The 1955 Kansas City Athletics season was the 55th season for the franchise in MLB's American League, and the first season in Kansas City after playing the previous 54 in Philadelphia. The team won 63 games – only the fifth time in 20 years that they won more than 60 games – and lost 91, finishing sixth in the American League, 33 games behind the AL Champion New York Yankees.

Offseason In 1954, the Mack family decided to sell the Philadelphia Athletics. Charlie Finley made an offer to purchase the team, but was refused.Charlie Finley: The Outrageous Story of Baseball's Super Showman, pp. 27, G. Michael Green and Roger D. Launius. Walker Publishing Company, New York, 2010, Clint Murchison also made an offer to purchase the team with plans to relocate to Southern California, but was also refused. On October 12, 1954, the owners approved the sale of the Athletics to Chicago businessman Arnold Johnson, who moved the team from Philadelphia to Kansas City for the 1955 season. Finley would later buy the A's from Johnson's estate in 1960. Murchison's son, Clint Jr., would later become one of the founders of the National Football League's Dallas Cowboys franchise in 1960.

In 1955, the new Kansas City Athletics drew 1,393,054 to Municipal Stadium.

Notable transactions Prior to 1955 season: Bob Davis was signed as an amateur free agent by the Athletics.Bob Davis page at Baseball Reference

Spring training The A's and Philadelphia Phillies had played a Philadelphia City Series since 1903. The Kansas City A's returned to Philadelphia at the end of spring training in 1955, and the teams played two games. The A's beat the Phillies in the second game, 10–2, at Wilmington Park, home of the original Wilmington Blue Rocks. Both games were played at Wilmington Park, Wilmington, Delaware, on April 9 and April 10, 1955, immediately prior to the start of the regular season.

Regular season

Opening game The first game in Kansas City's Major League history was played at home at Municipal Stadium on Tuesday, April 12, 1955, before 32,147 fans.Retrosheet box score: 1955-04-12 Facing the Detroit Tigers, the Athletics broke a 2–2 deadlock in the sixth inning with a three-run rally keyed by pinch hitter Don Bollweg's two-run single, and went on to win, 6–2. The A's other batting star was center fielder Bill Wilson, who collected three hits and a base on balls, scoring three runs, in four plate appearances; one of his hits was the first home run in Kansas City MLB annals, a solo blast in the eighth inning. Left-hander Alex Kellner got the victory, while former Cincinnati Reds star Ewell Blackwell pitched three scoreless innings in relief for the save.

Starting lineup   7 Vic Power 1B12 Pete Suder 2B  4 Jim Finigan    3B30 Gus Zernial LF34 Bill Renna RF32 Bill Wilson CF  2 Joe DeMaestri    SS11 Joe Astroth C20 Alex Kellner P

Season standings

Record vs. opponents

Notable transactions May 11, 1955: Sonny Dixon and cash were traded by the Athletics to the New York Yankees for Enos Slaughter and Johnny Sain.Enos Slaughter page at Baseball Reference May 31, 1955: Clete Boyer was signed as an amateur free agent (bonus baby) by the Athletics.Clete Boyer page at Baseball Reference May 1955: Al Sima was traded by the Athletics to the Washington Senators for Gus Keriazakos.Al Sima page at Baseball Reference September 10, 1955: Joe Ginsberg was purchased by the Athletics from the Seattle Rainiers.Joe Ginsberg page at Baseball Reference September 12, 1955: Glenn Cox was purchased by the Athletics from the Brooklyn Dodgers.Glenn Cox page at Baseball Reference

Roster 1955 Kansas City Athletics Roster Pitchers Catchers

Infielders Outfielders Manager

Coaches

Player stats = Indicates team leader

Batting

Starters by position Note: Pos = Position; G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in Pos Player G AB H Avg. HR RBI C Joe Astroth 101 274 69 .252 5 23 1B 147 596 190 .319 19 76 2B 150 549 135 .255 9 68 SS Joe DeMaestri 123 457 114 .249 6 37 3B 128 483 140 .290 15 68 LF 120 413 105 .254 30 84 CF Harry Simpson 112 396 119 .301 5 52 RF Enos Slaughter 108 267 86 .322 5 34

Other batters Note: G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in Player G AB H Avg. HR RBI Elmer Valo 112 283 103 .364 3 37 98 273 61 .223 15 38 100 249 53 .213 7 28 Billy Shantz 79 217 56 .258 1 12 Pete Suder 26 81 17 .210 0 1 47 79 19 .241 0 6 Jack Littrell 37 70 14 .200 0 1 Jerry Schypinski 22 69 15 .217 0 5 Dick Kryhoski 28 47 10 .213 0 2 Tom Saffell 9 37 8 .216 0 1 Spook Jacobs 13 23 6 .261 0 1 Bill Stewart 11 18 2 .111 0 0 Don Plarski 8 11 1 .091 0 0 5 10 1 .100 0 0 Don Bollweg 12 9 1 .111 0 2 Jim Robertson 6 8 2 .250 0 0 Hal Bevan 3 3 0 .000 0 0 1 1 0 .000 0 0

Pitching

Starting pitchers Note: G = Games played; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts Player G IP W L ERA SO 30 162.2 11 8 4.20 75 Bobby Shantz 23 125.0 5 10 4.54 58 Arnie Portocarrero 24 111.1 5 9 4.77 34 Vic Raschi 20 101.1 4 6 5.42 38 2 2.1 0 2 30.86 2

Other pitchers Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts Player G IP W L ERA SO 35 175.1 12 12 5.03 79 31 123.2 4 7 5.31 68 30 98.1 5 5 6.22 32 Ray Herbert 23 87.2 1 8 6.26 30 Johnny Gray 8 26.2 0 3 6.41 11 Mike Kume 6 23.2 0 2 7.99 7 4 15.0 0 2 7.80 9 5 11.2 0 1 12.34 8

Relief pitchers Note: G = Games pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; SV = Saves; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts Player G W L SV ERA SO 57 7 6 18 3.55 46 34 3 3 2 4.11 26 25 2 5 1 5.44 12 Lou Sleater 16 1 1 0 7.71 11 10 0 0 0 3.15 5 7 2 0 0 10.32 9 4 1 0 0 5.40 4 Bob Trice 4 0 0 0 9.00 2 Lee Wheat 3 0 0 0 22.50 0 2 0 1 0 6.75 2 Bob Spicer 2 0 0 0 33.75 2 Ozzie Van Brabant 2 0 0 0 18.00 1 2 0 0 0 16.20 0 1 0 0 0 0.00 1

Awards and honors

All-Star Game Jim Finigan, third baseman, starter Vic Power, reserve

Farm system

LEAGUE CHAMPIONS: LancasterWelch franchise transferred to Marion and renamed, July 14, 1955

References

External links 1955 Kansas City Athletics team page at Baseball Reference 1955 Kansas City Athletics team page at www.baseball-almanac.com