1953 Denver Bears Roster

Western League (WL) - Class: A
Team Record: 94-60
Finished 2nd in the WL
Manager: Andy Cohen (94-60)
Affiliation: Pittsburgh Pirates
Location: Denver, Colorado
Ballpark: Mile High Stadium
Attendance: 322,128, Avg. 4,183
1953 Denver Bears Statistics

Playoffs - Denver Bears 3 games, Pueblo Dodgers 0
Finals - Des Moines Bruins 3 games, Denver Bears 1

The Denver Bears of the Western League ended the 1953 season with a record of 94 wins and 60 losses, finishing second in the WL.

The Bears scored 901 runs, best in the league. Denver conceded 677 runs. Whitey Ries led all regular batters with a .329 average. Jake Thies topped the team with 16 wins, while Nelson King, too added 15 or more wins, too Jake Thies recorded a 2.43 ERA, best among hurlers with significant time on the mound.

Orinthal Anderson, Nelson King, Dick Manville, Butch McCord, Bobby Prescott, Curt Roberts, Barney Schultz, Jack Shepard and Jake Thies were all players from the 1953 Denver Bears who played in the Major Leagues during their careers.

Andy Cohen served as manager.


Click on column headings to sort.

Player Bats Throws Birth Date Height Weight Hometown
John AlbiniRRMay 30, 19296'2"190Los Angeles, CA US
Orinthal AndersonLRNovember 11, 19206'0"170
Marcos CobosRRAugust 13, 19316'0"190
Roque ContrerasRRAugust 16, 19276'1"175La Habana, La Habana CU
August GregoryRRMarch 6, 19225'10"175Chicago, IL US
Pat HaggertyLJune 30, 19275'10"160
Ron HaglerRRDecember 16, 19336'1"180
Earl HochstatterL6'2"215
Francis HolleranRR6'1"170
Nelson KingRRMarch 15, 19286'6"185Shenandoah, PA US
Dick ManvilleRRDecember 25, 19266'4"192Des Moines, IA US
Butch McCordLLNovember 2, 19255'10"175Nashville, TN US
Tommy MunozLLAugust 11, 19345'11"170San Leandro, CA US
Fernando OsorioRRNovember 21, 19296'2"165Panama, Panama PA
Bobby PrescottRRMarch 27, 19315'11"180Colon, Colon PA
Harry PrittsLLFebruary 6, 19296'0"170
Frank RiceRJanuary 29, 19295'11"175Grafton, NE US
Whitey RiesRRJuly 3, 19296'0"185St. Louis, MO US
Rafael RivasLLMay 24, 19225'10"155Puerto Padre, CU
Curt RobertsRRAugust 16, 19295'8"165Pineland, TX US
Ramon SalgadoRR5'10"165
Edward SantulliRRApril 21, 19256'1"175Bronx, NY US
Barney SchultzRRAugust 15, 19266'2"200Beverly, NJ US
Jack ShepardRRMay 13, 19316'2"195Clovis, CA US
Charles SippleRRMarch 22, 19205'11"175Hazleton, PA US
Jake ThiesRRApril 1, 19265'11"170St. Louis, MO US
Bob WakefieldROctober 28, 19236'1"195Chicago, IL 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.




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