1953 Keokuk Kernels Roster
Team Record: 53-75
Finished 7th in the IIIL
Manager: Rudy Laskowski (53-75)
Location: Keokuk, Iowa
Ballpark: Joyce Park
Attendance: 76,405, Avg. 1,194
The Keokuk Kernels of the Illinois-Iowa-Indiana League ended the 1953 season with a record of 53 wins and 75 losses, finishing seventh in the IIIL.
The Kernels scored 644 runs and conceded 768 runs. Rudy Johnson led all qualifying hitters on the roster by hitting .290. Armando Diaz topped Keokuk with 10 wins and a team-best 4.12 ERA, tops among regular hurlers.
Players from the 1953 Keokuk Kernels who spent time in Major League Baseball during their careers included Bitsy Mott, Charlie Cuellar, Nat Peeples and Art Pennington.
Rudy Laskowski served as manager.Click on column headings to sort.
| Player | Bats | Throws | Birth Date | Height | Weight | Hometown |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Harry Anderson | R | 6'0" | 180 | |||
| Vern Belt | R | R | August 17, 1927 | 6'1" | 160 | Emerson, NE US |
| Hank Bruder | L | R | April 17, 1930 | 6'1" | 160 | |
| Donald Burson | R | January 13, 1927 | 5'11" | 160 | ||
| Robert Burson | R | 6'2" | 185 | |||
| Emil Carlini | R | 5'9" | 175 | |||
| Charlie Cuellar | R | R | September 24, 1917 | 5'11" | 183 | Ybor City, FL US |
| Donald Davenport | L | 6'0" | 188 | |||
| Carlos DeSouza | R | R | June 6, 1924 | 5'7" | 160 | |
| Armando Diaz | R | R | 6'0" | 158 | ||
| James England | L | 5'10" | 150 | |||
| Amancio Ferro | ||||||
| Arnie Fritz | R | July 5, 1929 | 6'0" | 180 | ||
| Norman Gosselin | R | R | August 4, 1924 | 5'8" | 170 | Chicopee, MA US |
| Nathan Haber | L | 5'5" | 160 | |||
| Clarence Hall | R | 5'10" | 173 | |||
| Bob Harmon | R | 6'1" | 180 | |||
| Lee Jackson | S | 5'7" | ||||
| Rudy Johnson | L | November 20, 1926 | 5'10" | 170 | ||
| Jack Jones | ||||||
| Willie Jones | ||||||
| John Kall | R | August 13, 1925 | 5'11" | 175 | Cleveland, OH US | |
| Richard Kolomay | July 12, 1933 | |||||
| Robert Kuhlman | R | R | 6'1" | 188 | ||
| Rudy Laskowski | R | R | March 25, 1915 | 5'7" | 165 | Chicago, IL US |
| Bob Loddeke | R | R | December 28, 1927 | 6'1" | 175 | |
| Bitsy Mott | R | R | June 12, 1918 | 5'8" | 155 | Arcadia, FL US |
| Marshall O'Coine | R | R | March 19, 1925 | 6'4" | 185 | Windsor, ON CA |
| James Paolo | L | L | 5'9" | 165 | ||
| Nick Pappas | R | R | September 1, 1919 | 6'1" | 170 | |
| Nat Peeples | R | R | June 29, 1926 | 6'1" | 185 | Memphis, TN US |
| Art Pennington | S | R | May 18, 1923 | 5'11" | 180 | Memphis, TN US |
| German Pizarro | R | R | May 28, 1933 | 6'1" | 195 | |
| Richard Rostenkowski | R | 5'11" | 165 | |||
| Frank Santora | R | May 22, 1926 | 5'11" | 170 | ||
| Dick Thompson | R | R | July 26, 1926 | 6'1" | 180 | Russellville, AL US |
| Gilberto Valdivia | R | October 14, 1914 | 5'5" | 155 | ||
| George Verespy | L | 5'11" | 185 | |||
| Raúl Villamia | R | R | November 30, 1925 | 5'9" | 155 | |
| Bob Watson | R | 6'2" | 220 | |||
| Neb Wilson | R | R | October 11, 1922 | 6'1" | 205 | East Spencer, NC 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.
