1952 Philadelphia Athletics season

March 2026 November 2013 Philadelphia Athletics 1952 Philadelphia Athletics Cap Logo (1951 to 1953).svg American League Shibe Park Philadelphia 79 75 y 4th Earle Mack & Roy Mack Arthur Ehlers Jimmy Dykes WPTZ/WCAU/WFIL(By Saam, Claude Haring) WIBG(By Saam, Claude Haring, George Walsh) The 1952 Philadelphia Athletics season saw the A's finish fourth and in the first division of the American League with a record of 79 wins and 75 losses. They finished 16 games behind the eventual World Series champion New York Yankees. Managed by Jimmy Dykes, they attracted 627,100 fans to Shibe Park, seventh among the Junior Circuit's eight teams. The Athletics' 1952 campaign would be their final winning season in Philadelphia; only two years later, in November 1954, the franchise would move to Kansas City; 1952 would also be the Athletics' only winning season of the 1950s. They would have to wait until 1968, their first season in Oakland, for their next winning record. Offseason January 21, 1952: Wally Moses was released as an active player by the Athletics;Wally Moses page at Baseball Reference he then joined the club's coaching staff. Regular season The Athletics improved nine games from their 70–84 record in 1951 and improved to fourth in the American League. A Most Valuable Player season was turned in by left-handed pitcher Bobby Shantz and the A.L. batting championship was won by Ferris Fain with a .320 average. Gus Zernial hit 29 home runs and drove in 100 RBI while Eddie Joost chipped in 20 HRs and 75 RBI. However, outside Shantz, who went 24–7, their best pitcher record-wise was Harry Byrd, with a 15–15 record. Season standings Philadelphia Athletics Record vs. opponents PHA Notable transactions May 10, 1952: Marion Fricano was purchased by the Athletics from the Brooklyn Dodgers.Marion Fricano page at Baseball Reference Roster 1952 Philadelphia Athletics Roster Pitchers 38 Charlie Bishop 38 Harry Byrd 25 Dick Fowler 37 Marion Fricano 23 Bob Hooper 18 Tex Hoyle 22 Alex Kellner 21 Walt Kellner 37 Johnny Kucab 26 Morrie Martin 36 Len Matarazzo 20 Bobo Newsom 24 Carl Scheib 30 Bobby Shantz 34 Ed Wright 21 Sam Zoldak Catchers  9 Joe Astroth 14 Ray Murray 15 Joe Tipton Infielders  3 Hal Bevan  8 Ferris Fain  4 Tom Hamilton 11 Billy Hitchcock  1 Eddie Joost  2 Skeeter Kell 16 Jack Littrell  5 Hank Majeski  5 Cass Michaels 16 Sherry Robertson 12 Pete Suder Outfielders  7 Allie Clark 17 Dave Philley  6 Kite Thomas 10 Elmer Valo 19 Gus Zernial Manager 35 Jimmy Dykes Coaches 32 Chief Bender 33 Bing Miller 28 Wally Moses 29 Tom Oliver 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 C Joe Astroth 104 337 84 .249 1 36 1B Ferris Fain 145 538 176 .327 2 59 2B Skeeter Kell 75 213 47 .221 0 17 SS Eddie Joost 146 540 132 .244 20 75 3B Billy Hitchcock 119 407 100 .246 1 56 OF Gus Zernial 145 549 144 .262 29 100 OF Elmer Valo 129 388 109 .281 5 47 OF Dave Philley 151 586 154 .263 7 71 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 Pete Suder 74 228 55 .241 1 20 Cass Michaels 55 200 50 .250 1 18 Allie Clark 71 186 51 .274 7 29 Ray Murray 44 136 28 .206 1 10 Hank Majeski 34 117 30 .256 2 20 Kite Thomas 75 116 29 .250 6 18 Joe Tipton 23 68 13 .191 3 8 Sherry Robertson 43 60 12 .200 0 5 Hal Bevan 8 17 6 .353 0 4 Tom Hamilton Tom Hamilton (baseball) 9 10 2 .200 0 1 Jack Littrell 4 2 0 .000 0 0 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 Bobby Shantz 33 279.2 24 7 2.48 152 Alex Kellner 34 231.1 12 14 4.36 105 Harry Byrd Harry Byrd (baseball) 37 228.1 15 15 3.31 116 Charlie Bishop Charlie Bishop (baseball) 6 30.2 2 2 6.46 17 Morrie Martin 5 25.1 0 2 6.39 13 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 Carl Scheib 30 158.0 11 7 4.39 42 Bob Hooper 43 144.1 8 15 5.18 40 Bobo Newsom 14 47.2 3 3 3.59 22 Charlie Bishop 6 30.2 2 2 6.46 17 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 Johnny Kucab 25 0 1 2 5.26 17 Ed Wright 24 2 1 1 6.53 9 Dick Fowler Dick Fowler (baseball) 18 1 2 0 6.44 14 Tex Hoyle 3 0 0 0 27.00 1 Marion Fricano 2 0 0 0 1.80 0 Walt Kellner 1 0 0 0 6.75 2 Len Matarazzo 1 0 0 0 0.00 0 Awards and honors Bobby Shantz, American League MVP Farm system Minor League Baseball AAA Ottawa Athletics International League Frank Skaff A Savannah Indians Sally League George Staller A Lincoln Athletics Western League Les Bell B Fayetteville Athletics Carolina League Ducky Detweiler and Red Norris B Harrisburg Senators Interstate League Buck Etchison and Woody Wheaton C St. Hyacinthe A's Provincial League John Sosh D Cordele A's Georgia–Florida League Norm Wilson D Lexington Indians North Carolina State League Bob Deese, Ducky Detweiler, Carl Campbell and Cliff Bolton D Corning Athletics PONY League Joe Rullo References 2 External links 1952 Philadelphia Athletics team page at Baseball Reference 1952 Philadelphia Athletics team page at www.baseball-almanac.com Category:Philadelphia Athletics seasons Philadelphia Athletics season Oak Category:1950s in Philadelphia