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1956 Baltimore Orioles Season
The 1956 Baltimore Orioles season involved the Orioles finishing 6th in the American League with a record of 69 wins and 85 losses. Offseason * October 10, 1955: Ed Lopat was released by the Orioles. Regular season * September 20, 1956: Catcher Tom Gastall was killed in a plane crash. * September 30, 1956: Joe Frazier hit a home run in the last at bat of his career. Season standings Record vs. opponents Notable transactions * May 14, 1956: Billy Loes was purchased by the Orioles from the Brooklyn Dodgers for $20,000. * May 21, 1956: Dave Philley and Jim Wilson were traded by the Orioles to the Chicago White Sox for Mike Fornieles, Connie Johnson, George Kell and Bob Nieman. * July 13, 1956: Morrie Martin was selected off waivers by the Orioles from the Chicago White Sox. * August 17, 1956: Hal Smith was traded by the Orioles to the Kansas City Athletics for Joe Ginsberg Myron Nathan "Joe" Ginsberg (October 11, 1926 – November 2, 2012) was an American profess ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Memorial Stadium (Baltimore)
Memorial Stadium was a multi-purpose stadium in Baltimore, Maryland, that formerly stood on 33rd Street (aka 33rd Street Boulevard, renamed "Babe Ruth Plaza") on an oversized block (officially designated as Venable Park, a former city park from the 1920s) also bounded by Ellerslie Avenue (west), 36th Street (north), and Ednor Road (east). Two stadiums were located here, a 1922 version known as Baltimore Stadium or Municipal Stadium, or sometimes Venable Stadium, and, for a time, Babe Ruth Stadium in reference to the then-recently deceased Baltimore native. The rebuilt multi-sport stadium, when reconstruction (expansion to an upper deck) was completed in the middle of 1954, would become known as Memorial Stadium. The stadium was also known as The Old Gray Lady of 33rd Street, and also (for Colts games) as The World's Largest Outdoor Insane Asylum. Teams hosted This pair of structures hosted the following teams: Baseball *Baltimore Orioles, International League, mid-season 1944– ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Dave Philley
David Earl Philley (May 16, 1920 – March 15, 2012) was an outfielder who played in Major League Baseball. A switch hitter who threw right-handed, he debuted on September 6, and played his final game on August 6, . He was born in Paris, Texas. Philley played for eight different teams in a long, 18-season career. He led American League outfielders in assists three different years (, , ) and once in outs (1950). Philley reached the majors in 1941 with the Chicago White Sox. He spent four years as a military policeman during World War II, rejoining the White Sox in 1946 and playing 17 games for them that year. Philley was with the White Sox for five-and-a-half years before moving to the Philadelphia Athletics early in the 1951 season. After playing for Philadelphia in the 1951 through 1953 seasons, he next played for the Cleveland Indians in 1954. He was acquired by the Baltimore Orioles during the 1955 season and finished the year with a .299 batting average, leading the Or ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Babe Birrer
Werner Joseph Birrer (July 4, 1928 – November 19, 2013) was an American pitcher in Major League Baseball. Listed at 6' 0", 195 lb., Birrer batted and threw right handed. He was born in Buffalo, New York. Graduated from Kensington High School (New York), Kensington High School in Buffalo, New York (1947). Signed by Detroit Tigers Scout "Cy" Williams, not the ball player in 1947. Birrer pitched for the Detroit Tigers, Baltimore Orioles and Los Angeles Dodgers in all or parts of three seasons spanning 1955–1958. He posted a combined record of 4–3 and a 4.36 earned run average (ERA) in 56 pitching appearances, including three starting pitcher, starts, one complete game and four save (baseball), saves, giving up 39 runs (37 earned) on 129 hits and 29 base on balls, while strikeout, striking out 28 in 119 innings of work. His career highlight came on July 19, 1955, at Briggs Stadium, when he belted two three-run home runs off George Zuverink and Art Schallock, while pitchi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Fred Besana (baseball)
Frederick Cyril "Fred" Besana (April 5, 1931 – November 7, 2015) was a Major League Baseball pitcher who played for the Baltimore Orioles in 1956. He also played in the minor leagues for eight seasons. Besana made his Major League debut on April 18, 1956, at the age of 25. In his first appearance, he pitched two innings, allowing two walks while striking out one batter ( Don Buddin) and allowing no runs to score. In total, he appeared in seven games in his sole big league season and posted a 1–0 record with a 5.60 ERA. On April 22, he made the first of two career starts, picking up the victory against the Washington Senators. He appeared in his final big league game on May 13. Besana pitched in the minor leagues in 1950, from 1954 to 1959 and in 1960. In his first professional season, he won 18 games for the Sweetwater Swatters and Albuquerque Dukes, despite posting a 5.14 ERA. With the Vancouver Mounties in 1959, he posted a 2.77 ERA in 32 games. Overall, Besana went 58–6 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Charlie Beamon
Charles Alfonzo Beamon (December 25, 1934 – May 3, 2016) was a pitcher in Major League Baseball who played for the Baltimore Orioles from to . Listed at 5' 11", 195 lb., he batted and threw right handed. Beamon was born in Oakland, California, where he graduated from McClymonds High School. He made his debut with the Orioles in September 1956, pitching a four-hit, 1–0 shutout against the New York Yankees at Memorial Stadium. He did strike out nine batters in the process, including Billy Martin three times. Beamon played from 1953 through 1961 for eight different teams in nine Minor League seasons, going 89–69 with a 3.76 ERA in 226 pitching appearances. Charlie Metro was his manager on the 1957-1959 Vancouver Mounties and had this to say about him: "He had to be, in my assessment, one of the finest pitching athletes I've had. I've had quite a few that I could put in that category. Charlie Beamon could do everything. He was strong as an ox. He could run, and he could ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Joe Ginsberg
Myron Nathan "Joe" Ginsberg (October 11, 1926 – November 2, 2012) was an American professional baseball player. A catcher, he played for seven Major League Baseball teams: the Detroit Tigers (1948 and 1950–53), Cleveland Indians (1953–54), Kansas City Athletics (1956), Baltimore Orioles (1956–60), Chicago White Sox (1960–61), Boston Red Sox (1961) and New York Mets (1962). Early life Ginsberg was Jewish. He was born in Manhattan, and attended Cooley High School in Detroit, Michigan. Baseball career Ginsberg batted left-handed, threw right-handed, and was listed as tall and . In his 13 MLB seasons he played in 695 games (520 of them for the Tigers and Orioles), and had 1,716 at bats, 168 runs, 414 hits, 59 doubles, eight triples, 20 home runs, 182 RBIs, seven stolen bases, 226 walks, a .241 batting average, .332 on-base percentage, 17 sacrifice hits, 13 sacrifice flies and nine intentional walks. As a Tiger, Ginsberg caught the first of Virgil Trucks' two no-hitters on ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kansas City Athletics
The history of the Athletics Major League Baseball franchise spans the period from 1901 to the present day, having begun as a charter member franchise in the new American League in Philadelphia before moving to Kansas City in 1955 for 13 seasons and then to its current home on the San Francisco Bay in Oakland, California, in 1968. Philadelphia (1901–1954) Kansas City (1955–1967) The Johnson era In 1954, Chicago real estate magnate Arnold Johnson bought the Philadelphia Athletics and moved them to Kansas City, Missouri. Although he was initially viewed as a hero for making Kansas City a major-league town, it soon became apparent that he was motivated more by profit than any particular regard for the baseball fans of Kansas City. He had long been a business associate of New York Yankees owners Dan Topping, Larry MacPhail and Del Webb, and had even bought Yankee Stadium in 1953, though the league owners forced Johnson to sell the property before acquiring the Athletics. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hal Smith (infielder)
Harold Wayne Smith (December 7, 1930 – January 9, 2020) was an American professional baseball player who appeared in 879 games in Major League Baseball from 1955 to 1964 — mostly as a catcher, but also as a third baseman and first baseman. Smith played with five different MLB teams but is most notable for his integral role during the 1960 World Series as a member of the Pittsburgh Pirates. During his playing career, he threw and batted right-handed, stood tall, and weighed . Early Major League career Smith was signed as an amateur free agent by the New York Yankees in 1949, but he never played for the Yankees. He was included in an enormous 17-player trade (being one of the largest in Major League annals) to the Baltimore Orioles after the 1954 season and made his big-league debut with the Orioles as their starting catcher on Opening Day 1955, going hitless in three at bats against Bob Porterfield of the Washington Senators. Just a week into his first season, the Associ ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Morrie Martin
Morris Webster Martin (September 3, 1922 – May 24, 2010), nicknamed "Lefty", was an American professional baseball player. The left-handed pitcher worked in 250 games in Major League Baseball over ten seasons with the Brooklyn Dodgers (1949), Philadelphia Athletics (1951–1954), Chicago White Sox (1954–1956), Baltimore Orioles (1956), St. Louis Cardinals (1957–1958), Cleveland Indians (1958) and Chicago Cubs (1959). Martin was born in Dixon, Missouri; he was listed as standing tall and weighing . Martin's professional career began in 1941 in the White Sox' organization. After two seasons, including 25 games in the top-level American Association, he entered the United States Army. Assigned to the First Army's 49th Combat Engineers, he participated in Operation Torch, Operation Overlord, Operation Cobra and the Battle of the Bulge. According to Gary Bedingfield's Baseball in Wartime, Martin was badly wounded in action at least twice: "At the Battle of the Bulge, he s ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bob Nieman
Robert Charles Nieman (January 26, 1927 – March 10, 1985) was an American professional baseball player and scout. An outfielder, he spent all or parts of a dozen Major League Baseball seasons with the St. Louis Browns (1951–52), Detroit Tigers (1953–54), Chicago White Sox (1955–56), Baltimore Orioles (1956–59), St. Louis Cardinals (1960–61), Cleveland Indians (1961–62) and San Francisco Giants (1962). He also played one season in Japan for the Chunichi Dragons (1963). He threw and batted right-handed, stood tall and weighed .Retrosheet"Bob Nieman"/ref>Baseball Reference"Bob Nieman Major, Minor & Japanese Stats"/ref> Career Minor leagues Nieman was born in Cincinnati. After attending Kent State University, he was signed by his hometown Reds as an amateur free agent in 1948. He spent three full seasons and part of a fourth in the Cincinnati farm system, although he played only 38 games above the Class A level. In June 1951, he was acquired by the unaffiliated Oklahoma ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
George Kell
George Clyde Kell (August 23, 1922 – March 24, 2009) was an American Major League Baseball third baseman who played 15 seasons for the Philadelphia Athletics (1943–1946), Detroit Tigers (1947–1952), Boston Red Sox (1952–1954), Chicago White Sox (1954–1956), and Baltimore Orioles (1956–57). Kell went on to become a Detroit Tigers broadcaster for 37 years. He was inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1983. Kell was an All-Star for ten seasons. In 1949, he won the American League (AL) batting title hitting .343 with 59 runs batted in (RBI). In 1950, he hit .340 with 101 RBI and led the AL in hits and doubles. In 1951, he hit .319 with 59 RBI and led the AL in hits, singles, and doubles. He hit .300 or more for nine seasons. Kell struck out only 287 times in 6,702 at-bats during his career. Baseball career In college, Kell played for Arkansas State, where the baseball facility, Tomlinson Stadium–Kell Field, is named after him. [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Connie Johnson (baseball)
Connie Johnson (December 27, 1922 – November 28, 2004) was an American professional baseball pitcher who played in the Negro leagues and Major League Baseball. He was born Clifford Johnson Jr. in Stone Mountain, Georgia.Biography ''Negro Leagues Baseball Museum''. Retrieved on November 25, 2018. Baseball career Negro leagues In 1940, Johnson initially played for the minor league , then quickly moved up to the Toledo-Indianapolis Crawfords before ending up on the |
