1953 Columbus Red Birds Roster
Team Record: 64-90
Finished 7th in the AA
Manager: Johnny Keane (64-90)
Affiliation: St. Louis Cardinals
Location: Columbus, Ohio
Ballpark: Harold Cooper Stadium
Attendance: 84,995, Avg. 1,104
The Columbus Red Birds of the American Association ended the 1953 season with a record of 64 wins and 90 losses, finishing seventh in the AA.
The Red Birds scored 613 runs and allowed 752 runs. Russ Derry led Columbus with 20 home runs Mo Mozzali drove in 72 runs and topped all regular batters by connecting at a .294 clip. Ralph Beard paced the team with 14 wins, while Willard Schmidt registered a 3.02 earned run average, best among regular hurlers.
Players from the 1953 Columbus Red Birds who spent time in the Majors during their careers included Herb Moford, Dick Sisler, Danny Lynch, Lou Ciola, Willard Schmidt, Larry Miggins, Dick Bokelmann, Virgil Stallcup, Ralph Beard, Russ Derry, Billy Johnson, Gary Blaylock, Bill Sarni, Fred Marolewski and John Romonosky.
Johnny Keane served as manager.Click on column headings to sort.
| Player | Bats | Throws | Birth Date | Height | Weight | Hometown |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| William Allen | L | L | March 23, 1929 | 5'11" | 180 | |
| Danny Baich | R | R | December 25, 1924 | 5'10" | 190 | Detroit, MI US |
| Ralph Beard | R | R | February 11, 1929 | 6'5" | 200 | Cincinnati, OH US |
| Gary Blaylock | R | R | October 11, 1931 | 6'0" | 196 | Clarkton, MO US |
| Dick Bokelmann | R | R | October 26, 1926 | 6'0" | 180 | Arlington Heights, IL US |
| Roy Broome | R | R | February 17, 1921 | 5'11" | 160 | Norwood, NC US |
| Jack Cardey | R | R | August 30, 1922 | 6'0" | 190 | |
| Lou Ciola | R | R | September 6, 1922 | 5'9" | 165 | Norfolk, VA US |
| Russ Derry | L | R | October 7, 1916 | 6'1" | 180 | Princeton, MO US |
| Sherwin Dixon | R | November 4, 1930 | 6'0" | 170 | Lynchburg, VA US | |
| Benjamin Downs | L | R | August 13, 1929 | 6'2" | 200 | Highland Park, MI US |
| Melvin Greer | R | R | August 11, 1929 | 6'0" | 185 | |
| Fran Haus | R | R | December 15, 1927 | 6'0" | 185 | |
| Robert Hoch | L | L | August 20, 1925 | 5'11" | 160 | |
| Roland Hubbard | R | L | 6'2" | 185 | ||
| Bob Hyatt | R | October 3, 1926 | 6'1" | 195 | Little Rock, AR US | |
| Billy Johnson | R | R | August 30, 1918 | 5'10" | 180 | Montclair, NJ US |
| Elroy Joyce | R | R | June 22, 1925 | 6'2" | 185 | Stokes County, NC US |
| Ev Joyner | L | R | September 9, 1926 | 6'2" | 188 | |
| William Killinger | R | R | December 1, 1927 | 5'10" | 175 | , PA US |
| James Kirk | R | L | 6'3" | 205 | ||
| Danny Lynch | R | R | February 7, 1926 | 5'11" | 174 | Dallas, TX US |
| Fred Marolewski | R | R | October 6, 1928 | 6'2" | 205 | Chicago, IL US |
| Gregory Masson | R | R | 6'0" | 180 | ||
| Jim Michalec | R | R | September 24, 1929 | 5'11" | 185 | |
| Larry Miggins | R | R | August 20, 1925 | 6'4" | 198 | Bronx, NY US |
| Herb Moford | R | R | August 6, 1928 | 6'1" | 175 | Brooksville, KY US |
| Mo Mozzali | L | L | December 12, 1922 | 5'10" | 158 | Louisville, KY US |
| Jim Neufeldt | R | 6'0" | 160 | |||
| Joe Ossola | R | R | March 30, 1929 | 6'3" | 190 | |
| Hisel Patrick | R | R | August 21, 1925 | 6'2" | 190 | |
| Vern Rapp | R | R | May 11, 1928 | 6'0" | 195 | St. Louis, MO US |
| Pete Riggan | L | R | July 3, 1923 | 6'0" | 190 | |
| John Romonosky | R | R | July 7, 1929 | 6'2" | 195 | Harrisburg, IL US |
| Bill Sarni | R | R | September 19, 1927 | 5'11" | 180 | Los Angeles, CA US |
| Willard Schmidt | R | R | May 29, 1928 | 6'1" | 187 | Hays, KS US |
| Dick Sisler | L | R | November 2, 1920 | 6'2" | 205 | St. Louis, MO US |
| Donald Spencer | R | R | September 9, 1927 | 5'11" | 185 | Pittsburgh, PA US |
| Virgil Stallcup | R | R | January 3, 1922 | 6'3" | 185 | Ravensford, NC US |
| Allan Suter | L | L | September 6, 1931 | 6'2" | 190 | Kalamazoo, MI US |
| Gene Swinger | R | R | October 26, 1929 | 5'11" | 165 | |
| Ron Unke | R | R | December 19, 1931 | 5'11" | 185 | |
| Bill Woop | L | L | September 13, 1923 | 6'1" | 210 | New York, NY 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.
