1953 Palatka Azaleas/Lakeland Pilots Roster
Florida State League (
FSL) - Class: D
Team Record: 47-89
Finished 8th in the FSL
Manager:
Charlie Baird (0-0),
Peter Kantor (0-0),
Paul Crawford (0-0),
Al Pirtle (0-0),
Peter Kantor (0-0),
Chuck Aleno (0-0)
Location:
Lakeland, Florida;
Palatka, Florida
Ballpark:
Henley Stadium,
Azalea Bowl
Attendance: 28,506, Avg. 419
The Palatka Azaleas/Lakeland Pilots of the Florida State League ended the 1953 season with a record of 47 wins and 89 losses, finishing eighth in the FSL.Palatka (13-22) transferred to Lakeland May 15.
The Azaleas/Pilots plated 657 runs and conceded 977 runs, most in the league. Al Pirtle topped all regular batters with a .337 average. Bascom Hamm led Palatka/Lakeland with 10 wins and a team-best 4.52 ERA, leading qualifying pitchers.
Chuck Aleno played in Major League Baseball during his career, the only member of the Palatka Azaleas/Lakeland Pilots to do so.
Charlie Baird, Peter Kantor, Paul Crawford, Al Pirtle, Peter Kantor and Chuck Aleno served as manager.
Click on column headings to sort.
| Player |
Bats |
Throws |
Birth Date |
Height |
Weight |
Hometown |
| Peter Alborano | | | March 17, 1934 | | | |
| Robert Alderman | | | | | | |
| Chuck Aleno | R | R | February 19, 1917 | 6'1" | 215 | St. Louis, MO US |
| Joseph Anile | R | R | August 20, 1935 | 6'2" | 195 | |
| Robert Arendt | R | R | | 6'1" | 170 | |
| George Asbridge | R | R | | 5'11" | 180 | |
| Andrew Ashton | | | May 1, 1930 | | | New Smyrna Beach, FL US |
| Clyde Austin | | | | | | |
| Roger Baer | | | May 12, 1931 | | | Oak Park, IL US |
| Charlie Baird | L | | | 6'0" | 170 | |
| Bill Bass | R | R | June 11, 1929 | 5'11" | 180 | |
| Floyd Bridges | R | L | | 6'0" | 185 | |
| Barthelemy Caron | | | | | | |
| Joseph Corso | R | | | 5'7" | 155 | |
| Paul Crawford | L | | May 23, 1924 | 5'9" | 190 | |
| Joseph Docker | | | | | | |
| Carmen Donato | L | L | July 16, 1929 | 5'11" | 165 | Newburgh, NY US |
| Dick Dotson | L | R | August 30, 1930 | 6'1" | 185 | |
| Dewey Funkhouser | | | | | | |
| Joseph Galucci | | | | | | |
| Carl Goggins | | | July 1, 1930 | | | |
| John Greenwald | L | | November 22, 1919 | 6'1" | 185 | New York, NY US |
| Jerome Haloff | | | | | | |
| Bascom Hamm | R | R | | 6'5" | 220 | |
| Gary Hildebrand | L | | | 6'1" | 175 | |
| Richard Jaworski | | | | | | |
| William Jones | L | L | | 5'10" | 165 | |
| Peter Kantor | R | | | 5'8" | 160 | |
| Michael Kassabian | R | | | 5'7" | 175 | |
| Jerry Lindley | | | | | | |
| Boris Lopez | | | | | | |
| Enio Martinez | R | | | 5'11" | 158 | |
| Joseph Matesich | | | | | | |
| Pat McCullough | R | R | | 5'11" | 178 | |
| James Miller | | | | | | |
| Murlin Miller | | | | | | |
| W. G. Moran | | | | | | |
| Manuel Moreno | S | | | 6'0" | 175 | |
| Thomas Naponen | | | | | | |
| Wayne Parnell | | | | | | |
| Roger Patten | L | R | | 5'10" | 170 | |
| Al Pirtle | L | | October 11, 1924 | 5'10" | 200 | Granite City, IL US |
| James Rakestraw | R | R | | 6'4" | 210 | |
| Bobby Roberts | R | | May 7, 1934 | 5'11" | 175 | |
| William Rowe | | | | | | |
| Robert Sassano | | | | | | |
| John Scargle | R | R | October 2, 1932 | 6'0" | 175 | |
| Gordon Seitz | | | | | | |
| Charlie Senger | | | | | | Brooklyn, NY US |
| Manuel Seoane | | | | | | |
| Leo Simard | L | | November 18, 1930 | 6'0" | 195 | |
| Sam Sincore | | | | | | |
| Hal Smeltzly | R | | October 24, 1931 | 5'11" | 170 | |
| John Sullivan | R | R | | 5'11" | 175 | |
| John Sykes | R | | March 28, 1926 | 5'11" | 175 | |
| Tiger Szazynski | | | July 2, 1934 | | | Pittsburgh, PA US |
| Jack Thorpe | S | R | July 21, 1933 | 5'7" | 160 | |
| Joseph Tuccillo | | | August 30, 1933 | | | |
| George Vladinedes | | | | | | |
| Troy Weeks | | | September 22, 1933 | | | |
| Edward Werse | | | | | | |
| Milton Wetherington | | | | | | |
| Robert Whitefleet | | | | | | |
| Martin Williamson | | | | | | |
| Wastine Yeomans | R | | | 5'11" | 180 | |
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.
