1953 Decatur Commodores Roster
Team Record: 68-50
Finished 1st in the MOVL
Manager: Ray Taylor (68-50)
Location: Decatur, Illinois
Ballpark: Fans Field
Attendance: 96,337, Avg. 1,633
Playoffs - Decatur Commodores 3 games, Hannibal Cardinals 0
Finals - Decatur Commodores 3 games, Paris Lakers 2
The Decatur Commodores of the Mississippi-Ohio Valley League ended the 1953 season with a record of 68 wins and 50 losses, finishing first in the MOVL.
The Commodores plated 627 runs and gave up 559 runs. Andy Smith led hitters with significant playing time by connecting at a .334 clip. Juan Garcia topped Decatur with 18 wins, while Luis Herrera, too added 15 or more wins, too Luis Herrera recorded a 2.87 ERA, leading qualifying pitchers.
Carlos Paula and Ramon Garcia both played in Major League Baseball during their careers.
Ray Taylor served as manager.Click on column headings to sort.
| Player | Bats | Throws | Birth Date | Height | Weight | Hometown |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Robert Appleby | July 20, 1922 | 192 | ||||
| Gonzalo Chenard | R | 5'8" | 150 | |||
| Andres DeLaFuente | R | 5'11" | 167 | |||
| Antonio Estrella | R | R | 5'11" | 170 | ||
| Jaime Fals | ||||||
| Amancio Ferro | ||||||
| Jim Freeman | R | February 12, 1925 | 5'11" | 190 | ||
| Armando Galban | ||||||
| Juan Garcia | ||||||
| Ramon Garcia | R | R | March 5, 1924 | 5'10" | 170 | La Esperanza, CU |
| Rene Gonzalez | R | R | October 6, 1923 | 6'2" | 206 | La Habana, La Habana CU |
| Sidney Goreham | R | R | 6'3" | 195 | ||
| Guillermo Grajeda | R | R | February 10, 1925 | 5'7" | 160 | Alamos, Sonora MX |
| Clarence Hall | R | 5'10" | 173 | |||
| Miguel Hernandez | ||||||
| Ernest Heron | ||||||
| Luis Herrera | S | L | 5'11" | 185 | ||
| Edward Isley | L | R | 5'6" | 143 | ||
| Alfonso Lopez | ||||||
| Larry Lovelace | December 8, 1916 | |||||
| Sergio Martinez | L | 5'11" | 175 | |||
| Hoover Nance | R | 5'11" | 175 | |||
| Pedro Naranjo | L | L | 5'10" | 180 | ||
| Herman Niehaus | R | R | January 4, 1929 | 6'3" | 200 | St. Louis, MO US |
| Raul Olivares | ||||||
| Donald Ottoson | R | R | November 4, 1933 | 6'0" | 165 | Evanston, IL US |
| Carlos Paula | R | R | November 28, 1927 | 6'3" | 195 | La Habana, La Habana CU |
| Lewis Saum | R | R | December 19, 1933 | 6'3" | 189 | |
| Andy Smith | L | 6'1" | 200 | |||
| Ray Taylor | L | January 10, 1915 | 5'9" | 152 | Newark, TX US | |
| Manuel Valdez | R | 5'10" | 178 | |||
| Mario Varona | R | 6'4" | 198 | |||
| Ed Yelito | R | R | April 10, 1929 | Coaldale, PA 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.
