1952 Palatka Azaleas Roster
Team Record: 78-59
Finished 3rd in the FSL
Manager: Bill Steinecke (78-59)
Location: Palatka, Florida
Ballpark: Azalea Bowl
Attendance: 31,486, Avg. 460
Playoffs - Palatka Azaleas 2 games, Jacksonville Beach Sea Birds 0
Finals - Palatka Azaleas 3 games, Daytona Beach Islanders 1
The Palatka Azaleas of the Florida State League ended the 1952 season with a record of 78 wins and 59 losses, finishing third in the FSL.
The Azaleas plated 767 runs and conceded 678 runs. Merrill Smith led all regular batters by hitting .341. Cecil Hutson topped Palatka with 21 wins and a team-best 2.37 ERA, leading pitchers with enough qualifying appearances.
Vern Freiburger played in Major League Baseball during his career, the only member of the Palatka Azaleas to do so.
Bill Steinecke served as manager.Click on column headings to sort.
| Player | Bats | Throws | Birth Date | Height | Weight | Hometown |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kenneth Adams | R | R | 5'11" | 190 | ||
| Charlie Baird | L | 6'0" | 170 | |||
| Bill Bass | R | R | June 11, 1929 | 5'11" | 180 | |
| Floyd Bridges | R | L | 6'0" | 185 | ||
| John Chapel | R | R | January 20, 1930 | 6'2" | 170 | |
| Mason Clements | ||||||
| Floyd Clift | L | July 25, 1925 | 5'9" | 185 | ||
| Jim Daskalakis | ||||||
| Jerry Earley | ||||||
| Vern Freiburger | R | L | December 19, 1923 | 6'1" | 170 | Detroit, MI US |
| Amery Frezza | ||||||
| Lou Garcia | R | June 23, 1929 | 5'7" | 165 | ||
| Nathan Haber | L | 5'5" | 160 | |||
| Bascom Hamm | R | R | 6'5" | 220 | ||
| Tom Herman | ||||||
| Gary Hildebrand | L | 6'1" | 175 | |||
| Cecil Hutson | R | R | January 3, 1914 | 5'11" | 165 | |
| Michael Kassabian | R | 5'7" | 175 | |||
| Angel Lopez | ||||||
| Francisco Lopez | R | L | 5'10" | 158 | ||
| John Mallard | R | 5'8" | 145 | |||
| John McCardell | L | 6'0" | 167 | |||
| Joe Mills | R | June 24, 1919 | 5'11" | 170 | ||
| William Parker | ||||||
| Richard Pellicer | ||||||
| Joe Pennington | L | L | 6'0" | 174 | ||
| Al Pirtle | L | October 11, 1924 | 5'10" | 200 | Granite City, IL US | |
| Don Poston | R | March 7, 1931 | 5'11" | 170 | ||
| James Ragas | July 23, 1932 | |||||
| William Rannow | ||||||
| George Rivero | R | R | 5'11" | 180 | ||
| Carl Schultz | L | 5'11" | 175 | |||
| Elmer Sherba | ||||||
| Frank Smith | R | 5'10" | 165 | |||
| Merrill Smith | R | 5'10" | 165 | |||
| Gary Sondermeyer | R | December 5, 1925 | 6'4" | 200 | Hawthorne, NJ US | |
| Don Sonstroem |
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.
