1952 Chicago Cubs season

The 1952 Chicago Cubs season was the 81st season of the Chicago Cubs franchise, the 77th in the National League and the 37th at Wrigley Field. The Cubs finished fifth in the National League with a record of 77–77. Starting from this season, WGN was the exclusive television broadcast partner of the Cubs franchise with the transfer of WBKB ownership to CBS.

1952 Chicago Cubs
Major League affiliations
National League (since 1876)
Location
Wrigley Field (since 1916) Chicago (since 1870)
Other information
Owner(s)	Philip K. Wrigley
General manager(s)	Wid Matthews
Manager(s)	Phil Cavarretta
Local television	WGN-TV (Jack Brickhouse, Harry Creighton)
Local radio	WIND (Bert Wilson, Bud Campbell)
< Previous season     Next season >

Offseason

• October 4, 1951: Smoky Burgess and Bob Borkowski were traded by the Cubs to the Cincinnati Reds for Johnny Pramesa and Bob Usher.[1]
• October 19, 1951: Grant Dunlap was purchased by the Cubs from the Shreveport Sports.[2]
• Prior to 1952 season: Footer Johnson was signed as an amateur free agent by the Cubs.[3]

Regular season

Season standings

National League	W	L	Pct.	GB	Home	Road
Brooklyn Dodgers	96	57	0.627	—	45–33	51–24
New York Giants	92	62	0.597	4½	50–27	42–35
St. Louis Cardinals	88	66	0.571	8½	48–29	40–37
Philadelphia Phillies	87	67	0.565	9½	47–29	40–38
Chicago Cubs	77	77	0.500	19½	42–35	35–42
Cincinnati Reds	69	85	0.448	27½	38–39	31–46
Boston Braves	64	89	0.418	32	31–45	33–44
Pittsburgh Pirates	42	112	0.273	54½	23–54	19–58

Record vs. opponents

1952 National League Records Sources:
Team	BOS	BR	CHC	CIN	NYG	PHI	PIT	STL
Boston	—	3–18–1	12–10	9–13	9–13	9–13	15–7–1	7–15
Brooklyn	18–3–1	—	13–9–1	17–5	8–14	10–12	19–3	11–11
Chicago	10–12	9–13–1	—	13–9	10–12	10–12	14–8	11–11
Cincinnati	13–9	5–17	9–13	—	6–16	10–12	16–6	10–12
New York	13–9	14–8	12–10	16–6	—	10–12	15–7	12–10
Philadelphia	13–9	12–10	12–10	12–10	12–10	—	16–6	10–12
Pittsburgh	7–15–1	3–19	8–14	6–16	7–15	6–16	—	5–17
St. Louis	15–7	11–11	11–11	12–10	10–12	12–10	17–5	—

Notable transactions

• May 8, 1952: Grant Dunlap was returned by the Cubs to the Shreveport Sports.[2]

Roster

1952 Chicago Cubs
Roster
Pitchers 26 Monk Dubiel 30,37 Vern Fear 18 Warren Hacker 19,53 Joe Hatten 53 Cal Howe 33 Bob Kelly 36 Johnny Klippstein 20 Dutch Leonard 35 Turk Lown 19 Dick Manville 24 Paul Minner 30 Willie Ramsdell 17 Bob Rush 10,34 Bob Schultz		Catchers 11 Toby Atwell 32 Harry Chiti  8 Bruce Edwards 25 Johnny Pramesa Infielders 43 Leon Brinkopf 12 Tommy Brown 44 Phil Cavarretta 40 Dee Fondy 41 Bud Hardin  2 Randy Jackson 21 Eddie Miksis  5 Bob Ramazzotti  6 Bill Serena 39 Roy Smalley		Outfielders 16 Bob Addis  7 Frank Baumholtz 22 Gene Hermanski  4 Hal Jeffcoat  9 Hank Sauer Other batters 10 Ron Northey 12 Bob Usher		Manager 44 Phil Cavarretta Coaches 47 Spud Davis 42 Roy Johnson 49 Charlie Root

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

Pos	Player	G	AB	H	Avg.	HR	RBI
SS	Roy Smalley	87	261	58	.222	5	30

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
Johnny Pramesa	22	46	13	.283	1	5
Bob Usher	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

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
Bob Kelly	31	125.1	4	9	3.59	50

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
Dutch Leonard	45	2	2	11	2.16	37
Vern Fear	4	0	0	0	7.88	4
Monk Dubiel	1	0	0	0	0.00	1

Farm system

See also: Minor League Baseball

Level	Team	League	Manager
Open	Los Angeles Angels	Pacific Coast League	Stan Hack
AAA	Springfield Cubs	International League	Bill Kelly
A	Macon Peaches	Sally League	Ed Hartness
A	Des Moines Bruins	Western League	Harry Strohm
B	Greensboro Patriots	Carolina League	Kemp Wicker
C	Visalia Cubs	California League	Larry Barton, Sr.
C	Sioux Falls Canaries	Northern League	Al Kubski
C	Topeka Owls	Western Association	Adolph Matulis and Jack Dean
D	Blackwell Broncos	Kansas–Oklahoma–Missouri League	Al Reitz
D	Hickory Rebels	Western Carolina League	Norm Small, Ed Yount and Charlie Bowles
D	Janesville Cubs	Wisconsin State League	Harry Bright

Awards and honors

• Hank Sauer, National League Most Valuable Player
• Hank Sauer, National League Home Run Champion (with Ralph Kiner)
• Hank Sauer, National League RBI Champion

Notes

1. Smoky Burgess at Baseball Reference
2. Grant Dunlap at Baseball Reference
3. Footer Johnson at Baseball Reference

References

• Johnson, Lloyd; Wolff, Miles, eds. (1997). The Encyclopedia of Minor League Baseball (2nd ed.). Durham, North Carolina: Baseball America. ISBN 978-0-9637189-8-3.
• 1952 Chicago Cubs season at Baseball Reference