The 1954 Brooklyn Dodgers season was the first season for new manager Walter Alston, who replaced

Chuck Dressen Charles Walter Dressen (September 20, 1894Dressen's birthdate has been revised from 1898, as was commonly reported in ''The Sporting News' Baseball Register'' and ''Macmillan's Baseball Encyclopedia'', to 1894 by both Baseball Reference and Retro ...

, who had been fired during a contract dispute. Alston led the team to a 92–62 record, finishing five games behind the league champion

New York Giants The New York Giants are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Giants compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East divisio ...

. In addition to Alston, the 1954 Dodgers had two other future

Hall of Fame A hall, wall, or walk of fame is a list of individuals, achievements, or other entities, usually chosen by a group of electors, to mark their excellence or fame in their field. In some cases, these halls of fame consist of actual halls or muse ...

managers on their roster in pitcher

Tommy Lasorda Thomas Charles Lasorda (September 22, 1927 – January 7, 2021) was an American professional baseball pitcher and manager. He managed the Los Angeles Dodgers of Major League Baseball (MLB) from 1976 through 1996. He was inducted into the Natio ...

and outfielder

Dick Williams Richard Hirschfeld Williams (May 7, 1929 – July 7, 2011) was an American left fielder, third baseman, manager, coach and front-office consultant in Major League Baseball. Known especially as a hard-driving, sharp-tongued manager from 1967 to 1 ...

. First baseman Gil Hodges and reserve infielder

Don Zimmer Donald William Zimmer (January 17, 1931 – June 4, 2014) was an American infielder, manager, and coach in Major League Baseball (MLB). Zimmer was involved in professional baseball from 1949 until his death, a span of 65 years, across 8 de ...

would also go on to successful managerial careers.

Offseason

* October 1, 1954:

Rocky Nelson Glenn Richard "Rocky" Nelson (November 18, 1924 – October 31, 2006) was an American professional baseball first baseman who played in Major League Baseball for all or parts of nine seasons between and for the St. Louis Cardinals, Pittsburgh Pi ...

was traded by the Dodgers to the

Cleveland Indians The Cleveland Guardians are an American professional baseball team based in Cleveland. The Guardians compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central division. Since , they have ...

for Bill Abernathie and cash.Rocky Nelson page at Baseball Reference
/ref> * March 28, 1954: Bobby Morgan was traded by the Dodgers to the

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 sta ...

for Dick Young and cash.

Regular season

*On July 31, 1954,

Joe Adcock Joseph Wilbur Adcock (October 30, 1927 – May 3, 1999) was an American professional baseball player and manager. He played in Major League Baseball as a first baseman from 1950 to 1966, most prominently as a member of the Milwaukee Braves teams ...

hit four home runs off four different Brooklyn Dodgers pitchers, becoming the seventh player in major league history to hit four home runs in one game. Additionally, Adcock hit a double, setting a major league record of 18 total bases. *September 22, 1954: In a game against the New York Giants,

Karl Spooner Karl Benjamin Spooner (June 23, 1931 – April 10, 1984) was an American professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a left-handed pitcher for the Brooklyn Dodgers. After a meteoric rise during which he set a Major L ...

struck out 15 batters in his very first game, setting a Major League record.

J. R. Richard James Rodney Richard (March 7, 1950 – August 4, 2021) was an American professional baseball player. He played his entire career in Major League Baseball as a right-handed starting pitcher for the Houston Astros from 1971 to 1980. Richard led ...

would tie the record in 1971.

Season standings

Record vs. opponents

Opening Day Lineup

Notable transactions

* May 4, 1954:

Art Ceccarelli Arthur Edward Ceccarelli (April 2, 1930 – July 11, 2012) was a pitcher in Major League Baseball who played for the Kansas City Athletics, Baltimore Orioles, and Chicago Cubs in parts of five seasons spanning –. Listed at 6' 0", 190 lb., h ...

was purchased from the Dodgers by the

New York Yankees The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. They are one ...

. * May 11, 1954:

was purchased by the Dodgers from the

. * June 9, 1954:

Wayne Belardi Carroll Wayne Belardi (September 5, 1930 – October 21, 1993) was an American professional baseball player. The first baseman and native of St. Helena, California, appeared in 263 games in Major League Baseball over all or parts of six seasons ...

was traded by the Dodgers to the

Detroit Tigers The Detroit Tigers are an American professional baseball team based in Detroit. The Tigers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the American League (AL) Central division. One of the AL's eight charter franchises, the club was f ...

for

Ernie Nevel Ernie Wyre Nevel (August 17, 1918 – July 10, 1988) was an American Major League Baseball pitcher who played in and with the New York Yankees and in with the Cincinnati Redlegs. Born in Charleston, Missouri, he batted and threw right-handed, s ...

Johnny Bucha John George Bucha (January 22, 1925 – April 28, 1996) was an American professional baseball player whose 18-year career included 84 games in Major League Baseball ( MLB) over three seasons. A catcher and native of Allentown, Pennsylvania, Buch ...

Chuck Kress Charles Steven Kress (December 9, 1921 – March 4, 2014) was an American professional baseball player and manager. Biography This first baseman played in all or parts of four seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) between and for the Cincin ...

and cash.Wayne Belardi page at Baseball Reference
/ref>

Roster

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''

Other batters

''Note: G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in''

Pitching

Starting pitchers

''Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts''

Other pitchers

''Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts''

Relief pitchers

''Note: G = Games pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; SV = Saves; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts''

Awards and honors

1954 Major League Baseball All-Star Game The 1954 Major League Baseball All-Star Game was the 21st playing of the midsummer classic between the all-stars of the American League (AL) and National League (NL), the two leagues comprising Major League Baseball. The game was held on July 1 ...

** Roy Campanella starter **

Jackie Robinson Jack Roosevelt Robinson (January 31, 1919 – October 24, 1972) was an American professional baseball player who became the first African American to play in Major League Baseball (MLB) in the modern era. Robinson broke the baseball color line ...

starter **

Duke Snider Edwin Donald "Duke" Snider (September 19, 1926 – February 27, 2011), nicknamed "the Silver Fox" and "the Duke of Flatbush", was an American professional baseball player. Primarily a center fielder, he spent most of his Major League Baseball (M ...

starter ** Carl Erskine reserve ** Gil Hodges reserve **

Pee Wee Reese Harold Peter Henry "Pee Wee" Reese (July 23, 1918 – August 14, 1999) was an American professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball as a shortstop for the Brooklyn / Los Angeles Dodgers from 1940 to 1958. A ten-time All-Sta ...

reserve * TSN Major League All-Star Team **

Farm system

LEAGUE CHAMPIONS: Newport News, Great Falls

Notes

References

Baseball-Reference season pageBaseball Almanac season page

External links

1954 Brooklyn Dodgers uniformAcme Dodgers page

Retrosheet
{{Los Angeles Dodgers Los Angeles Dodgers seasons Brooklyn Dodgers season Jackie Robinson 1954 in sports in New York City 1950s in Brooklyn Flatbush, Brooklyn