–13	12–10	—

Notable transactions

• August 27, 1955: Red Swanson was signed as an amateur free agent (bonus baby) by the Pirates.^[3]

Roster

1955 Pittsburgh Pirates
Roster
Pitchers 20,57 Bill Bell 31 Roger Bowman 31 Lino Donoso 26 Roy Face 19 Bob Friend 37 Al Grunwald 30 Dick Hall 30 Nellie King 22 Ron Kline 32 Vern Law 27 Dick Littlefield 28 Paul Martin 23 Laurin Pepper 34 Bob Purkey 35 Max Surkont 20 Red Swanson 39 Jake Thies 28 Ben Wade 34 Fred Waters		Catchers 11 Toby Atwell  9 Nick Koback 17 Hardy Peterson 10 Jack Shepard Infielders 12 Dick Cole  8 Gene Freese  3 George Freese  4 Sid Gordon 24 Dick Groat 29 Dale Long  6 Johnny O'Brien  7 Curt Roberts  6 Dick Smith  5 Preston Ward		Outfielders 13,21 Roberto Clemente 18 Jerry Lynch 25 Román Mejías 14 Felipe Montemayor  7 Eddie O'Brien 14 Johnny Powers 16 Tom Saffell 21 Earl Smith 15 Frank Thomas		Manager  2 Fred Haney Coaches 40 John Fitzpatrick 43 Sam Narron 41 Clyde Sukeforth

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	Shepard, JackJack Shepard	94	264	63	.239	2	23
LF	Thomas, FrankFrank Thomas	142	510	125	.245	25	72
CF	O'Brien, EddieEddie O'Brien	75	236	55	.233	0	8

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
Cole, DickDick Cole	77	239	54	.226	0	21
Peterson, HardyHardy Peterson	32	81	20	.247	1	10
Smith, EarlEarl Smith	5	16	1	.063	0	0
Smith, DickDick Smith	4	0	0	----	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

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
Friend, BobBob Friend	44	200.1	14	9	2.83	98
Face, RoyRoy Face	42	125.2	5	7	3.58	84
Donoso, LinoLino Donoso	25	95	4	6	5.31	38
Bowman, RogerRoger Bowman	7	16.2	0	3	8.64	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
Grunwald, AlAl Grunwald	3	0	0	0	4.70	2
Swanson, RedRed Swanson	1	0	0	0	18.00	0
Bell, BillBill Bell	1	0	0	0	0.00	0

Awards and honors

All-Star Game

• Frank Thomas, reserve^[4]

Farm system

Level	Team	League	Manager
Open	Hollywood Stars	Pacific Coast League	Bobby Bragan
AA	New Orleans Pelicans	Southern Association	Andy Cohen
A	Williamsport Grays	Eastern League	Larry Shepard
A	Lincoln Chiefs	Western League	Bill Burwell
B	Waco Pirates	Big State League	Stan Wentzel
B	Burlington-Graham Pirates	Carolina League	Larry Dorton
C	Phoenix Stars	Arizona–Mexico League	Jerry Gardner
C	Salinas Packers	California League	Buck Elliott and Jack Paepke
C	Billings Mustangs	Pioneer League	Jack Paepke and Buck Elliott
C	St. Jean Canadiens	Provincial League	Steve Mizerak and Fred Luciano
D	Dublin Irish	Georgia State League	George Kinnamon
D	Brunswick Pirates	Georgia–Florida League	Frank Oceak
D	Clinton Pirates	Mississippi–Ohio Valley League	Robert Clark

LEAGUE CO-CHAMPIONS: Brunswick

Notes

1. From 1882–1906, the team played in Allegheny, Pennsylvania, which became annexed by Pittsburgh as the North Shore in 1907.
2. Ellis Burton at Baseball-Reference
3. Red Swanson at Baseball-Reference
4. http://baseball-almanac.com/asgbox/yr1955as.shtml

References

• 1955 Pittsburgh Pirates at Baseball Reference
• 1955 Pittsburgh Pirates at Baseball Almanac
• 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.