1956 Pittsburgh Pirates season

1956 Pittsburgh Pirates
Major League affiliations
National League (since 1887)
Location
Forbes Field (since 1909)
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania[1] (since 1907)
Other information
Owner(s)	John W. Galbreath (majority shareholder); Bing Crosby, Thomas Johnson, Branch Rickey (minority shareholders)
General manager(s)	Joe L. Brown
Manager(s)	Bobby Bragan
Local television	none
Local radio	KDKA Bob Prince, Dick Bingham
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The 1956 Pittsburgh Pirates season was the 75th season of the Pittsburgh Pirates franchise; the 70th in the National League. The Pirates finished seventh in the league standings with a record of 66–88.

Regular season

Season standings

National League	W	L	GB	Pct.
Brooklyn Dodgers	93	61	--	.604
Milwaukee Braves	92	62	1	.597
Cincinnati Redlegs	91	63	2	.591
St. Louis Cardinals	76	78	17	.494
Philadelphia Phillies	71	83	22	.461
New York Giants	67	87	26	.435
Pittsburgh Pirates	66	88	27	.429
Chicago Cubs	60	94	33	.390

Record vs. opponents

1956 National League Records Sources:
Team	BR	CHC	CIN	MIL	NYG	PHI	PIT	STL
Brooklyn	—	16–6	11–11	10–12	14–8	13–9	13–9	16–6
Chicago	6–16	—	6–16–1	9–13	7–15	13–9	10–12–1	9–13–1
Cincinnati	11–11	16–6–1	—	9–13	14–8	11–11	17–5	13–9
Milwaukee	12–10	13–9	13–9	—	17–5	10–12	14–8–1	13–9
New York	8–14	15–7	8–14	5–17	—	11–11	13–9	7–15
Philadelphia	9–13	9–13	11–11	12–10	11–11	—	7–15	12–10
Pittsburgh	9–13	12–10–1	5–17	8–14–1	9–13	15–7	—	8–14–1
St. Louis	6–16	13–9–1	9–13	9–13	15–7	10–12	14–8–1	—

Notable transactions

• May 17, 1956: Dick Littlefield and Bobby Del Greco were traded by the Pirates to the St. Louis Cardinals for Bill Virdon.^[2]
• May 28, 1956: Toby Atwell was traded by the Pirates to the St. Louis Cardinals for cash and a player to be named later. The Cardinals completed the deal by sending Dick Rand to the Pirates on October 14.^[3]

Roster

1956 Pittsburgh Pirates
Roster
Pitchers 36 Luis Arroyo 45 Lino Donoso 26 Roy Face 19 Bob Friend 25,37 Bob Garber 30 Dick Hall 29 Nellie King 22 Ron Kline 32 Vern Law 27 Dick Littlefield 25 Jack McMahan 20 Red Munger 27 Cholly Naranjo 23 Laurin Pepper 11 Howie Pollet 34 Bob Purkey 35 Max Surkont 17 Red Swanson 35,36 Fred Waters		Catchers 11 Toby Atwell 38 Hank Foiles 31 Bill Hall 17 Danny Kravitz 10 Jack Shepard Infielders 12 Dick Cole  8 Gene Freese 24 Dick Groat  9 Spook Jacobs  3 Dale Long  9 Bill Mazeroski  7 Eddie O'Brien  6 Johnny O'Brien  9 Curt Roberts 15 Frank Thomas  5 Preston Ward		Outfielders 21 Roberto Clemente 18 Bobby Del Greco 14 Jerry Lynch 14 Johnny Powers  4 Bob Skinner 18 Bill Virdon 16 Lee Walls		Manager  2 Bobby Bragan Coaches 40 Danny Murtaugh 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
3B	Thomas, FrankFrank Thomas	157	588	166	.282	25	80
CF	Virdon, BillBill Virdon	133	509	170	.334	8	37

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
Del Greco, BobbyBobby Del Greco	14	20	4	.200	2	3
Atwell, TobyToby Atwell	12	18	2	.111	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

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
Littlefield, DickDick Littlefield	6	12.2	0	0	4.26	10

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
Face, RoyRoy Face	68	12	13	6	3.52	96
Arroyo, LuisLuis Arroyo	18	3	3	0	4.71	17
Swanson, RedRed Swanson	9	0	0	0	10.03	5
Donoso, LinoLino Donoso	3	0	0	0	0.00	1

Farm system

Level	Team	League	Manager
Open	Hollywood Stars	Pacific Coast League	Clay Hopper
AA	New Orleans Pelicans	Southern Association	Andy Cohen
A	Williamsport Grays	Eastern League	John Fitzpatrick
A	Lincoln Chiefs	Western League	Larry Shepard
B	Waco Pirates	Big State League	Monty Basgall
B	Kinston Eagles	Carolina League	Jack Paepke and Tex Taylor
C	Douglas Copper Kings	Arizona–Mexico League	Jerry Gardner
C	Grand Forks Chiefs	Northern League	Al Kubski
C	Billings Mustangs	Pioneer League	Buck Elliott
D	Dublin Irish	Georgia State League	Robert Clark, Wilbur Caldwell and Wayne Wallace
D	Brunswick Pirates	Georgia–Florida League	Frank Oceak
D	Clinton Pirates	Midwest League	Stan Wentzel

LEAGUE CHAMPIONS: Lincoln

Notes

1. From 1882–1906, the team played in Allegheny, Pennsylvania, which became annexed by Pittsburgh as the North Shore in 1907.
2. Bill Virdon at Baseball Reference
3. Dick Rand at Baseball Reference

References

• 1956 Pittsburgh Pirates at Baseball Reference
• 1956 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.