1953 Fort Lauderdale Lions Roster
Team Record: 92-46
Finished 1st in the FIL
Manager: Pepper Martin (92-46)
Location: Fort Lauderdale, Florida
Ballpark: Westside Ball Park
Attendance: 61,330, Avg. 889
Playoffs - Fort Lauderdale Lions 3 games, Havana Cubanos 1
Finals - Fort Lauderdale Lions 4 games, St. Petersburg Saints 2
The Fort Lauderdale Lions of the Florida International League ended the 1953 season with a record of 92 wins and 46 losses, finishing first in the FIL.
The Lions paced the circuit with 858 runs, powered by 130 home runs. Fort Lauderdale allowed 610 runs. Ray Williams led hitters with significant playing time with a .336 average. Winston Brown topped the team with 18 wins, while Walt Nothe and Bill Currie also added 15 or more victories also Winston Brown recorded a 2.78 ERA, leading hurlers with significant time on the mound.
Chet Covington, Dave Barnhill, George Handy, Bill Currie, Jesse Levan, Ed Charles and Johnny Davis were all players from the 1953 Fort Lauderdale Lions who played in the Majors during their careers.
Pepper Martin served as manager.Click on column headings to sort.
| Player | Bats | Throws | Birth Date | Height | Weight | Hometown |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dave Barnhill | R | R | October 30, 1913 | 5'6" | 168 | Greenville, NC US |
| Winston Brown | R | R | September 17, 1932 | 5'10" | 165 | Almirante, Bocas del Toro PA |
| Norman Chandler | R | L | June 23, 1930 | 6'1" | 185 | |
| Ed Charles | R | R | April 29, 1933 | 5'10" | 170 | Daytona Beach, FL US |
| Alejandro Chavez | ||||||
| Chet Covington | S | L | November 6, 1910 | 6'2" | 195 | Cairo, IL US |
| Bill Currie | R | R | November 29, 1926 | 6'0" | 175 | Leary, GA US |
| Johnny Davis | R | R | February 6, 1917 | 6'2" | 217 | Ashland, VA US |
| Charles Ehlman | R | R | July 4, 1926 | 5'10" | 185 | Washington, DC US |
| Andrew Elko | R | R | August 22, 1924 | 5'10" | 185 | Streator, IL US |
| Wendell Forbes | L | January 22, 1927 | 5'10" | 185 | ||
| Charles Graham | L | 5'10" | 158 | |||
| Joseph Griffin | R | R | August 22, 1928 | 6'1" | 175 | Edenton, NC US |
| George Handy | L | R | December 26, 1919 | 5'6" | 175 | |
| Sylvester Henry | R | 5'8" | 161 | |||
| Robert Hines | L | R | March 4, 1932 | 6'1" | 195 | |
| Mauro Iacavello | R | 6'2" | 195 | |||
| Jesse Levan | L | R | July 15, 1926 | 6'0" | 172 | Reading, PA US |
| Humberto Lopez | R | 5'8" | 160 | |||
| Mario Marsalisi | L | October 21, 1929 | 5'11" | 180 | ||
| Curtis Mitchell | R | R | May 16, 1915 | 5'10" | 165 | |
| Ernesto Morillas | R | R | November 11, 1925 | 5'8" | 140 | La Habana, La Habana CU |
| Walt Nothe | L | L | December 15, 1917 | 6'2" | 200 | Philadelphia, PA US |
| Bob Palmer | R | R | 5'10" | 175 | ||
| Jorge Prieto | L | L | 6'2" | 200 | ||
| Marvin Rubin | L | L | 5'11" | 170 | ||
| Dale Sanner | R | R | 5'11" | 175 | ||
| Elmer Smith | R | 6'0" | 180 | |||
| Frank Smith | R | 5'10" | 165 | |||
| William Torres | R | R | 5'8" | 165 | ||
| Thomas Venn | R | R | 6'2" | 183 | ||
| George Wehmeyer | R | February 24, 1927 | 5'6" | 150 | ||
| Ray Williams | R | R | December 4, 1924 | 6'2" | 185 | Ensley, AL 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.
