1950 Brooklyn Dodgers season

The 1950 Brooklyn Dodgers struggled for much of the season, but still wound up pushing the Philadelphia Phillies to the last day of the season before falling two games short. Following the season, Branch Rickey was replaced as majority owner/team president by Walter O'Malley, who promptly fired manager Burt Shotton and replaced him with Chuck Dressen. Buzzie Bavasi was also hired as the team's first independent General Manager.

1950 Brooklyn Dodgers
Major League affiliations
National League (since 1890)
Location
Ebbets Field (since 1913) Brooklyn, New York (since 1883)
Other information
Owner(s)	James & Dearie Mulvey, Walter O'Malley, Branch Rickey, John L. Smith
General manager(s)	Branch Rickey
Manager(s)	Burt Shotton
Local television	WOR-TV
Local radio	WMGM Red Barber, Connie Desmond, Vin Scully
< Previous season     Next season >

Vin Scully joined the Dodgers' radio and television crew as a play-by-play announcer in 1950; in 2016, Scully entered his 67th consecutive season with the club, the longest such tenure in the history of sports broadcasting, that season was the first wherein his voice, as well as of Red Barber's, was broadcast on television station WOR-TV, making the Dodgers the last New York City MLB team to introduce regular television broadcasts, 11 years following the first broadcasts of 1939.

Offseason

• October 1, 1949: Danny O'Connell was traded by the Dodgers to the Pittsburgh Pirates for a player to be named later and cash. The Pirates completed the deal by sending Jack Cassini to the Dodgers on October 11.[1]
• October 4, 1949: Sam Jethroe and Bob Addis were traded by the Dodgers to the Boston Braves for Don Thompson, Dee Phillips and Al Epperly.[2]
• October 14, 1949: Marv Rackley was purchased from the Dodgers by the Cincinnati Reds.[3]
• October 14, 1949: Paul Minner and Preston Ward were purchased from the Dodgers by the Chicago Cubs.[4]
• November 4, 1949: Hank Schenz was purchased from the Dodgers by the Pittsburgh Pirates.[5]
• November 14, 1949: Dick Whitman was purchased from the Dodgers by the Philadelphia Phillies.[6]
• December 24, 1949: Luis Olmo was traded by the Dodgers to the Boston Braves for Jim Russell, Ed Sauer and cash.[7]
• Prior to 1950 season (exact date unknown)
  • John Glenn was signed as an amateur free agent by the Dodgers.[8]
  • Glenn Cox was signed as an amateur free agent by the Dodgers.[9]

Regular season

During the season, Duke Snider had a hitting streak of 22 games[10] Another highlight was on August 31, when Gil Hodges hit four home runs in one game, becoming the first player in the 20th century to do so in his home park.[11]

Season standings

National League	W	L	Pct.	GB	Home	Road
Philadelphia Phillies	91	63	0.591	—	48–29	43–34
Brooklyn Dodgers	89	65	0.578	2	48–30	41–35
New York Giants	86	68	0.558	5	44–32	42–36
Boston Braves	83	71	0.539	8	46–31	37–40
St. Louis Cardinals	78	75	0.510	12½	48–28	30–47
Cincinnati Reds	66	87	0.431	24½	38–38	28–49
Chicago Cubs	64	89	0.418	26½	35–42	29–47
Pittsburgh Pirates	57	96	0.373	33½	33–44	24–52

Record vs. opponents

1950 National League Records Sources:
Team	BOS	BR	CHC	CIN	NYG	PHI	PIT	STL
Boston	—	9–13	9–13	17–5	13–9	9–13–1	15–7–1	11–11
Brooklyn	13–9	—	10–12	12–10	12–10	11–11–1	19–3	12–10
Chicago	13–9	12–10	—	4–17	5–17	9–13–1	11–11	10–12
Cincinnati	5–17	10–12	17–4	—	11–11	4–18	12–10	7–15
New York	9–13	10–12	17–5	11–11	—	12–10	16–6	11–11
Philadelphia	13–9–1	11–11–1	13–9–1	18–4	10–12	—	14–8	12–10
Pittsburgh	7–15–1	3–19	11–11	10–12	6–16	8–14	—	12–9
St. Louis	11–11	10–12	12–10	15–7	11–11	10–12	9–12	—

Notable transactions

• May 10, 1950: Willie Ramsdell was purchased from the Dodgers by the Cincinnati Reds.[12]
• May 17, 1950: Spider Jorgensen was purchased from the Dodgers by the New York Giants.[13]
• July 30, 1950: Glen Moulder was traded by the Dodgers to the St. Louis Cardinals for Johnny Lindell.[14]
• September 10, 1950: Harry Taylor was purchased from the Dodgers by the Boston Red Sox.[15]

Opening Day lineup

Opening Day lineup
Name	Position
Pee Wee Reese	Shortstop
George Shuba	Left fielder
Duke Snider	Center fielder
Jackie Robinson	Second baseman
Carl Furillo	Right fielder
Gil Hodges	First baseman
Bobby Morgan	Third baseman
Roy Campanella	Catcher
Don Newcombe	Starting pitcher

Roster

1950 Brooklyn Dodgers
Roster
Pitchers 43 Dan Bankhead 11 Jack Banta 26 Rex Barney 13 Ralph Branca 11 Al Epperly 17,11 Carl Erskine 19 Joe Hatten 41 Clem Labine 11 Joe Landrum 38 Billy Loes 35 Mal Mallette 23 Pat McGlothin 36 Don Newcombe 12 Erv Palica 40 Bud Podbielan 33 Willie Ramsdell 28 Preacher Roe 33 Jim Romano 25 Chris Van Cuyk		Catchers 39 Roy Campanella 10 Bruce Edwards  7 Steve Lembo Infielders 18 Wayne Belardi  3 Billy Cox 14 Gil Hodges 21 Spider Jorgensen 34 Eddie Miksis  2 Bobby Morgan  1 Pee Wee Reese 42 Jackie Robinson		Outfielders 8,32 Cal Abrams  5 Tommy Brown  6 Carl Furillo 22 Gene Hermanski 37 Jim Russell  8 George Shuba  4 Duke Snider		Manager -- Burt Shotton Coaches 44 Sam Narron 31 Jake Pitler 27 Milt Stock 15 Clyde Sukeforth

Player stats

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	Roy Campanella	126	437	123	.281	31	89
1B	Gil Hodges	153	561	159	.283	32	113
2B	Jackie Robinson	144	518	170	.328	14	81
SS	Pee Wee Reese	141	531	138	.260	11	52
3B	Billy Cox	119	451	116	.257	8	44
OF	Duke Snider	152	620	199	.321	31	107
OF	Gene Hermanski	94	289	86	.298	7	34
OF	Carl Furillo	153	620	189	.305	18	106

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
Jim Russell	77	214	49	.229	10	32
Bobby Morgan	67	199	45	.226	7	21
Bruce Edwards	50	142	26	.183	8	16
George Shuba	34	111	23	.207	3	12
Tommy Brown	48	86	25	.291	8	20
Eddie Miksis	51	76	19	.250	2	10
Cal Abrams	38	44	9	.205	0	4
Wayne Belardi	10	6	1	.167	0	0
Steve Lembo	5	6	1	.167	0	0
Spider Jorgensen	2	2	0	.000	0	1

Starting 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
Don Newcombe	40	267.1	19	11	3.70	130
Preacher Roe	36	250.2	19	11	3.30	125
Carl Erskine	22	103	7	6	4.72	50

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
Erv Palica	43	201.1	13	8	3.58	131
Ralph Branca	43	142	7	9	4.69	100
Dan Bankhead	41	129.1	9	4	5.50	96
Bud Podbielan	20	72.2	5	4	5.33	28
Joe Hatten	23	68.2	2	2	4.59	29
Jack Banta	16	41.1	4	4	4.35	15
Chris Van Cuyk	12	33.1	1	3	4.86	21
Jim Romano	3	6.1	0	0	5.68	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
Rex Barney	20	2	1	0	6.42	23
Billy Loes	10	0	0	0	7.82	2
Joe Landrum	7	0	0	1	8.10	5
Al Epperly	5	0	0	0	5.00	3
Willie Ramsdell	5	1	2	1	2.84	2
Mal Mallette	2	0	0	0	0.00	2
Clem Labine	1	0	0	0	4.50	0
Pat McGlothin	1	0	0	0	13.50	2

Awards and honors

• 1950 Major League Baseball All-Star Game
  • Roy Campanella starter
  • Jackie Robinson starter
  • Gil Hodges reserve
  • Don Newcombe reserve
  • Pee Wee Reese reserve
  • Preacher Roe reserve
  • Duke Snider reserve
• TSN Major League All-Star Team
  • Jackie Robinson

Farm system

Level	Team	League	Manager
AAA	Hollywood Stars	Pacific Coast League	Fred Haney
AAA	Montreal Royals	International League	Walter Alston
AAA	St. Paul Saints	American Association	Clay Hopper
AA	Ft. Worth Cats	Texas League	Bobby Bragan
AA	Mobile Bears	Southern Association	Paul Chervinko
A	Elmira Pioneers	Eastern League	Greg Mulleavy George Fallon
A	Greenville Spinners	South Atlantic League	Oscar Grimes
A	Pueblo Dodgers	Western League	Ray Hathaway
B	Asheville Tourists	Tri-State League	Clay Bryant
B	Danville Dodgers	Illinois–Indiana–Iowa League	James Bivin
B	Lancaster Red Roses	Interstate League	Ed Head
B	Miami Sun Sox	Florida International League	Pepper Martin
B	Newport News Dodgers	Piedmont League	Al Campanis Bud Metheny
C	Billings Mustangs	Pioneer League	Larry Shepard
C	Bisbee-Douglas Copper Kings	Southwest International League	Buck Elliott
C	Greenwood Dodgers	Cotton States League	Lou Rochelli
C	Santa Barbara Dodgers	California League	Bill Hart
D	Trois-Rivières Royals	Canadian–American League	George Scherger
D	Hazard Bombers	Mountain States League	Max Macon
D	Hornell Dodgers	Pennsylvania–Ontario–New York League	Doc Alexson
D	Ponca City Dodgers	Kansas–Oklahoma–Missouri League	Boyd Bartley
D	Sheboygan Indians	Wisconsin State League	Joe Hauser
D	Valdosta Dodgers	Georgia–Florida League	Stan Wasiak

LEAGUE CHAMPIONS: Billings

References

1. Danny O'Connell at Baseball-Reference
2. Sam Jethroe at Baseball-Reference
3. Marv Rackley at Baseball-Reference
4. Paul Minner at Baseball-Reference
5. Hank Schenz at Baseball-Reference
6. Dick Whitman at Baseball-Reference
7. Luis Olmo at Baseball-Reference
8. John Glenn at Baseball-Reference
9. Glenn Cox at Baseball-Reference
11. Great Baseball Feats, Facts and Figures, 2008 Edition, p.258, David Nemec and Scott Flatow, A Signet Book, Penguin Group, New York, ISBN 978-0-451-22363-0
12. Willie Ramsdell at Baseball-Reference
13. Spider Jorgensen at Baseball-Reference
14. Glen Moulder at Baseball-Reference
15. Harry Taylor at Baseball-Reference

External links

• Baseball-Reference season page
• Baseball Almanac season page
• 1950 Brooklyn Dodgers uniform
• Brooklyn Dodgers reference site
• Acme Dodgers page Archived September 13, 2007, at the Wayback Machine
• Retrosheet