1953 Norfolk Tars Roster
Team Record: 81-51
Finished 1st in the PL
Manager: Mickey Owen (81-51)
Affiliation: New York Yankees
Location: Norfolk, Virginia
Ballpark: High Rock Park
Attendance: 69,119, Avg. 1,047
Playoffs - Norfolk Tars 4 games, Portsmouth Merrimacks 1
Finals - Norfolk Tars 4 games, Newport News Dodgers 1
The Norfolk Tars of the Piedmont League ended the 1953 season with a record of 81 wins and 51 losses, finishing first in the PL.
The Tars led the league with just 501 runs allowed. Norfolk scored 693 runs. Jerry Lynch paced all regular batters with a .333 average. Lloyd Merritt topped the squad with 20 wins, while Will Parsons added 15 or more wins, too Will Parsons recorded a 2.04 ERA, best among qualifying pitchers.
Jerry Lynch, Alton Brown, Jim Coates, Lloyd Merritt, Herb Plews, Don Leppert, Bobby Richardson and Mickey Owen were all players from the 1953 Norfolk Tars who played in the Majors during their careers.
Mickey Owen served as manager.Click on column headings to sort.
| Player | Bats | Throws | Birth Date | Height | Weight | Hometown |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Edward Armstrong | R | 5'9" | 160 | |||
| Ted Atkinson | R | July 6, 1929 | 6'0" | 175 | ||
| Jim Basta | L | L | March 30, 1930 | 6'0" | 185 | |
| Paul Battavio | R | R | July 3, 1930 | 5'10" | 165 | |
| Ken Beardslee | R | R | December 7, 1930 | 6'1" | 165 | Woodville, MI US |
| Alton Brown | R | R | April 16, 1925 | 6'2" | 195 | Norfolk, VA US |
| Jim Coates | R | R | August 4, 1932 | 6'4" | 192 | Farnham, VA US |
| Casey Darrah | R | March 28, 1930 | 5'10" | 170 | ||
| Harron Floyd | R | 5'11" | 175 | |||
| Rodney Heath | ||||||
| Louis Job | R | R | July 18, 1930 | 5'11" | 185 | |
| Stan Johnson | R | R | 6'0" | 165 | ||
| John Jones | L | January 18, 1931 | 5'10" | 178 | ||
| Walter Lance | L | 5'10" | 180 | |||
| Don Leppert | L | R | November 20, 1930 | 5'8" | 175 | Memphis, TN US |
| George Liddy | L | November 16, 1928 | 5'10" | 180 | Brooklyn, NY US | |
| Frank Lucas | R | R | 6'2" | 190 | ||
| Jerry Lynch | L | R | July 17, 1930 | 6'1" | 185 | Bay City, MI US |
| Lloyd Merritt | R | R | April 8, 1933 | 6'0" | 189 | St. Louis, MO US |
| Julius Moore | R | R | 6'2" | 174 | ||
| Warren Munsey | L | 5'11" | 185 | |||
| Richard Olshefski | L | L | March 27, 1928 | 6'1" | 175 | |
| Mickey Owen | R | R | April 4, 1916 | 5'10" | 190 | Nixa, MO US |
| Thomas Page | R | R | 6'0" | 185 | ||
| Leo Parent | R | R | April 13, 1933 | 6'2" | 200 | Lowell, MA US |
| Will Parsons | R | R | October 18, 1932 | 6'0" | 200 | |
| Pasquale Pescitelli | L | May 6, 1929 | 5'8" | 160 | Amityville, NY US | |
| Herb Plews | L | R | June 14, 1928 | 5'11" | 160 | Helena, MT US |
| James Ranson | R | 6'3" | 190 | |||
| Bobby Richardson | R | R | August 19, 1935 | 5'9" | 170 | Sumter, SC US |
| Dick Sanders | R | R | August 17, 1931 | 6'1" | 180 | |
| Dave Waters | R | 5'11" | 175 | |||
| Frank Wehner | L | L | 6'2" | 200 | ||
| Len Wiesner | R | November 9, 1929 | 6'0" | 168 | ||
| Leslie Wolf | L | 5'10" | 185 |
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.
