1954 Baltimore Orioles season

Offseason

• November 30, 1953: Chuck Diering was purchased by the Orioles from the San Francisco Seals.
• February 2, 1954: Satchel Paige was released by the Orioles.
• February 5, 1954: Johnny Groth and Johnny Lipon were traded by the Orioles to the Chicago White Sox for Neil Berry and Sam Mele.
• April 8, 1954: Dave Koslo was acquired from the New York Giants.

Regular season

• April 13, 1954: The Orioles opened their first season as the reborn Browns on the road, on April 13, 1954, at Briggs Stadium against the Detroit Tigers. The Tigers won, 3–0, on three solo home runs (from Ray Boone, Walt Dropo and Frank Bolling). Steve Gromek hurled the complete game shutout and Don Larsen (who would lose 21 of 24 decisions that year) was the hard-luck loser.
• April 15: Thousands of Baltimoreans jammed city streets as the new Orioles paraded from downtown to their new home at Memorial Stadium. During the 90-minute parade, the new Birds signed autographs, handed out pictures and threw styrofoam balls to the crowd as the throng marched down 33rd Street West. Inside, more than 46,000 watched the Orioles beat the Chicago White Sox, 3–1, to win their home opener and move into first place in the American League. Clint Courtney hit the first home run in modern Orioles history, a solo blow in the third inning. Ironically, the Orioles lost their last home game of the season, 11–0, to the same White Sox, finishing with 100 losses and games out of first place.
• September 12: At Memorial Stadium, Joe Durham hit a solo home run off Philadelphia Athletics pitcher Al Sima in the sixth inning, to become the first African-American position player to belt a homer in Baltimore Orioles history.
• September 14: Paul Richards, manager of the White Sox since 1951, resigns his post to join the Orioles as both field manager and general manager. When Richards' signing was announced, ten games remained in the O's season. Dykes stayed on to finish the 1954 campaign as skipper, and Richards took over in the Baltimore dugout starting in 1955. Richards had compiled a 342–265 (.563) won–lost record as leader of the Pale Hose, turning around the fortunes of the formerly hapless franchise.

Opening day lineup, April 13, 1954

Season standings

Record vs. opponents

Notable transactions

• May 11, 1954: Neil Berry, Dick Kokos and Jim Post (minors) were traded by the Orioles to the New York Yankees for Jim Brideweser.
• May 12, 1954: Don Lenhardt was acquired from the Orioles by the Boston Red Sox.
• May 25, 1954: Dick Littlefield was traded by the Orioles to the Pittsburgh Pirates for Cal Abrams.
• June 1, 1954: Vic Wertz was traded by the Orioles to the Cleveland Indians for Bob Chakales.
• July 4, 1954: Marlin Stuart was claimed off waivers from the Orioles by the New York Yankees.
• August 7, 1954: Bob Kuzava was claimed off waivers by the Orioles from the New York Yankees.

Roster

Player stats

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

Other batters

Note: G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in

Pitching

Starting pitchers

Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts

Other pitchers

Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts

Relief pitchers

Note: G = Games pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; SV = Saves; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts

Awards and honors

1954 Major League Baseball All-Star Game

• Bob Turley

Farm system

Tar Heel League disbanded, June 21, 1954

Notes

References

• 1954 Baltimore Orioles team at Baseball-Reference
• 1954 Baltimore Orioles season at baseball-almanac.com

References

1. (2005). "Was the Federal League a Major League?".
2. [[Baseball Reference]]: [https://www.baseball-reference.com/leagues/MLB/1954-misc.shtml 1954 MLB Attendance]
3. "$86,715 Orioles' Loss Changes Richards' Plan," ''The Associated Press'' (AP), Sunday 29 April 1956. Retrieved 13 June 2025.
4. [https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/d/dierich01.shtml Chuck Diering] at ''Baseball-Reference''
5. [https://www.baseball-reference.com/p/paigesa01.shtml Satchel Paige] at ''Baseball-Reference''
6. [https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/g/grothjo01.shtml Johnny Groth] at ''Baseball-Reference''
7. [https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/k/kosloda01.shtml#trans Dave Koslo transactions] at ''Baseball Reference''
8. [[Retrosheet]] [http://www.retrosheet.org/boxesetc/1954/B04130DET1954.htm box score: 1954-04-13]
9. "APRIL, 1954 | BaseballLibrary.com".
10. [http://www.baseballlibrary.com/baseballlibrary/teams/1954orioles.stm 1954 Orioles] {{Webarchive. link. (October 20, 2007 at Baseball Library)
11. [http://www.baltimoresun.com/sports/orioles/bs-sp-joe-durham-obit-20160428-story.html Joe Durham, first African-American player to homer for Orioles, dies at 84]. ''The Baltimore Sun''. Retrieved on April 29, 2016.
12. [http://www.retrosheet.org/boxesetc/1954/B09122BAL1954.htm Philadelphia Athletics 5, Baltimore Orioles 4 (2). Game Played on Sunday, September 12, 1954 (D) at Memorial Stadium]. Box Score and Play by Play. ''Retrosheet''. Retrieved on April 29, 2016.
13. [https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/b/berryne01.shtml Neil Berry] at ''Baseball-Reference''
14. [https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/l/lenhado01.shtml#trans Don Lenhardt transactions] at Baseball-Reference
15. [https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/l/littldi01.shtml#trans Dick Littlefield transactions] at Baseball-Reference
16. [https://www.baseball-reference.com/c/chakabo01.shtml Bob Chakales] at ''Baseball-Reference''
17. [https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/s/stuarma01.shtml#trans Marlin Stuart transactions] at Baseball-Reference
18. [https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/k/kuzavbo01.shtml#trans Bob Kuzava transactions] at Baseball-Reference