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1956 Chicago Cubs Season
The 1956 Chicago Cubs season was the 85th season of the Chicago Cubs franchise, the 81st in the National League and the 41st at Wrigley Field. The Cubs finished eighth and last in the National League with a record of 60–94. Offseason * November 27, 1955: 1955 rule 5 draft **Billy Muffett was drafted from the Cubs by the St. Louis Cardinals. **Vito Valentinetti was drafted by the Cubs from the Toronto Maple Leafs. * November 28, 1955: Hal Jeffcoat was traded by the Cubs to the Cincinnati Redlegs for Hobie Landrith. * December 9, 1955: Frank Baumholtz was purchased from the Cubs by the Philadelphia Phillies. * December 9, 1955: Randy Jackson and Don Elston were traded by the Cubs to the Brooklyn Dodgers for Don Hoak, Russ Meyer, and Walt Moryn. * March 30, 1956: Hank Sauer was traded by the Cubs to the St. Louis Cardinals for Pete Whisenant. [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Wrigley Field
Wrigley Field is a Major League Baseball (MLB) stadium on the North Side of Chicago, Illinois. It is the home of the Chicago Cubs, one of the city's two MLB franchises. It first opened in 1914 as Weeghman Park for Charles Weeghman's Chicago Whales of the Federal League, which folded after the 1915 baseball season. The Cubs played their first home game at the park on April 20, 1916, defeating the Cincinnati Reds 7–6 in 11 innings. Chewing gum magnate William Wrigley Jr. of the Wrigley Company acquired the Cubs in 1921. It was named Cubs Park from 1920 to 1926, before being renamed Wrigley Field in 1927. The current seating capacity is 41,649. It is actually the second stadium to be named Wrigley Field, as a Los Angeles ballpark with the same name opened in 1925. In the North Side community area of Lakeview in the Wrigleyville neighborhood, Wrigley Field is on an irregular block bounded by Clark and Addison streets to the west and south, and Waveland and Sheffield ave ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hal Jeffcoat
Harold Bentley Jeffcoat (September 6, 1924 – August 30, 2007) was an American professional baseball player who forged a 12-season, 918-game Major League Baseball career, first as an outfielder (1948–1953) and then as a right-handed pitcher (1954–1959) as a member of the Chicago Cubs (1948–1955), Cincinnati Redlegs and Reds (1956–1959), and St. Louis Cardinals (1959). Born in West Columbia, South Carolina, he batted right-handed and was listed as 5 feet, 10 inches (1.8 meters) tall and . He was the younger brother by 11 years of former major league pitcher George Jeffcoat. Jeffcoat served in the United States Army during World War II before his baseball career began. A paratrooper, he saw combat during the Italian Campaign, where he was wounded; he was awarded a Purple Heart as a result. He entered professional baseball in 1946, and in his second year, he led the 1947 Double-A Southern Association in base hits (218) and knocked in 118 runs, despite striking only four ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
John Briggs (baseball)
Johnathan Tift Briggs (January 24, 1934 – December 25, 2018) was an American professional baseball pitcher who played in Major League Baseball for all or parts of five seasons for the Chicago Cubs (1956–58), Cleveland Indians (1959–60), and Kansas City Athletics (1960). Born in Natoma, a district of Folsom, California, the right-hander was listed as tall and . Briggs initially signed with his hometown team, the Sacramento Solons of the Open-Classification Pacific Coast League, in 1952. In 1954, he led the Class A Western International League in strikeouts (233) and earned run average (2.50) and won 20 of 28 decisions as a member of the Salem Senators. After two three-game trials with the Cubs in 1956 and 1957, he rejoined the Cubs in the midst of the 1958 campaign and took a spot in their starting rotation. He split ten decisions in 20 games pitched (with 17 starts) and put up an ERA of 4.52. He threw what would be his only MLB shutout on June 24, scattering eight hi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pete Whisenant
Thomas Peter Whisenant (December 14, 1929 – March 22, 1996) was an American outfielder and coach in Major League Baseball. Born in Asheville, North Carolina, Whisenant stood (188 cm), weighed 200 pounds (91 kg), and threw and batted right-handed. Baseball career During his active career, Whisenant spent all or parts of eight seasons in the big leagues (1952; 1955–61), largely as a reserve outfielder and utility man. He played for the Boston Braves, St. Louis Cardinals, Chicago Cubs, Cincinnati Redlegs/Reds, Cleveland Indians and the Washington Senators/Minnesota Twins. During that span, he appeared in 475 games, with 221 hits in 988 at bats, for a .224 career batting average, with 37 home runs. In his only year as a semi-regular, in 1956, he played in 103 games for the Cubs and reached career highs in homers (11), RBI (46) and batting average (.239). Whisenant is believed to be the only baseball player to appear in a box score for a team for which he did not play ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hank Sauer
Henry John Sauer (March 17, 1917 – August 24, 2001) was an American professional baseball player, coach and scout. He appeared in 1,399 games, primarily as a left fielder, in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Cincinnati Reds (1941–1942, 1945, 1948–1949), Chicago Cubs (1949–1955), St. Louis Cardinals (1956), and New York / San Francisco Giants (1957–1959). A two-time All-Star, Sauer hit more than 30 home runs six times in the seven seasons of 1948 through 1954. He was a feared slugger for the early-1950s Cubs, exceeding the 30-homer mark five times in a Chicago uniform, with a career-high of 41 in . His most productive season came in , when Sauer led the National League in home runs (37, tied with Ralph Kiner) and runs batted in (121), and was named the Most Valuable Player. Sauer and Johnny Bench are the only players in major league history ever to have hit three homers in a single game twice against the same pitcher. He did it and 1952 while with the Cubs, victimiz ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Walt Moryn
Walter Joseph "Moose" Moryn (April 12, 1926 – July 21, 1996) was an American Major League Baseball outfielder. A native of St. Paul, Minnesota, Moryn's professional baseball career began in 1948 after he served in the United States Navy in the Pacific Theater of Operations during World War II. He played in the Majors from through for the Brooklyn Dodgers, Chicago Cubs, St. Louis Cardinals and Pittsburgh Pirates. He stood tall and weighed , batted left-handed and threw right-handed. Moryn appeared in 785 games played over eight big-league seasons, collecting 667 hits, with 116 doubles, 16 triples and 101 home runs. He had 354 runs batted in, and batted .266. He spent four successive seasons (1956–59) as a regular outfielder for the Cubs, the first two as a right fielder and the latter pair as a left fielder, and he swatted 82 of his career homers during that period. Moryn's career highlight was a dramatic shoe-string catch on the last out of the May 15, 1960, no-hitter ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Russ Meyer (baseball)
Russell Charles Meyer (October 25, 1923 – November 16, 1997) was an American professional baseball player. A right-handed pitcher known for his hot temper, his nickname was "Mad Monk". His professional career lasted for 16 seasons, including 319 games pitched over all or part of 13 years in Major League Baseball for the Chicago Cubs (1946–48; 1956), Philadelphia Phillies (1949–52), Brooklyn Dodgers (1953–55), Cincinnati Redlegs (1956), Boston Red Sox (1957) and Kansas City Athletics (1959). The native of Peru, Illinois, was listed as tall and . Initially signed by the Chicago White Sox as an amateur free agent in 1942, Meyer spent 1943 performing United States Army service during World War II. While pitching for his camp team, Meyer was stricken with appendicitis, then contracted peritonitis; he was given a medical discharge and released by the White Sox organization. He signed with the crosstown Cubs, spent three seasons in the Class A1 (now Double-A) Southern Assoc ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Don Hoak
Donald Albert Hoak (February 5, 1928 – October 9, 1969), nicknamed "Tiger", was an American professional baseball third baseman and coach. He played eleven seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) (–) for the Brooklyn Dodgers, Chicago Cubs, Cincinnati Redlegs, Pittsburgh Pirates, and Philadelphia Phillies. Early career Hoak broke into the professional baseball in 1947 after a stint in the United States Navy towards the end of World War II. He signed with the Brooklyn Dodgers organization and worked his way up the organization based almost solely on his glove, speed on the bases and tenacity. In 1954, Hoak's patience was rewarded by a spot on the Dodgers' roster. During his two seasons with the Dodgers, Hoak shared third base duties with Jackie Robinson and Billy Cox. In 1955, the Dodgers defeated the New York Yankees in the World Series to win their only championship in Brooklyn. Hoak played third base in place of Robinson in the seventh and deciding game of that Series—the o ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Brooklyn Dodgers
The Brooklyn Dodgers were a Major League Baseball team founded in 1884 as a member of the American Association (19th century), American Association before joining the National League in 1890. They remained in Brooklyn until 1957, after which the club moved to Los Angeles, California, where it continues History of the Los Angeles Dodgers, its history as the Los Angeles Dodgers. The team moved west at the same time as its longtime rival, the New York Giants (baseball), New York Giants, relocated to San Francisco in northern California as the San Francisco Giants. The team's name derived from the reputed skill of Brooklyn residents at evading List of streetcar lines in Brooklyn, the city's trolley streetcars. The name is a shortened form of their old name, the Brooklyn ''Trolley'' Dodgers. The Dodgers played in two stadiums in South Brooklyn, each named Washington Park (baseball), Washington Park, and at Eastern Park in the neighborhood of Brownsville, Brooklyn, Brownsville before m ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Don Elston
Donald Ray Elston (April 6, 1929 – January 2, 1995) was an American relief pitcher who appeared in 450 games in Major League Baseball, all but one of them as a member of the Chicago Cubs (1953, 1957–1964). Elston batted and threw right-handed, stood tall and weighed . He was born in Campbellstown, Ohio, and attended Camden High School. His 18-season professional baseball career began in the Cub farm system in 1948. A hard thrower, Elston played for perennially weak Cubs teams over the course of his nine-year major league tenure. After a brief late-season trial with the 1953 Cubs, when he was treated rudely by the Philadelphia Phillies and St. Louis Cardinals, he was sent back to the minor leagues for the next two campaigns. Chicago included him in a December 1955 trade with the defending world champion Brooklyn Dodgers that was headlined by veterans Randy Jackson, Don Hoak, Russ Meyer and Walt Moryn, but Elston remained in the minors for all of 1956. He made the Dodgers' 19 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Randy Jackson (baseball)
Ransom Joseph "Randy" Jackson (February 10, 1926 – March 20, 2019) was an American Major League Baseball (MLB) player for the Chicago Cubs (1950–1955, 1959), Dodgers (1956–1958; two seasons in Brooklyn, one in Los Angeles), and Cleveland Indians (1958–1959). A book on Jackson’s career, ''Handsome Ransom Jackson: Accidental Big Leaguer'', was published in 2016. He died at his home on March 20, 2019. Before Major League Baseball After a year at the University of Arkansas, he transferred twice, and helped lead the football teams of Texas Christian University (1945) and the University of Texas at Austin (1946) to consecutive Cotton Bowl Classic appearances as a halfback. Playing baseball in college he hit .500, .438 and .400. MLB career The Chicago Cubs signed him in 1947. On 2 May 1950, the 24-year-old made his major-league debut. "Handsome Ransom" had four solid seasons at third base for the Cubs from 1951 to 1955. Jackson followed up a slow rookie season (in which he h ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Philadelphia Phillies
The Philadelphia Phillies are an American professional baseball team based in Philadelphia. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) National League East, East division. Since 2004, the team's home stadium has been Citizens Bank Park, located in the South Philadelphia Sports Complex. Founded in 1883, the Philadelphia Phillies are the oldest continuous same-name, same-city franchise in all of American professional sports. The Phillies have won two World Series championships (against the Kansas City Royals in and the Tampa Bay Rays in ), eight National League pennants (the first of which came in 1915), and made 15 playoff appearances. As of November 6, 2022, the team has played 21,209 games, winning 10,022 games and losing 11,187. Since the first modern World Series was played in , the Phillies have played 120 consecutive seasons and 140 seasons since the team's 1883 establishment. Before the Phillies won their first World Series in 19 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
