1956 Birmingham Barons Roster
Team Record: 81-74
Finished 4th in the SA
Manager: Phil Page (81-74)
Affiliation: New York Yankees
Location: Birmingham, Alabama
Ballpark: Rickwood Field
Attendance: 194,997, Avg. 2,516
Playoffs - Atlanta Crackers 4 games, Birmingham Barons 0
The Birmingham Barons of the Southern Association ended the 1956 season with a record of 81 wins and 74 losses, finishing fourth in the SA.
The Barons scored 752 runs and surrendered 723 runs. Milt Graff led all qualifying hitters on the roster by connecting at a .317 clip. John Wingo topped Birmingham with 14 wins, while John Gebhard recorded a 3.34 ERA, best among qualifying pitchers.
Members of the 1956 Birmingham Barons who played in Major League Baseball during their careers were Johnny Blanchard, Fritz Brickell, Art Ceccarelli, Ray Coleman, John Gabler, Milt Graff, Johnny James, Don Leppert, Lloyd Merritt, Arnie Portocarrero, Don Richmond and Tom Wright.
Phil Page served as manager.Click on column headings to sort.
| Player | Bats | Throws | Birth Date | Height | Weight | Hometown |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Johnny Blanchard | L | R | February 26, 1933 | 6'1" | 193 | Minneapolis, MN US |
| Fritz Brickell | R | R | March 19, 1935 | 5'5" | 157 | Wichita, KS US |
| Art Ceccarelli | R | L | April 2, 1930 | 6'0" | 190 | New Haven, CT US |
| Ray Coleman | L | R | June 4, 1922 | 5'11" | 170 | Dunsmuir, CA US |
| John Gabler | S | R | October 2, 1930 | 6'2" | 165 | Kansas City, MO US |
| John Gebhard | L | L | November 26, 1932 | 6'2" | 165 | |
| Milt Graff | L | R | December 30, 1930 | 5'7" | 158 | Jefferson Center, PA US |
| Hal Grote | R | September 25, 1930 | 6'3" | 205 | Cincinnati, OH US | |
| Cart Howerton | L | October 23, 1927 | 6'2" | 193 | ||
| John Jaciuk | L | L | May 24, 1931 | 6'3" | 185 | Wyandotte, MI US |
| Johnny James | L | R | July 23, 1933 | 5'10" | 160 | Bonners Ferry, ID US |
| Stan Johnson | R | R | 6'0" | 165 | ||
| Don Leppert | L | R | November 20, 1930 | 5'8" | 175 | Memphis, TN US |
| Gerry MacKay | L | R | February 19, 1930 | 6'0" | 165 | Kenton, MB CA |
| Vic Marasco | R | November 9, 1928 | 5'8" | 175 | Los Angeles, CA US | |
| Bob Meisner | L | R | January 26, 1935 | 6'1" | 175 | |
| Lloyd Merritt | R | R | April 8, 1933 | 6'0" | 189 | St. Louis, MO US |
| James O'Reilly | L | L | July 20, 1934 | 6'3" | 188 | St. Louis, MO US |
| Will Parsons | R | R | October 18, 1932 | 6'0" | 200 | |
| Arnie Portocarrero | R | R | July 5, 1931 | 6'3" | 196 | New York, NY US |
| George Prigge | R | August 14, 1930 | 6'2" | 190 | ||
| Don Richmond | L | R | October 27, 1919 | 6'1" | 175 | Gillett, PA US |
| Jim Russell | L | L | December 25, 1931 | 5'11" | 175 | Los Angeles, Ca US |
| Daniel Ryan | R | R | June 3, 1924 | 5'10" | 180 | |
| Sam Suplizio | R | R | 5'11" | 175 | Du Bois, PA US | |
| Pat Utley | R | R | 6'4" | 208 | ||
| Frank Wehner | L | L | 6'2" | 200 | ||
| Neb Wilson | R | R | October 11, 1922 | 6'1" | 205 | East Spencer, NC US |
| John Wingo | L | R | August 7, 1927 | 6'2" | 195 | Detroit, MI US |
| Tom Wright | L | R | September 22, 1923 | 5'11" | 180 | Shelby, NC US |
Average attendance is based upon the number of actual home dates where known (most leagues from 1992 and later). Where the number of home dates is not known, the average is calculated using half the team's total games.
