Roster for the 1955 Pittsburgh Pirates
1955 Pittsburgh Pirates Roster | Baseball Almanac
The 1955 Pittsburgh Pirates roster reflects a franchise navigating its own moment in baseball history, blending established veterans with emerging talent across a season that left its mark on fans and record books alike. Every player listed below appeared in at least one game during the 1955 campaign, and each name links directly to a complete career statistics page—an essential resource for researchers, autograph collectors, and fans exploring verified player data.
Organized by primary fielding position, this roster provides a clear snapshot of how the Pittsburgh Pirates aligned throughout the season, from everyday starters to key contributors off the bench and on the mound. Continue scrolling for fast-access franchise facts, including Opening Day lineups, uniform number history, player salaries (when available), and positional breakdowns—hallmarks of Baseball Almanac's commitment to preserving accurate, hard-to-find baseball records. Whether you're studying player development, tracking jersey numbers, or exploring the full 1955 Pittsburgh Pirates roster for historical context, this page offers a complete, meticulously curated look at the season.
"How to hit home runs: I swing as hard as I can, and I try to swing right through the ball...The harder you grip the bat, the more you can swing it through the ball, and the farther the ball will go. I swing big, with everything I've got. I hit big or I miss big. I like to live as big as I can." - Babe Ruth
1955 Pittsburgh Pirates Roster
1955 Pittsburgh Pirates Official Logo 1954 ← A Complete Roster for the 1955 Pittsburgh Pirates → 1956 |
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| # | Pitchers | Height | Weight | Throws | Bats | Date Of Birth |
| 20, 57 | Bill Bell | 6-03 | 200 | Right | Right | 1933-10-24 |
| 31 | Roger Bowman | 6-00 | 175 | Left | Right | 1927-08-18 |
| 31 | Lino Donoso | 5-11 | 160 | Left | Left | 1922-09-23 |
| 26 | Roy Face | 5-08 | 155 | Right | Right | 1928-02-20 |
| 19 | Bob Friend | 6-00 | 190 | Right | Right | 1930-11-24 |
| 37 | Al Grunwald | 6-04 | 210 | Left | Left | 1930-02-13 |
| 30 | Dick Hall | 6-06 | 200 | Right | Right | 1930-09-27 |
| 30 | Nellie King | 6-06 | 185 | Right | Right | 1928-03-15 |
| 22 | Ron Kline | 6-03 | 205 | Right | Right | 1932-03-09 |
| 32 | Vern Law | 6-02 | 195 | Right | Right | 1930-03-12 |
| 27 | Dick Littlefield | 6-00 | 180 | Left | Left | 1926-03-18 |
| 28 | Paul Martin | 6-06 | 235 | Right | Right | 1932-03-09 |
| 23 | Laurin Pepper | 5-11 | 190 | Right | Right | 1931-01-18 |
| 34 | Bob Purkey | 6-02 | 195 | Right | Right | 1929-07-14 |
| 35 | Max Surkont | 6-00 | 205 | Right | Right | 1922-06-16 |
| 20 | Red Swanson | 6-02 | 175 | Right | Right | 1936-10-15 |
| 39 | Jake Thies | 5-11 | 170 | Right | Right | 1926-04-01 |
| 28 | Ben Wade | 6-03 | 205 | Right | Right | 1922-11-25 |
| 34 | Fred Waters | 5-11 | 185 | Left | Left | 1927-02-02 |
| # | Catchers | Height | Weight | Throws | Bats | Date Of Birth |
| 11 | Toby Atwell | 5-10 | 185 | Right | Left | 1924-03-08 |
| 9 | Nick Koback | 6-00 | 187 | Right | Right | 1935-07-19 |
| 17 | Hardy Peterson | 6-00 | 205 | Right | Right | 1929-10-17 |
| 10 | Jack Shepard | 6-02 | 195 | Right | Right | 1932-05-13 |
| # | Infielders | Height | Weight | Throws | Bats | Date Of Birth |
| 12 | Dick Cole | 6-02 | 175 | Right | Right | 1926-05-06 |
| 8 | Gene Freese | 5-11 | 175 | Right | Right | 1934-01-08 |
| 3 | George Freese | 6-00 | 190 | Right | Right | 1926-09-12 |
| 4 | Sid Gordon | 5-10 | 185 | Right | Right | 1917-08-13 |
| 24 | Dick Groat | 6-00 | 180 | Right | Right | 1930-11-04 |
| 29 | Dale Long | 6-04 | 210 | Left | Left | 1926-02-06 |
| 6 | Johnny O'Brien | 5-09 | 170 | Right | Right | 1930-12-11 |
| 7 | Curt Roberts | 5-08 | 165 | Right | Right | 1929-08-16 |
| 6 | Dick Smith | 5-08 | 160 | Right | Right | 1926-07-21 |
| 5 | Preston Ward | 6-03 | 198 | Right | Left | 1927-07-24 |
| # | Outfielders | Height | Weight | Throws | Bats | Date Of Birth |
| 13, 21 | Roberto Clemente | 5-11 | 175 | Right | Right | 1934-08-18 |
| 18 | Jerry Lynch | 6-01 | 189 | Right | Left | 1929-07-17 |
| 25 | Roman Mejias | 6-00 | 175 | Right | Right | 1925-08-09 |
| 14 | Felipe Montemayor | 6-02 | 185 | Left | Left | 1928-02-07 |
| 7 | Eddie O'Brien | 5-09 | 165 | Right | Right | 1930-12-11 |
| 14 | Johnny Powers | 6-00 | 190 | Right | Left | 1929-07-08 |
| 16 | Tom Saffell | 5-11 | 170 | Right | Left | 1921-07-26 |
| 21 | Earl Smith | 6-00 | 185 | Right | Right | 1928-03-14 |
| 15 | Frank Thomas | 6-03 | 205 | Right | Right | 1929-06-11 |
| # | Pitchers | Height | Weight | Throws | Bats | Date Of Birth |
| 1955 Pittsburgh Pirates Roster | Research by Baseball Almanac | ||||||
The 1955 Pittsburgh Pirates played 154 games during the regular season, won 60 games, lost 94 games, and finished in eighth position. They played their home games at Forbes Field (Park Factors: 99/102) where 469,397 fans witnessed their 1955 Pirates finish the season with a .390 winning percentage.
Baseball Almanac is proud to preserve a collection of roster details rarely assembled in one place. Below you'll find the 1955 Pittsburgh Pirates Opening Day starters (Home Opener), a complete salary list, a uniform number breakdown, and a primary position chart—each designed to give fans, researchers, and autograph collectors a clear, data-driven snapshot of the season. These sections complement the full 1955 Pittsburgh Pirates roster above and reflect our ongoing commitment to documenting accurate, hard-to-find baseball history.
Did you know that a 1955 Pittsburgh Pirates Schedule is available and it includes dates of every game played, scores of every game played, a cumulative record, and many hard to find splits (Monthly Splits, Team vs Team Splits & Score Related Splits)?
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