1954 Brooklyn Dodgers

1954 Brooklyn Dodgers / Franchise: Los Angeles Dodgers / BR Team Page

Record: 92-62, Finished 2nd in National League (1954 NL)

Managed by Walter Alston

Coaches: Billy Herman, Ted Lyons and Jake Pitler

Ballpark: Ebbets Field

History, Comments, Contributions

Although the 1954 Brooklyn Dodgers won 92 games, good for second in the National League, 1954 is remembered as a bit of an off-year for the Dodgers. In 1953 they had won 105 games, and in 1955 they would win the World Series.

1954, though, was auspicious as the rookie year for manager Walter Alston as well as players Tommy Lasorda and Don Zimmer. Both Lasorda and Zimmer would eventually go on to long managerial careers, as would back-up player Dick Williams.

1954 was a big season for both Duke Snider and Gil Hodges, who each drove in 130 RBI on the strength of at least 40 home runs each.

Carl Erskine led the team with 18 victories, with nobody else winning more than 13 games (Billy Loes was 13-5). Erskine, however, had won 20 the year before.

Preacher Roe, at age 39, was one of the oldest players in the National League.

Awards and Honors

• All-Stars: Roy Campanella, Carl Erskine, Gil Hodges, Pee Wee Reese, Frank Robinson and Duke Snider

Further Reading

• Roger Kahn: The Era, 1947-1957: When the Yankees, the Giants, and the Dodgers Ruled the World, Bison Books, University of Nebraska Press, Lincoln, NE, 2002 (originally published in 1993). ISBN 0803278055
• Rudy Marzano: The Last Years of the Brooklyn Dodgers: A History, 1950-1957, McFarland, Jefferson, NC, 2008. ISBN 978-0-7864-3006-2