1955 St. Louis Cardinals season

1955 St. Louis Cardinals
Major league affiliations
National League (Since 1892)
Location
Busch Stadium I (Since 1920) St. Louis, Missouri (Since 1882)
1955 Information
Owner(s)	August "Gussie" Busch
Manager(s)	Eddie Stanky and Harry Walker
Local television	KTVI
Local radio	KMOX (Harry Caray, Jack Buck, Joe Garagiola)
Stats	ESPN.com BB-reference
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The 1955 St. Louis Cardinals season was the team's 74th season in St. Louis, Missouri and the 64th season in the National League. The Cardinals went 68-86 during the season and finished seventh in the National League, 30½ games behind the Brooklyn Dodgers.

Outfielder Bill Virdon won the Rookie of the Year Award this year, batting .281, with 17 home runs and 68 RBIs. This was the second consecutive year a Cardinal won the Rookie of the Year Award, with Wally Moon winning the previous season. The Cardinals would have this occur again in 1985 and '86, with Vince Coleman and Todd Worrell, respectively.

Offseason

• October 19, 1954: Peanuts Lowrey was released by the Cardinals.
• November 22, 1954: Jim King was drafted from the Cardinals by the Chicago Cubs in the 1954 rule 5 draft.
• November 30, 1954: Benny Valenzuela was drafted by the Cardinals from the Bisbee-Douglas Copper Kings in the 1954 minor league draft.
• December 8, 1954: Ray Jablonski and Gerry Staley were traded by the Cardinals to the Cincinnati Redlegs for Frank Smith.
• Prior to 1955 season: Duke Carmel was signed as an amateur free agent by the Cardinals.

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

Notable transactions

• June 3, 1955: Del Rice was traded by the Cardinals to the Milwaukee Braves for Pete Whisenant.

Roster

1955 St. Louis Cardinals
Roster
Pitchers 38 Luis Arroyo 37 Ben Flowers 31 Al Gettel 42 Harvey Haddix 39 Larry Jackson  1 Tony Jacobs 45 Gordon Jones 35 Paul LaPalme 31 Brooks Lawrence 28 John Mackinson 41 Lindy McDaniel 40 Herb Moford 23 Tom Poholsky 17 Vic Raschi 44 Willard Schmidt 43 Barney Schultz 25 Frank Smith 34 Bobby Tiefenauer 41 Floyd Wooldridge 17 Mel Wright		Catchers 18 Nelson Burbrink 16 Dick Rand 18 Del Rice 15 Bill Sarni Infielders 10 Tom Alston  3 Don Blasingame 14 Ken Boyer  4 Alex Grammas  7 Solly Hemus  6 Stan Musial  2 Red Schoendienst 19 Dick Schofield 21 Bob Stephenson		Outfielders 11 Harry Elliott 24 Joe Frazier 20 Wally Moon  8 Rip Repulski  9 Bill Virdon  5 Harry Walker 10 Pete Whisenant		Manager 12 Eddie Stanky  5 Harry Walker Coaches -- Lou Kahn -- Bill Posedel -- Johnny Riddle -- Dixie Walker

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
CF	Virdon, BillBill Virdon	144	534	150	.281	17	68
RF	Moon, WallyWally Moon	152	593	175	.295	19	76

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
Walker, HarryHarry Walker	11	14	5	.357	0	1
Rand, DickDick Rand	3	10	3	.300	1	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
Arroyo, LuisLuis Arroyo	35	159	11	8	4.19	68
Flowers, BenBen Flowers	4	27.1	1	0	3.62	19

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

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
Smith, FrankFrank Smith	28	3	1	1	3.23	17
Gettel, AlAl Gettel	8	1	0	0	9.00	7

Awards and honors

All-Star Game

• Red Schoendienst, second base, starter
• Luis Arroyo, reserve
• Harvey Haddix, reserve
• Stan Musial, reserve

Farm system

See also: Minor league baseball

Level	Team	League	Manager
AAA	Omaha Cardinals	American Association	Johnny Keane
AAA	Rochester Red Wings	International League	Harry Walker, Lou Kahn and Dixie Walker
AA	Houston Buffaloes	Texas League	Mike Ryba
A	Allentown Cardinals	Eastern League	Harold Olt
A	Columbus Cardinals	Sally League	Ferrell Anderson
B	Peoria Chiefs	Illinois-Indiana-Iowa League	Whitey Kurowski
B	Lynchburg Cardinals	Piedmont League	George Kissell
C	Mexicali Eagles	Arizona-Texas League	Art Lilly
C	Fresno Cardinals	California League	Roland LeBlanc
C	Winnipeg Goldeyes	Northern League	Al Kubski
D	Dothan Cardinals	Alabama-Florida League	Chase Riddle
D	Johnson City Cardinals	Appalachian League	Virgil Wallace
D	Sanford Cardinals	Florida State League	Dan Keith and Mario Mauriello
D	Hazlehurst-Baxley Cardinals	Georgia State League	Samuel Goodsoozian
D	Albany Cardinals	Georgia-Florida League	J. C. Dunn
D	Paducah Chiefs	KITTY League	Homer Ray Wilson
D	Decatur Commodores	Mississippi-Ohio Valley League	Al Unser
D	Hamilton Cardinals	PONY League	Ed Lyons
D	Ardmore Cardinals	Sooner State League	Frank Mancuso

LEAGUE CHAMPIONS: Rochester, Fresno, Paducah, Hamilton; LEAGUE CO-CHAMPIONS: Johnson City

References

• 1955 St. Louis Cardinals
• 1955 St. Louis Cardinals team page at www.baseball-almanac.com