1953 Houston Buffalos Roster
Team Record: 72-82
Finished 6th in the TL
Manager: Al Hollingsworth (0-0), Dixie Walker (0-0)
Affiliation: St. Louis Cardinals
Location: Houston, Texas
Ballpark: Busch Stadium
Attendance: 203,543, Avg. 2,643
The Houston Buffalos of the Texas League ended the 1953 season with a record of 72 wins and 82 losses, finishing sixth in the TL.
The Buffalos plated 608 runs, worst in the circuit, and gave up 659 runs. Fred Marolewski paced Houston with 23 home runs Larry Ciaffone accounted for 66 RBI. Harry Elliott led all regular hitters by hitting .328. Floyd Wooldridge topped the team with 15 wins and a team-best 2.2 earned run average, leading regularly-used pitchers.
Members of the 1953 Houston Buffalos who played in Major League Baseball during their careers were Al Gerheauser, Mike Clark, Dick Rand, Dick Bokelmann, Larry Miggins, Fred Martin, Al Papai, Vern Benson, Harry Elliott, Eddie Phillips, Neal Hertweck, Fred Hahn, Larry Jackson, Floyd Wooldridge, Grant Dunlap, Jay Van Noy, Fred Marolewski, Cloyd Boyer, Larry Ciaffone, Frank Mancuso and Gary Blaylock.
Al Hollingsworth and Dixie Walker served as manager.Click on column headings to sort.
| Player | Bats | Throws | Birth Date | Height | Weight | Hometown |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jim Atchley | R | R | August 8, 1923 | 6'2" | 170 | Battle Creek, MI US |
| Vern Benson | L | R | September 19, 1924 | 5'10" | 160 | Granite Quarry, NC 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 |
| Cloyd Boyer | R | R | September 1, 1927 | 6'1" | 188 | Alba, MO US |
| Roy Broome | R | R | February 17, 1921 | 5'11" | 160 | Norwood, NC US |
| Jack Cardey | R | R | August 30, 1922 | 6'0" | 190 | |
| Larry Ciaffone | R | R | August 17, 1924 | 5'9" | 185 | Brooklyn, NY US |
| Mike Clark | R | R | February 12, 1922 | 6'4" | 190 | Camden, NJ US |
| Bob Clear | R | R | December 14, 1927 | 5'9" | 170 | Denver, CO US |
| Lou Dolci | R | December 29, 1929 | 6'2" | 175 | Staten Island, NY US | |
| Benjamin Downs | L | R | August 13, 1929 | 6'2" | 200 | Highland Park, MI US |
| Grant Dunlap | R | R | December 20, 1923 | 6'2" | 180 | Stockton, CA US |
| Harry Elliott | R | R | December 30, 1923 | 5'9" | 175 | San Francisco, CA US |
| Al Gerheauser | L | L | June 24, 1917 | 6'3" | 190 | St. Louis, MO US |
| Fred Hahn | R | L | February 16, 1929 | 6'3" | 174 | Nyack, NY US |
| Vann Harrington | L | November 2, 1917 | 5'8" | 155 | Thomasville, NC US | |
| Neal Hertweck | L | L | November 22, 1931 | 6'1" | 175 | St. Louis, MO US |
| Larry Jackson | R | R | June 2, 1931 | 6'1" | 175 | Nampa, ID US |
| Wally Lammers | R | R | October 31, 1926 | 5'11" | 180 | Buckley, IL US |
| Jim Lewey | R | R | September 7, 1930 | 6'0" | 165 | Alamance County, NC US |
| Frank Mancuso | R | R | May 23, 1918 | 6'0" | 195 | Houston, TX US |
| Fred Marolewski | R | R | October 6, 1928 | 6'2" | 205 | Chicago, IL US |
| Fred Martin | R | R | June 27, 1915 | 6'1" | 185 | Williams, OK US |
| Fred McAlister | R | R | March 1, 1928 | 6'1" | 185 | Lynchburg, VA US |
| William McGhee | R | 6'0" | 185 | |||
| Floyd Melliere | R | R | 6'2" | 190 | ||
| Jerry Mertz | R | R | April 11, 1927 | 6'1" | 185 | Youngwood, PA US |
| Larry Miggins | R | R | August 20, 1925 | 6'4" | 198 | Bronx, NY US |
| Kenneth Morgan | S | 5'9" | 170 | |||
| Harry Neighbors | R | July 15, 1931 | 5'9" | 175 | ||
| Jim Neufeldt | R | 6'0" | 160 | |||
| Al Papai | R | R | May 7, 1917 | 6'3" | 185 | Divernon, IL US |
| Eddie Phillips | S | R | July 8, 1930 | 6'1" | 180 | St. Louis, MO US |
| Howie Phillips | L | January 7, 1930 | 5'11" | 162 | ||
| Dick Rand | R | R | March 7, 1931 | 6'2" | 185 | South Gate, CA US |
| Pete Riggan | L | R | July 3, 1923 | 6'0" | 190 | |
| Octavio Rubert | R | R | April 9, 1925 | 6'0" | 160 | Sancti Spiritus, Sancti Spiritus CU |
| Donald Spencer | R | R | September 9, 1927 | 5'11" | 185 | Pittsburgh, PA US |
| Leverette Spencer | R | R | February 5, 1930 | 5'10" | 210 | Rocky Hill, CT US |
| Dick Umberger | L | L | 6'5" | 200 | ||
| Jay Van Noy | L | R | November 4, 1928 | 6'1" | 200 | Garland, UT US |
| Floyd Wooldridge | R | R | August 25, 1928 | 6'1" | 185 | Jerico Springs, MO 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.
