1955 Major League Baseball season
{{Use mdy dates|date=February 2024}}
{{MLBseason|year=1955}}
{{Infobox sports season
| title = 1955 MLB season
| league = American League (AL)
National League (NL)
| sport = Baseball
| duration = Regular season:{{Bulleted list
| {{nowrap|April 11 – September 25, 1955}}}}World Series:{{Bulleted list
| {{nowrap|September 28 – October 4, 1955}}}}
| no_of_games = 154
| no_of_teams = 16 (8 per league)
| season = Regular season
| season_champs =
| MVP = AL: Yogi Berra (NYY)
NL: Roy Campanella (BKN)
| MVP_link = Major League Baseball Most Valuable Player Award
| conf1 = AL
| conf1_link =
| conf1_champ = New York Yankees
| conf1_runner-up = Cleveland Indians
| conf2 = NL
| conf2_link =
| conf2_champ = Brooklyn Dodgers
| conf2_runner-up = Milwaukee Braves
| finals = World Series
| finals_link = 1955 World Series
| finals_champ = Brooklyn Dodgers
| finals_runner-up = New York Yankees
| World_Series_MVP = Johnny Podres (BKN)
| World_Series_MVP_link = World Series Most Valuable Player Award
| seasonslist = List of MLB seasons
| seasonslistnames = MLB
| prevseason_link = 1954 Major League Baseball season
| prevseason_year = 1954
| nextseason_link = 1956 Major League Baseball season
| nextseason_year = 1956
}}
{{MLB Team Maps (1955–1957)}}
File:Kansas_City_Municipal_Stadium_1955.jpg first game in Municipal Stadium, 1955.]]
The 1955 major league baseball season began on April 11, 1955. The regular season ended on September 25, with the Brooklyn Dodgers and New York Yankees as the regular season champions of the National League and American League, respectively. The postseason began with Game 1 of the 52nd World Series on September 28 and ended with Game 7 on October 4. In the sixth iteration of this Subway Series World Series matchup, The Dodgers defeated the Yankees, four games to three, capturing their first championship in franchise history. This was the first World Series between the two teams to see the Dodgers win over the Yankees. Going into the season, the defending World Series champions were the New York Giants from the {{mlby|1954}} season.
The 22nd Major League Baseball All-Star Game was held on July 12 at Milwaukee County Stadium in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, home of the Milwaukee Braves. The National League won, 6–5.
In a continuation of the relocation trend that began in {{mlby|1953}}, a team moved for the third consecutive year.
The Athletics moved from Philadelphia to Kansas City, Missouri, leaving Philadelphia as a one-team city.
On April 14, the New York Yankees became the 13th team to break baseball’s color line when they called up Elston Howard.{{Cite web |title=These players integrated each MLB team |url=https://www.mlb.com/news/players-who-broke-color-barrier-for-every-team |access-date=2024-11-14 |website=MLB.com |language=en}}
Schedule
{{See also|Major League Baseball schedule}}
The 1955 schedule consisted of 154 games for all teams in the American League and National League, each of which had eight teams. Each team was scheduled to play 22 games against the other seven teams of their respective league. This continued the format put in place since the {{mlby|1904}} season (except for {{mlby|1919}}) and would be used until {{mlby|1961}} in the American League and {{mlby|1962}} in the National League.
Opening Day took place on April 11, featuring four teams. The final day of the regular season was on September 25, which saw all sixteen teams play, the first time since {{mlby|1953}}. The World Series took place between September 28 and October 4.
Teams
| class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center;"
! scope="col" |League ! scope="col" |Team ! scope="col" |City ! scope="col" |Stadium ! scope="col" |Capacity ! scope="col" |Manager{{Cite web |title=1955 Major League Managers |url=https://www.baseball-reference.com/leagues/majors/1955-managers.shtml |access-date=2025-02-05 |website=Baseball-Reference.com |language=en}} |
| rowspan="8" style="{{Baseball primary style|American League}};" |{{Baseball secondary link|American League|American League}}
! scope="row" |Baltimore Orioles |47,866 |{{sortname|Paul|Richards|dab=baseball}} |
|---|
| scope="row" |Boston Red Sox
|34,824 |{{sortname|Pinky|Higgins}} |
| scope="row" |Chicago White Sox
|46,550 |{{sortname|Marty|Marion}} |
| scope="row" |Cleveland Indians
|73,811 |{{sortname|Al|López}} |
| scope="row" |Detroit Tigers
|58,000 |{{sortname|Bucky|Harris}} |
| scope="row" |Kansas City Athletics
|30,296 |{{sortname|Lou|Boudreau}} |
| scope="row" |New York Yankees
|67,000 |{{sortname|Casey|Stengel}} |
| scope="row" |Washington Senators
|29,023 |{{sortname|Chuck|Dressen}} |
| rowspan="9" style="{{Baseball primary style|National League}};" |{{Baseball secondary link|National League|National League (baseball)|National League}}
! scope="row" |Brooklyn Dodgers |31,902 |{{sortname|Walter|Alston}} |
| scope="row" |Chicago Cubs
|36,755 |{{sortname|Stan|Hack}} |
| scope="row" |Cincinnati Redlegs
|29,439 |{{sortname|Birdie|Tebbetts}} |
| scope="row" |Milwaukee Braves
|44,091 |{{sortname|Charlie|Grimm}} |
| scope="row" |New York Giants
|54,500 |{{sortname|Leo|Durocher}} |
| scope="row" |Philadelphia Phillies
|33,166 |{{sortname|Mayo|Smith}} |
| scope="row" |Pittsburgh Pirates
|34,249 |{{sortname|Fred|Haney}} |
| rowspan="2" scope="row" |St. Louis Cardinals
| rowspan="2" |St. Louis, Missouri | rowspan="2" |Busch Stadium | rowspan="2" |30,500 |{{sortname|Eddie|Stanky}} |
| {{sortname|Harry|Walker}} |
Standings
{{Flexbox wrap|start}}
=American League=
{{1955 American League standings|highlight=New York Yankees}}
{{Flexbox wrap|break}}
=National League=
{{1955 National League standings|highlight=Brooklyn Dodgers}}
{{Flexbox wrap|end}}
Postseason
The postseason began on September 28 and ended on October 4 with the Brooklyn Dodgers defeating the New York Yankees in the 1955 World Series in seven games.
=Bracket=
{{2TeamBracket
| RD1=World Series
| RD1-seed1=AL
| RD1-team1=New York Yankees
| RD1-score1=3
| RD1-seed2=NL
| RD1-team2=Brooklyn Dodgers
| RD1-score2=4
}}
Managerial changes
=Off-season=
| class="wikitable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center;" |
| Team
! Former Manager ! New Manager |
|---|
| scope="row" style="text-align:center;" |Baltimore Orioles |
| scope="row" style="text-align:center;" |Boston Red Sox |
| scope="row" style="text-align:center;" |Detroit Tigers |
| scope="row" style="text-align:center;" |Kansas City Athletics |
| scope="row" style="text-align:center;" |Philadelphia Phillies |
| scope="row" style="text-align:center;" |Washington Senators |
=In-season=
| class="wikitable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center;" |
| Team
! Former Manager ! New Manager |
|---|
| scope="row" style="text-align:center;" |St. Louis Cardinals |
League leaders
=American League=
{{Flexbox wrap|start}}
| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;" |
| style="width:15%;"| Stat
! Player ! style="width:15%;"| Total |
|---|
| AVG
| .340 |
| OPS
| Mickey Mantle (NYY) | 1.042 |
| HR
| Mickey Mantle (NYY) | 37 |
| RBI
| Ray Boone (DET) | 116 |
| R
| 123 |
| H
| 200 |
| SB
| Jim Rivera (CWS) | 25 |
{{Flexbox wrap|break}}
| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;" |
| style="width:15%;"| Stat
! Player ! style="width:15%;"| Total |
|---|
| W
| Whitey Ford (NYY) | 18 |
| L
| Jim Wilson (BAL) | 18 |
| ERA
| Billy Pierce (CWS) | 1.97 |
| K
| Herb Score (CLE) | 245 |
| IP
| Frank Sullivan (BOS) | 260.0 |
| SV
| Ray Narleski (CLE) | 19 |
| WHIP
| Billy Pierce (CWS) | 1.099 |
{{Flexbox wrap|end}}
=National League=
{{Flexbox wrap|start}}
| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;" |
| style="width:15%;"| Stat
! Player ! style="width:15%;"| Total |
|---|
| AVG
| Richie Ashburn (PHI) | .338 |
| OPS
| Willie Mays (NYG) | 1.059 |
| HR
| Willie Mays (NYG) | 51 |
| RBI
| Duke Snider (BKN) | 136 |
| R
| Duke Snider (BKN) | 126 |
| H
| Ted Kluszewski (CIN) | 192 |
| SB
| Bill Bruton (MIL) | 25 |
{{Flexbox wrap|break}}
| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;" |
| style="width:15%;"| Stat
! Player ! style="width:15%;"| Total |
|---|
| W
| Robin Roberts (PHI) | 23 |
| L
| 20 |
| ERA
| Bob Friend (PIT) | 2.83 |
| K
| 198 |
| IP
| Robin Roberts (PHI) | 305.0 |
| SV
| Jack Meyer (PHI) | 16 |
| WHIP
| Don Newcombe (BKN) | 1.113 |
{{Flexbox wrap|end}}
Awards and honors
=Regular season=
| class="wikitable" |
| colspan="3"|Baseball Writers' Association of America Awards |
|---|
| BBWAA Award
!National League !American League |
| Rookie of the Year
| Bill Virdon (STL) | Herb Score (CLE) |
| Most Valuable Player
| Roy Campanella (BKN) | Yogi Berra (NYY) |
| Babe Ruth Award (World Series MVP) | Johnny Podres (BKN) | — |
=Other awards=
=Baseball Hall of Fame=
{{main|National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum}}
{{further|1955 Baseball Hall of Fame balloting}}
Home field attendance
Television coverage
The Game of the Week moved from ABC to CBS{{cite book|title=Center field shot: a history of baseball on television|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=6kPQhpS-X8YC&q=Major+League+Baseball+on+ABC&pg=PA103|first1=James R.|last1=Walker|first2=Robert V.|last2=Bellamy|publisher=University of Nebraska Press|page=103|year=2008|isbn= 978-0803248250}} (the rights were actually set up through the Falstaff Brewing Corporation{{cite web |url=http://a-falstaff-collector.com/Media%20ads/falstaffnewspapb.html|title=Falstaff Newspaper Ads 1950-60's|website=A Falstaff Collector}}{{cite news|title=SPORTS BRIEFS|newspaper=Los Angeles Times|page=B3|date=March 6, 1954}}{{cite web|url=http://www.tvradiomovies.com/wp-content/themes/raindrops/images/011615pic8.jpg|title=TV Radio Movies 1/16/15|last1=Sieler|first1=Pete|date=May 8, 2015|website=TRM – TVRadioMovies.com|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150518094409/http://www.tvradiomovies.com/wp-content/themes/raindrops/images/011615pic8.jpg|archive-date=May 18, 2015|url-status=dead}}).
The All-Star Game and World Series aired on NBC.
See also
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
- [https://www.baseball-reference.com/leagues/MLB/1955-schedule.shtml 1955 Major League Baseball season schedule]
{{1955 MLB season by team}}
{{MLB seasons}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:1955 Major League Baseball Season}}