1953 Des Moines Bruins Roster
Team Record: 77-78
Finished 4th in the WL
Manager: Kemp Wicker (0-0), Bruce Edwards (0-0)
Affiliation: Chicago Cubs
Location: Des Moines, Iowa
Ballpark: Sec Taylor Stadium I
Attendance: 98,972, Avg. 1,277
Playoffs - Des Moines Bruins 3 games, Colorado Springs Sky Sox 1
Finals - Des Moines Bruins 3 games, Denver Bears 1
The Des Moines Bruins of the Western League ended the 1953 season with a record of 77 wins and 78 losses, finishing fourth in the WL.
The Bruins allowed 662 runs, least in the league. Des Moines plated 687 runs. John Magliolo led batters with significant playing time by connecting at a .284 clip. Don Watkins and Bob Zick topped the team with 14 wins each, while Bob Zick earned a 2.96 ERA, leading pitchers with enough qualifying appearances.
El Tappe, Paul Schramka, Joe Stanka, Chris Kitsos, Bob Zick, Dewey Adkins and Bruce Edwards were all players from the 1953 Des Moines Bruins who played in the Majors during their careers.
Kemp Wicker and Bruce Edwards served as manager.Click on column headings to sort.
| Player | Bats | Throws | Birth Date | Height | Weight | Hometown |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dewey Adkins | R | R | May 11, 1918 | 6'2" | 195 | Norcatur, KS US |
| Earl Birnel | R | October 18, 1926 | 5'10" | 170 | ||
| Dave Cunningham | R | R | December 3, 1929 | 6'0" | 175 | San Pedro, CA US |
| Bruce Edwards | R | R | July 15, 1923 | 5'8" | 180 | Quincy, IL US |
| Ned Folmar | R | R | December 14, 1924 | 6'1" | 190 | Goshen, AL US |
| Ed Funai | R | R | 6'0" | 200 | ||
| Pete Gasper | R | R | June 7, 1929 | 5'11" | 175 | Jessup, PA US |
| Ronnie George | L | L | August 26, 1931 | 6'3" | 180 | Brighton, MA US |
| Arnold Green | L | 6'2" | 175 | |||
| Bob Hartig | R | R | September 22, 1930 | 6'1" | 190 | |
| Percy Hough | L | R | July 17, 1929 | 6'1" | 185 | Wadesboro, NC US |
| Chris Kitsos | S | R | February 11, 1928 | 5'9" | 165 | New York, NY US |
| George Large | R | 6'0" | 175 | |||
| Tom LeGros | R | R | June 27, 1931 | 6'1" | 185 | Mobile, AL US |
| Theodore Lotz | R | 6'0" | 180 | |||
| John Magliolo | L | 5'10" | 165 | |||
| Jimmie McDaniel | R | R | December 14, 1932 | 6'2" | 181 | Marshall, MO US |
| Grant Mitchell | R | R | November 29, 1933 | 6'2" | 175 | San Jose, CA US |
| Robert Murray | R | 6'1" | 190 | |||
| Jim O'Brien | L | R | October 29, 1927 | 6'0" | 185 | St. Paul, MN US |
| Tommy Perez | R | R | April 25, 1928 | 5'11" | 185 | New Monterey, CA US |
| Alby Plain | R | R | July 28, 1927 | 6'0" | 178 | |
| Edwin Plank | R | 6'1" | 180 | |||
| Darrell Rothrock | R | L | May 13, 1928 | 6'0" | 200 | Stewardson, IL US |
| Paul Schnieders | L | L | August 22, 1926 | 5'11" | 175 | Cole County, MO US |
| Paul Schramka | L | L | March 22, 1928 | 6'0" | 185 | Milwaukee, WI US |
| Gary Sondermeyer | R | December 5, 1925 | 6'4" | 200 | Hawthorne, NJ US | |
| Elvin Stabelfeld | R | R | September 9, 1926 | 5'10" | 190 | Cherokee, IA US |
| Joe Stanka | R | R | July 23, 1931 | 6'6" | 201 | Hammon, OK US |
| El Tappe | R | R | May 21, 1927 | 5'11" | 180 | Quincy, IL US |
| Charles Teague | L | 5'8" | 160 | |||
| Burdette Thurlby | L | September 22, 1928 | 6'2" | 190 | Kirkland, IL US | |
| Wayne Tjaden | R | R | 6'3" | 205 | ||
| Richard Verbic | R | R | 6'2" | 190 | ||
| Donald Vike | R | R | August 14, 1929 | 6'2" | 207 | |
| Rube Walker | L | R | March 7, 1929 | 6'0" | 195 | Lenoir, NC US |
| Don Watkins | R | R | September 12, 1924 | 6'0" | 180 | Nokomis, IL US |
| Elmer Westfall | R | 5'10" | 180 | |||
| Bob Zick | L | R | April 26, 1927 | 6'0" | 168 | Chicago, IL 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.
