1953 Peoria Chiefs Roster
Team Record: 63-65
Finished 6th in the IIIL
Manager: Whitey Kurowski (63-65)
Affiliation: St. Louis Cardinals
Location: Peoria, Illinois
Ballpark: Woodruff Field
Attendance: 124,866, Avg. 1,951
The Peoria Chiefs of the Illinois-Iowa-Indiana League ended the 1953 season with a record of 63 wins and 65 losses, finishing sixth in the IIIL.
The Chiefs led the circuit with 737 runs. Peoria surrendered 674 runs. Frank Tanana paced all regular batters with a .310 average. Nat Yablon topped the squad with 12 wins and a team-best 3.72 ERA, leading qualifying pitchers.
Members of the 1953 Peoria Chiefs who played in Major League Baseball during their careers were Hank Aguirre, Jake Striker and Whitey Kurowski.
Whitey Kurowski served as manager.Click on column headings to sort.
| Player | Bats | Throws | Birth Date | Height | Weight | Hometown |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hank Aguirre | R | L | January 31, 1931 | 6'4" | 205 | Azusa, CA US |
| Don Boenker | R | R | May 2, 1931 | 5'11" | 185 | |
| Mike Coma | R | R | May 3, 1928 | 5'9" | 175 | |
| Hal Dodeward | S | R | October 22, 1931 | 6'1" | 210 | Rock Valley, IA US |
| James Fishback | S | 5'10" | 180 | |||
| Bob Gardner | R | August 22, 1922 | 5'9" | 170 | ||
| James Harris | R | 5'11" | 170 | |||
| John Herman | L | L | February 5, 1928 | 5'11" | 185 | San Diego, CA US |
| Carl Hertz | R | R | 6'3" | 190 | ||
| Eugene Krupp | L | L | 5'11" | 165 | ||
| Whitey Kurowski | R | R | April 19, 1918 | 5'11" | 193 | Reading, PA US |
| Bob Manning | R | R | November 16, 1931 | 5'9" | 170 | Peoria, IL US |
| Jerry Mehlisch | R | 5'11" | 185 | |||
| John Mulcahy | R | R | October 4, 1926 | 6'0" | 190 | Peabody, MA US |
| Theodore Narleski | R | August 13, 1930 | 5'9" | 170 | ||
| Robert O'Donnell | R | 6'0" | 175 | |||
| Don Saner | L | L | September 27, 1933 | 6'0" | 190 | |
| Wally Seward | L | L | July 1, 1932 | 6'2" | 170 | |
| Al Smith | L | May 20, 1932 | 6'2" | 185 | Chicago, IL US | |
| Jake Striker | L | L | October 23, 1933 | 6'2" | 200 | New Washington, OH US |
| Frank Tanana | R | 6'2" | 180 | |||
| Jim Tolleson | R | September 20, 1930 | 6'0" | 180 | ||
| Vern Watercutter | R | March 2, 1928 | 6'1" | 180 | ||
| Ken Wild | R | R | November 16, 1926 | 6'1" | 185 | |
| Nat Yablon | S | R | April 26, 1927 | 6'0" | 173 |
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.
