1953 Burlington Flints Roster
Team Record: 49-79
Finished 8th in the IIIL
Manager: Johnny Vander Meer (49-79)
Affiliation: Cincinnati Reds
Location: Burlington, Iowa
Ballpark: Community Field (Stadium)
Attendance: 49,370, Avg. 771
The Burlington Flints of the Illinois-Iowa-Indiana League ended the 1953 season with a record of 49 wins and 79 losses, finishing eighth in the IIIL.
The Flints scored 611 runs and allowed 782 runs, most in the circuit. Jim St. Clair led batters with significant playing time by connecting at a .306 clip. Phil Amato topped Burlington with 15 wins and a team-best 3.32 ERA, best among regularly-used pitchers.
Hank Ruszkowski and Johnny Vander Meer both played in Major League Baseball during their careers.
Johnny Vander Meer served as manager.Click on column headings to sort.
| Player | Bats | Throws | Birth Date | Height | Weight | Hometown |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Phil Amato | R | R | 6'3" | 220 | ||
| Arthur Applebaum | R | R | 6'1" | 185 | ||
| Gene Bennett | L | July 29, 1928 | 5'11" | 175 | Portsmouth, OH US | |
| Gerald Blackburn | R | L | May 18, 1930 | 5'11" | 215 | Mount Airy, NC US |
| Bill Blanton | R | R | February 27, 1929 | 6'0" | 168 | Spartanburg, SC US |
| William Bowman | R | R | November 9, 1928 | 6'0" | 190 | Detroit, MI US |
| Dick Bush | R | R | March 23, 1931 | 6'2" | 190 | |
| Bob Carson | R | R | January 16, 1927 | 5'9" | 155 | |
| Ernie Clark | R | R | April 30, 1928 | 6'4" | 180 | |
| Vince Costello | R | August 4, 1932 | 6'0" | 200 | ||
| Bob Curley | R | R | September 20, 1926 | 5'10" | 180 | Covington, KY US |
| Vincent Downs | R | 6'1" | 180 | |||
| Kirby Jackson | L | R | May 3, 1930 | 6'0" | 170 | Sumter, SC US |
| Edwin James | R | R | 6'2" | 188 | ||
| Edward Kneuper | L | L | 6'0" | 175 | ||
| Otho Kortz | R | 5'10" | 170 | |||
| Donald Kreis | R | R | 5'11" | 185 | ||
| Walter Miller | R | L | 6'0" | 190 | ||
| William Nee | L | L | 6'1" | 170 | ||
| Louis Ruehl | L | 5'11" | 165 | |||
| Hank Ruszkowski | R | R | November 10, 1925 | 6'0" | 190 | Cleveland, OH US |
| Dick Schoonover | R | R | October 19, 1928 | 6'1" | 170 | |
| Jim St. Clair | R | R | November 13, 1933 | 6'1" | 180 | Taylorsville, NC US |
| William Stenger | R | R | 5'10" | 165 | ||
| William Thompson | L | L | January 7, 1932 | 6'5" | 190 | Hooker, PA US |
| Paul Toney | R | R | 5'10" | 190 | ||
| Hal Treinen | R | R | February 19, 1928 | 6'0" | 170 | |
| Ed Trytek | R | 5'10" | 175 | |||
| Johnny Vander Meer | S | L | November 2, 1914 | 6'1" | 190 | Prospect Park, NJ US |
| Donald Vaughn | L | L | 5'10" | 175 | ||
| Grady Watts | R | 6'2" | 190 | |||
| Ed Williams | L | L | 6'3" | 185 | ||
| Bobby Wood | R | R | May 24, 1932 | 6'3" | 210 |
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.
