The 1956 Brooklyn Dodgers season was the 67th season for the Brooklyn Dodgers franchise in the MLB. The Dodgers edged out the Milwaukee Braves to win the National League title. The Dodgers again faced the New York Yankees in the World Series. This time they lost the series in seven games, one of which was a perfect game by the Yankees' Don Larsen.
Offseason December 9, 1955: Don Hoak, Russ Meyer and Walt Moryn were traded by the Dodgers to the Chicago Cubs for Randy Jackson and Don Elston.Randy Jackson at Baseball-Reference December 21, 1955: Jack Littrell was purchased by the Dodgers from the Kansas City Athletics.Jack Littrell at Baseball-Reference December 30, 1955: Pete Wojey was traded by the Dodgers to the Detroit Tigers for Leo Cristante and cash.Pete Wojey at Baseball-Reference March 2, 1956: Tommy Lasorda was purchased from the Dodgers by the Kansas City AthleticsTommy Lasorda at Baseball-Reference
Regular season Don Newcombe won the NL MVP award and the first Cy Young Award. He was the first pitcher to win the National League MVP and the Cy Young Award in the same season.Great Baseball Feats, Facts and Figures, 2008 Edition, p. 152, David Nemec and Scott Flatow, A Signet Book, Penguin Group, New York,
During the season, the Dodgers played seven home games at Roosevelt Stadium in Jersey City, New Jersey, as part of owner Walter O'Malley's continued attempts to pressure Brooklyn to allow him to build a new stadium in his preferred location at Flatbush and Atlantic Avenues. The first of these games was on April 19.
Season standings
Record vs. opponents
Opening Day Lineup +Opening Day Lineup # Name Position19 Jim Gilliam LF1 Pee Wee Reese SS4 Duke Snider CF39 Roy Campanella C14 Gil Hodges 1B42 Jackie Robinson 3B6 Carl Furillo RF43 Charlie Neal 2B36 Don Newcombe P 1956 Opening Day Lineup at Baseball-Reference
Notable transactions April 16, 1956: Tim Thompson was traded by the Dodgers to the Kansas City Athletics for Lee Wheat, Tom Saffell and cash.Tim Thompson at Baseball-Reference May 14, 1956: Billy Loes was purchased from the Dodgers by the Baltimore Orioles.Billy Loes at Baseball-Reference May 15, 1956: Jim Hughes was purchased from the Dodgers by the Chicago Cubs.Jim Hughes at Baseball-Reference May 15, 1956: Sal Maglie was purchased by the Dodgers from the Cleveland Indians.Sal Maglie at Baseball-Reference July 4, 1956: Ray Shearer was traded by the Dodgers to the Milwaukee Braves for Jim Frey.Ray Shearer at Baseball-Reference July 29, 1956: Dale Mitchell was purchased by the Dodgers from the Cleveland Indians.Dale Mitchell at Baseball-Reference
Roster 1956 Brooklyn Dodgers Roster Pitchers Catchers
Infielders Outfielders
Other batters Manager
Coaches
Player stats = Indicates team leader = Indicates league 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 124 388 85 .219 20 73 1B 153 550 146 .265 32 87 2B 153 594 178 .300 6 43 3B 101 307 84 .274 8 53 SS 147 572 147 .257 9 46 LF 114 292 76 .260 16 58 CF 151 542 158 .292 43 101 RF 149 523 151 .289 21 83
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 117 357 98 .275 10 43 54 146 31 .212 3 20 62 136 39 .287 2 14 31 96 20 .208 4 15 34 66 15 .227 1 9 73 36 4 .111 0 4 19 24 7 .292 0 1 17 20 6 .300 0 2 7 13 3 .231 0 1 7 7 2 .286 0 0 3 3 1 .333 1 1 1 1 0 .000 0 0
Pitching
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 38 268.0 27 7 3.06 139 35 199.0 12 11 3.71 109 28 191.0 13 5 2.87 108 31 186.1 13 11 4.25 95 16 58.2 2 4 4.91 30 1 1.1 0 1 40.50 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 25 99.0 5 5 2.64 55 25 49.1 2 3 5.66 29 6 16.1 0 1 6.61 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 62 10 6 19 3.35 75 38 4 3 9 2.50 52 43 5 4 1 3.93 60 5 0 0 0 5.25 8 1 0 0 0 0.00 2 1 0 0 0 0.00 0
1956 World Series
Game 1 October 3, 1956, at Ebbets Field in Brooklyn, New York Team123456789RHENew York (A)200100000391Brooklyn (N)02310000x690W: Sal Maglie (1–0) L: Whitey Ford (0–1)HR: NYY – Mickey Mantle (1), Billy Martin (1) BRO – Jackie Robinson (1), Gil Hodges (1)
Game 2 October 5, 1956, at Ebbets Field in Brooklyn, New York Team123456789RHENew York (A)1501000018122Brooklyn (N)06122002x13120W: Don Bessent (1–0) L: Tom Morgan (0–1)HR: NYY – Yogi Berra (1) BRO – Duke Snider (1)
Game 3 October 6, 1956, at Yankee Stadium in New York City Team123456789RHEBrooklyn (N)010001100381New York (A)01000301x581W: Whitey Ford (1–1) L: Roger Craig (0–1)HR: NYY – Enos Slaughter (1), Billy Martin (2)
Game 4 October 7, 1956, at Yankee Stadium in New York City Team123456789RHEBrooklyn (N)000100001260New York (A)10020120x672W: Tom Sturdivant (1–0) L: Carl Erskine (0–1)HR: NYY – Mickey Mantle (2), Hank Bauer (1)
Game 5 October 8, 1956, at Yankee Stadium in New York City Team123456789RHEBrooklyn (N)000000000000New York (A)00010100x250W: Don Larsen (1–0) L: Sal Maglie (1–1)HR: NYY – Mickey Mantle (3)
Game 6 October 9, 1956, at Ebbets Field in Brooklyn, New York Team12345678910RHENew York (A)0000000000070Brooklyn (N)0000000001140W: Clem Labine (1–0) L: Bob Turley (0–1)
Game 7 October 10, 1956, at Ebbets Field in Brooklyn, New York Team123456789RHENew York (A)2021004009100Brooklyn (N)000000000031W: Johnny Kucks (1–0) L: Don Newcombe (0–1)HR: NYY – Yogi Berra (2, 3), Elston Howard (1), Bill Skowron (1)
Awards and honors National League Most Valuable Player Don Newcombe Cy Young Award Don Newcombe TSN Pitcher of the Year Award Don Newcombe
All-Stars 1956 Major League Baseball All-Star Game Roy Campanella reserve Jim Gilliam reserve Clem Labine reserve Duke Snider reserve TSN Major League All-Star Team Don Newcombe
Farm system
Notes
References Baseball-Reference season page Baseball Almanac season page
External links 1956 Brooklyn Dodgers uniform Brooklyn Dodgers reference site Acme Dodgers page Retrosheet