Decade: The Golden Age (1950-1959)
Home Page		1940's Decade Page	1960's Decade Page
Team Decade Pages (Average Win Shares / Points per year in decade):		Top Team Builders In Decade:
AMERICAN LEAGUE:	NATIONAL LEAGUE:	1 - George Weiss (GM), Lee MacPhail (Farm Director), Casey Stengel (Manager) - Yankees
New York Yankees - 125	Brooklyn Dodgers - 119	2 - Branch Rickey (GM), Buzzy Bavasi (GM) - Dodgers
Cleveland Indians - 118	Milwaukee Braves - 111	3 - John Quinn (GM) - Braves
Chicago White Sox - 110	New York Giants - 107	4 - Frank Lane (GM) - White Sox
Boston Red Sox - 106	St. Louis Cardinals - 101	5 - Hank Greenberg (GM), Al Lopez (Manager) - Cleveland
Detroit Tigers - 96	Philadelphia Phillies - 99	6 - Leo Durocher (Manager), Chub Feeney (GM) - Giants
Washington Senators - 83	Cincinnati Reds - 96	7 - Branch Rickey (GM), Joe Brown (GM) - Pirates
Baltimore Orioles - 82	Chicago Cubs - 87	8 - Hank Greenberg (GM), Bill Veeck Jr (Owner)  - White Sox
Kansas City A's -  81	Pittsburgh Pirates - 80
Decade Highlights
□  The Golden Age of Baseball, which had begun after the war was over in 1946, was in full swing. A big part of it was that least one of the three New York teams was in the
World Series for 10 of the 12 years (1946-1957). Lots of media coverage. Big marquee stars in New York. Three great centerfielders in Willie Mays of the Giants, Mickey Mantle of the Yankees
and Duke Snider of the Dodgers. Plus others like  catchers Yogi Berra of the Yankees and Roy Campanella of the Dodgers, shortstops Pee Wee Reese of the Dodgers and Phil Rizzuto of the
Yankees,  Jackie Robinson of the Dodgers and Whitey Ford of the Yankees.
It also didn't hurt to have iconic managers like Casey Stengel of the Yankees and Leo Durocher of the Giants around either.
□  The top team in the American League is the Yankees who have the best decade in baseball history. In the midst of a run of 14 pennants in 16 years from '49 thru '64, the Yanks win eight
pennants and six World Series titles during the decade. Cleveland is second and Chicago third during the decade, both winning a pennant each.
□  The top team in the National League is the Dodgers who win five pennants and two World Series in the decade. In the run from '47 to '66, the Dodgers win ten pennants and four World
Series titles over the twenty year span. In addition, they lose the pennant on the last day of the season four other times: 1946 - they finish tied with the Cards and lose a playoff;
1950 - they lose on the last day of the season to the Phillies; 1951 - they finish tied with the Giants and lose a dramatic playoff on a ninth inning walk off home run; and 1962 - they finish tied
with the Giants and lose a playoff. That makes 14 years out of 20 where they were right there at the end. That's a dynasty folks. In the decade, the Braves win two pennants and a World Series
and the Giants win two pennants and a World Series and are the two best teams behind the Dodgers.
□ Baseball games are becoming televised. Particularly the World Series. Radio broadcasts are getting big. There are a slew of memorable announcers spread all across the big leagues
doing the games. Their voices become synonymous with the teams and are a big part of fans growing to love the game.
□ There are a growing number of outstanding black stars in the game. They are generally accepted well by the fans. An exception being Boston, where the Braves had to flee the city
because Bostonians completely stopped going to the games not wanting to watch black people play ball. Certain teams like the Red Sox, Yankees, Tigers, and Phillies integrate very slowly
waiting until towards the later part of the decade. With the Red Sox, it was most understandable seeing what happened to the Braves.
□ Baseball gloves started getting significantly better in the Fifties. They were flat, clunky leather pancakes before then.
□ Baseball is, by far, the most popular sport in America in the Fifties. Nothing else is close.
□  The way the game is played is not changed from the Forties despite the continued step down in hitting from the Live Ball Era. Other than the Dodgers, Willie Mays, Luis Aparicio,
Bill Bruton and a handful of others, no one was stealing bases. It was station to station baseball. As much as analytics folks throw out all sorts of numbers as to why you shouldn't
steal (they're wrong, by the way), analytics folks didn't exist in the Fifties. It was odd that no one was trying to manufacture runs.
□ After precisely fifty years of stability with no franchise moves, a spate of moves are made in the Fifties and into the early Sixties.
Air travel opens up the expansion towards the west without worrying about the feasibility to do so.
□ 1953 - The Braves open the floodgates moving to Milwaukee due to their attendence plummeting from one and a half million to 270,000 in just three years after integrating the team.
□ 1954 - The Browns move to Baltimore as they had been hemorrhaging money for years as the second fiddle in St. Louis. The move required Bill Veeck to sell the franchise as the other
owners did not approve of one of their number not behaving like a mogul.
□ 1955 - The A's move out of Philadelphia after disastrous infighting within the Mack family leaves the team bankrupt. Ironically, less than a decade earlier if you would have had to bet on
which team would leave Philadelphia, it would have been the Phillies. The A's had owned Philadelphia for close to fifty years.
□ 1957  - In a move inspired by greed, and one that set a very bad and sad precedent for major league baseball, the Dodgers move out of Brooklyn to Los Angeles.
Leaving a loyal and dedicated fan base to turn a bigger buck was a short sighted manuever for baseball.  Fans, and fans only,  are what generates revenue in baseball.
□ 1957  - Horace Stoneham, owner of the Giants, is easily coerced by Dodgers owner Walter O'Malley to accompany his move to the west coast. Without two teams on the coast, travel
costs would have been prohibitive. Like the Dodgers, the Giants didn’t need to move to survive. Stoneham was not capable of standing up to O'Malley if he wanted to.
The negative affect on baseball and on New York city and on the Golden Age of baseball by these two moves cannot be overstated.
□ 1961 - Calvin Griffith moves the Senators out of Washington to Minnesota. Pure and simple, Washington was too black for him. Minnesota passed the whiteness test.
Griffith made no bones about it. It wasn't racism in his mind. He felt that blacks were not paying baseball fans and don't go to games.
Top Players In Decade Pages(Win Shares / Points and WAR (in parentheses) for Decade ):
All Positions -  Top 50	Top Starting Pitchers	Top Catchers	Top Outfielders
1 - Willie Mays Giants (58.83) - 149	2 - Robin Roberts Phillies (60.49) - 148	10 -Yogi Berra Yankees  (47.12) - 115	1 - Willie Mays Giants (58.83) - 149
2 - Robin Roberts Phillies (60.49) - 148	4 - Warren Spahn Braves (57.18) - 143	13 - Sherman Lollar Chicago (25.65) - 102	3 - Richie Ashburn Phillies (50.88)- 145
3 - Richie Ashburn Phillies (50.88)- 145	6 - Early Wynn Cleveland (37.36) - 126	21 - Roy Campanella Brooklyn (28.02) - 82	5 - Mickey Mantle Yankees (68.05) - 138
4 - Warren Spahn Braves (57.18) - 143	9 - Billy Pierce Chicago (43.7) - 117	35 - Del Crandall Braves (19.27) - 73	7 - Duke Snider Brooklyn (55.59) - 123
5 - Mickey Mantle Yankees (68.05) - 138	15 - Bob Lemon Cleveland  (25.46) - 96		8 - Minnie Minoso Chicago (47.63) - 117
6 - Early Wynn Cleveland (37.36) - 126	18 - Lew Burdette Braves  (22.42) - 86	Top First Basemen	14 - Larry Doby Cleveland (41.48) - 102
7 - Duke Snider Brooklyn (55.59) - 123	22 - Don Newcombe Brooklyn (24.28)- 82	11 - Stan Musial Cards (61.15)- 114	16 - Jackie Jensen Boston (27.27) - 94
8 - Minnie Minoso Chicago (47.63) - 117	23 - Whitey Ford Yankees (26.26) - 81	12 - Gil Hodges Dodgers (41.79) - 104	26 - Ted Williams Boston (47.48) - 79
9 - Billy Pierce Chicago (43.7) - 117	24 - Miguel Garcia Cleveland (26.41) - 79	49 - Ted Kluszewski Reds (29.45) - 65	27 - Jim Rivera Chicago (7.33) - 78
10 -Yogi Berra Yankees  (47.12) - 115	28 - Johnny Antonelli Giants (31.05) - 78		30 - Bill Bruton Braves (14.12) - 76
11 - Stan Musial Cards (61.15)- 114	29 - Bob Rush Cubs (33.04) - 78	Top Second Basemen	31 - Al Kaline Detroit (33.59) - 75
12 - Gil Hodges Dodgers (41.79) - 104	34 - Ned Garver Browns (28.24) - 73	33 - Bobby Avila Cleveland (27.94) - 73	39 - Jim Busby Chicago (11.57) - 70
13 - Sherman Lollar Chicago (25.65) - 102	41 - Bob Friend Pirates  (21.74) - 70	38 - Gil McDougald Yankees (37.64) - 70	40 - Gene Woodling Yankees (26.32) - 70
14 - Larry Doby Cleveland (41.48) - 102	43 - Murry Dickson Pirates (25.07)  - 66	Nellie Fox Chicago (40.58) - 62	42 - Hank Bauer Yankees (28.77)- 69
15 - Bob Lemon Cleveland  (25.46) - 96	44 - Sal Maglie Giants (31.53) - 66	Red Schoendienst Cards (33.84) - 60	45 - Gus Bell Reds (16.5) - 66
16 - Jackie Jensen Boston (27.27) - 94	50 - Curt Simmons Phillies  (24.04) - 65	Pete Runnels Washington (20.05) - 52	46 - Carl Furillo Brooklyn (22.43) - 66
17 - Jackie Robinson Brooklyn (43.3) - 89	Carl Erskine Brooklyn (15.44) - 63		47 - Jimmy Piersall Boston (21.94) - 66
18 - Lew Burdette Braves  (22.42) - 86	Harvey Haddix Cards (23.75) - 60	Top Shortstops	Henry Aaron Braves (38.63) - 58
19 - Alvin Dark Giants (36.74) - 85	Bob Turley Yankees (14) - 58	19 - Alvin Dark Giants (36.74) - 85	Ralph Kiner Pirates (24.09) - 56
20 - Al Rosen Cleveland (33.27) - 84	Frank Lary Detroit (19.99) - 52	32 - Pee Wee Reese Brooklyn (32.61) - 74	Roy Sievers Washington (13.19) - 55
21 - Roy Campanella Brooklyn (28.02) - 82	Bobby Shantz A's (22.54) - 50	36 - Johnny Logan Braves (31.72) - 72	Monte Irvin Giants (21.11) - 53
22 - Don Newcombe Brooklyn (24.28)- 82	Herb Score Cleveland (13.64) - 28	37 - Ernie Banks Cubs (42.36) - 70	Hank Sauer Cubs (17.81) - 53
23 - Whitey Ford Yankees (26.26) - 81			Frank Robinson Reds (23.54) - 51
24 - Miguel Garcia Cleveland (26.41) - 79	Top Relief Pitchers	Top Third Basemen
25 - Ed Mathews Braves  (53.71) - 79	Gerry Staley Chicago (14.82) - 61	17 - Jackie Robinson Brooklyn (43.3) - 89
26 - Ted Williams Boston (47.48) - 79	Hoyt Wilhelm Giants (23.65) - 41	20 - Al Rosen Cleveland (33.27) - 84
27 - Jim Rivera Chicago (7.33) - 78	Billy Loes Dodgers (10.55) -   41	25 - Ed Mathews Braves  (53.71) - 79
28 - Johnny Antonelli Giants (31.05) - 78	Ellis Kinder Boston (20.45) -   37	48 - Ray Boone Detroit (25.17) - 65
29 - Bob Rush Cubs (33.04) - 78	Clem LaBine Dodgers (12.64) -   34	Eddie Yost Washington (31.14) - 56
30 - Bill Bruton Braves (14.12) - 76	ElRoy Face Pirates (10.45) -   33	Ken Boyer Cards (24.63) - 53
31 - Al Kaline Detroit (33.59) - 75	Jim Konstanty Phillies (8.00) -    29
32 - Pee Wee Reese Brooklyn (32.61) - 74	Ray Narleski Cleveland (9.93) -   27
33 - Bobby Avila Cleveland (27.94) - 73	Don Mossi Cleveland (13.22) -   23
34 - Ned Garver Browns (28.24) - 73	Ryne Duren Yankees (6.1) -   16
35 - Del Crandall Braves (19.27) - 73	Satchell Paige Browns (6.79) -   13
36 - Johnny Logan Braves (31.72) - 72
37 - Ernie Banks Cubs (42.36) - 70
38 - Gil McDougald Yankees (37.64) - 70
39 - Jim Busby Chicago (11.57) - 70
40 - Gene Woodling Yankees (26.32) - 70
41 - Bob Friend Pirates  (21.74) - 70
42 - Hank Bauer Yankees (28.77)- 69
43 - Murry Dickson Pirates (25.07)  - 66
44 - Sal Maglie Giants (31.53) - 66
45 - Gus Bell Reds (16.5) - 66
46 - Carl Furillo Brooklyn (22.43) - 66
47 - Jimmy Piersall Boston (21.94) - 66
48 - Ray Boone Detroit (25.17) - 65
49 - Ted Kluszewski Reds (29.45) - 65
50 - Curt Simmons Phillies  (24.04) - 65