1953 Philadelphia Eagles season, Off Season
Matt Guokas, Sr. is hired to be the PA announcer for the Eagles. Guokas played basketball for Saint Joseph's Hawks in college and the Philadelphia Warriors in the NBA. After losing his right leg in an automobile accident, Guokas turned to broadcasting, and he served as an announcer for the N Philadelphia Eagles for 32 years from 1953 to 1985.


1953 Philadelphia Eagles season, Off Season, NFL Draft
The 1953 NFL Draft was held on January 22, 1953. There was 30 rounds in the draft with 12 teams picking. The San Francisco 49ers received this year's Lottery bonus pick. With this pick they chose  Harry Babcock an End out of University of Georgia.


1953 Philadelphia Eagles season, Off Season, NFL Draft
The 1952 expansion team Dallas Texans (NFL) folded during the 1952 season and then became the Baltimore Colts on January 23, 1953. The Colts had the number 1 pick and choose Heisman Trophy winner Billy Vessels a Halfback out of University of Oklahoma.


1953 Philadelphia Eagles season, Off Season, NFL Draft
With a 7–5 record in 1952  the Eagles got the 7th, 8th or 9th pick in the 30 rounds. With trading away their 1st round pick the Eagles 1st selection was the 7th pick in the 2nd round, 20th overall, they chose Al Conway a Back out of Army and William Jewell College. He  did not play due to injury and ended up as an official in the American Football League and an official in the NFL for 28 years.


1953 Philadelphia Eagles season, Off Season, Player selections
The table shows the Eagles selections and what picks they had that were traded away and the team that ended up with that pick. It is possible the Eagles' pick ended up with this team via another team that the Eagles made a trade with. Not shown are acquired picks that the Eagles traded away.


1953 Philadelphia Eagles season, Game recaps, Week 2 vs Washington
The Eagles inability to hold onto the ball allows the Washington Redskins to tie them at 21 – 21. The Eagles allowed 4 interceptions and would lose 1 fumble as they allowed Washington to gain 182 yards on 9 completions. The Eagles also hurt their cause by having 10 penalties for 99 yards called against them.


1953 Philadelphia Eagles season, Game recaps, Week 12 vs Cleveland Browns
The Eagles give the Cleveland Browns their only loss of the regular season in the final week of the season. Cleveland would have 3 turn overs during the game.


1953 Philadelphia Eagles season, Game recaps, Standings
Note: Tie games were not officially counted in the standings until 1972.


1953 Philadelphia Eagles season, Playoffs
With a record of 7–4–1 the Eagles finish behind Cleveland and fail to make the playoffs. The  Detroit Lions won the National Division and played the Cleveland Browns in the 1953 NFL Championship Game.


1953 Philadelphia Eagles season, Roster
(All time List of Philadelphia Eagles players in franchise history)


1953 Philadelphia Eagles season, Postseason
Philadelphia finished second in last 2 seasons to the Cleveland Browns, with that Trimble is awarded a three-year contract after the team's second straight runnerup finish in 1953.


1953 Philadelphia Eagles season, Awards and honors
The Eagles placed 6 players on the 1953 Pro Bowl team. Chuck Bednarik is named MVP of the Pro Bowl.


1953 Philadelphia Phillies season
The 1953 Philadelphia Phillies season was the 71st in franchise history. They tied with the St. Louis Cardinals for third place in the National League with an 83–71 won–loss record.


1953 Philadelphia Phillies season, 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


1953 Philadelphia Phillies season, Player stats, Batting, Other batters
Note: G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in


1953 Philadelphia Phillies season, Player stats, Pitching, Starting pitchers
Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts


1953 Philadelphia Phillies season, Player stats, Pitching, Other pitchers
Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts


1953 Philadelphia Phillies season, Player stats, Pitching, Relief pitchers
Note: G = Games pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; SV = Saves; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts


1953 Philadelphia municipal election
Philadelphia's municipal election of November 3, 1953, was the second held under the city charter of 1951 and represented the first test of the Democratic city government of Mayor Joseph S. Clark Jr. In the 1951 election, the voters had elected a Democratic mayor for the first time in 67 years, breaking the Republican hold on political power in the city. They had also elected a majority-Democratic City Council along with Democrats for district attorney and other citywide offices (also called row offices).


1953 Philadelphia municipal election
In 1953, the voters had the chance to continue the Democratic trend or to block it in the election for City Controller, Register of Wills, and various judges and magistrates. On election day, the Republican organization recovered from their 1951 losses, electing all their candidates citywide. Republicans celebrated the victory, but subsequent Democratic triumphs in the 1955 and 1959 elections made the 1953 result more of an aberration than a true comeback for the once-powerful Philadelphia Republican machine.


1953 Philadelphia municipal election, Background
After the Democrats' 1951 electoral victory, Philadelphia's once-powerful Republican party organization lost the hold on city government that they had held since 1884. In 1953, they sought to regain their former control over the city's political scene. Both sides presented the election as a referendum on the administration of Mayor Joseph S. Clark Jr., a Democrat elected with the support of reform-minded Republicans and independents in 1951.


1953 Philadelphia municipal election, Background
In an op-ed in The Philadelphia Inquirer the Sunday before the election, Republican City Committee chairman William J. Hamilton called the election "an opportunity to pass judgment upon the administration of Mayor Clark who promised so much and gave so little." He called the Clark administration "spendthrift and mismanaged", and promised "honest and efficient management" from the Republicans. In another op-ed the same day, Democratic City Committee chairman William J. Green Jr., characterized the Clark administration in more glowing terms and framed the election as a chance for Philadelphians to decide "whether 'good government' shall be extended" in the city after the reforms of 1951.


1953 Philadelphia municipal election, City Controller
Under the 1951 City Charter, Philadelphia elects a City Controller to sit at the head of an independent auditing department. The Controller approves all payments made out of the city treasury and audits the executive departments. As an independently elected official, the Controller is not responsible to the mayor or the city council. The office was created as one of the good-government reforms intended to reduce the corruption that had previously plagued city government and led to the Democratic-led reform coalition of 1951. The Controller is required to audit the city finances annually and to have his work verified by a private accounting firm every three years.


1953 Philadelphia municipal election, City Controller
The 1953 Republican primary for all offices, including Controller, was complicated by a split in the party hierarchy between the "regular" faction, led by Hamilton and Board of Revision of Taxes President William F. Meade; and an insurgent faction led by former Sheriff Austin Meehan. An independent slate of Republicans headed by Treasurer candidate George W. Gibson also contested the primary. In the end, Foster A. Dunlap, a local attorney and the Hamilton-Meade candidate, won with 66,557 votes.


1953 Philadelphia municipal election, City Controller
Meehan's candidate, former Deputy Secretary of Supplies and Services Wilhelm F. Knauer, polled 50,185, and Gibson's running mate, Rudolph F. Price, tallied just 4,566. On the Democratic side, the party organization was much more unified and real estate agent Roland R. Randall was the easy victor over former State Senator H. Jerome Jaspan, 39,824 to 5,111.


1953 Philadelphia municipal election, City Controller
As the election approached, Democratic District Attorney Richardson Dilworth warned of fraud by Republicans. Clark, for his part, reminded city employees of the charter's prohibition on electioneering by civil servants, most of whom were expected to vote Democratic. Dilworth's fears of fraud did not come to pass, but the election for City Controller did go to the Republicans. Dunlap defeated Randall by more than 14,000 votes in a victory Hamilton called a repudiation of "the Clark-Dilworth-ADA combination which has saddled the city with useless debts and experimental government."


1953 Philadelphia municipal election, Other row offices
The 1951 charter reforms included consolidation of city and county offices. When all of the municipalities in Philadelphia County were consolidated into one city in 1854, the surviving county offices often duplicated the efforts of city offices. The new charter allowed for their consolidation, but litigation ensued about which county offices were actually state offices, and thus immune from the city's jurisdiction. A State Supreme Court case decided in 1953 settled the issue, for the most part, leaving the Register of Wills as an independently elected official.


1953 Philadelphia municipal election, Other row offices
For Register of Wills, as for City Controller, the Republicans had a primary fight between the Hamilton-Meade regulars and the Meehan faction. As in that contest, the regulars were victorious, nominating Robert C. Duffy, attorney and former football star, with 67,283 votes. In second came Meehan's man, Morris J. Root, with 42,977, and William P. Shermer, an independent candidate, with 8,909. The Democrats had an easier time nominating former Congressman Francis R. Smith, who trounced Joseph F. Amodie, 40,582 to 5,470. The general election contest was one of the closest on the ballot but the Republican, Duffy, still defeated the Democrat by more than 7,500 votes.


1953 Philadelphia municipal election, Other row offices
The State Supreme Court decision on citywide elected offices (also called row offices) was silent about the offices of city treasurer and coroner. While some city officials took this to mean that those offices could be converted to civil service positions, the City Commissioners (who were in charge of elections) interpreted the ruling the opposite way. As Democratic Commissioner Thomas P. McHenry said, "we have had no specific law to cover the situation regarding the Treasurer and Coroner's offices." As a result, candidates were allowed to campaign for the two offices, even though it was unclear that the offices would continue to exist.


1953 Philadelphia municipal election, Other row offices
For both offices, the Republicans nominated regulars. The incumbent treasurer, Francis D. Pastorius, defeated William M. Paschall and Gibson, with 71,364 to Pastorius, 41,244 to Paschall, and 10,464 to Gibson. The Democrats nominated Joseph F. Vogt without opposition, though he had died in April, a month before the May primary. (Vogt's was the only name on the ballot.) In September, the Democratic City Committee nominated State Representative Granville E. Jones in Vogt's place. For coroner, the nominations followed a similar pattern. The Hamilton-Meade faction nominated Edward E. Holloway, who defeated Meehan man Roger J. Soens and independent Vincent E. Costello for the Republican nomination. The Democrats renominated the incumbent, Joseph Ominsky, over challenger Gust G. Tatlas.


1953 Philadelphia municipal election, Other row offices
Shortly before election day, City Council acted to resolve the ambiguity over the offices by formally abolishing them. The act folded the coroner's office into the Health Department and the treasurer's office into the Finance Department, with informal arrangements for both incumbents to retain jobs in their respective departments as employees. In the general election, Pastorius was reelected to the abolished office, leading the entire ticket with 288,707 votes, nearly 20,000 more than Jones. Holloway also defeated Ominsky by more than 12,000 votes, making a clean sweep for Republicans.


1953 Philadelphia municipal election, Other row offices
After the election, Pastorius and Holloway announced plans for a lawsuit challenging the abolition of their offices. Pastorius claimed the abolition subverted democracy, saying "[i]f you permit an office to be abolished after the process of election has begun, you open the door to rigged elections." The men took their oaths of office in January 1954 for the terms to which they had been elected, but did not pursue the lawsuits and relinquished the offices the next day.


1953 Philadelphia municipal election, Judges and magistrates
Although Pennsylvania's judges are elected in partisan elections, there had been a tradition of not challenging the re-election of incumbents, or "sitting judges." To that end, judicial candidates were typically endorsed by both major parties. The parties had followed the sitting judge tradition in 1951, but in 1953 the Democrats broke the informal pact and endorsed just three of the sitting judges, all of whom had been elected as Republicans years earlier. The result was an unusually intense contest for the thirteen seats available.


1953 Philadelphia municipal election, Judges and magistrates
There were also eleven seats open for magistrate, a local court, the duties of which are now performed by the Philadelphia Municipal Court. As in the other races, the Republicans triumphed. The three cross-endorsed judges won, as did the six Republican-backed incumbents. Four Republicans were also elected to open seats. In the magistrate elections, the Republicans took seven of the eleven seats, the maximum allowed by one party. James J. Clothier, the chief magistrate and a Republican, led all magistrates in votes.


1953 Philadelphia municipal election, Ballot questions
Philadelphians saw three ballot questions in the primary election, all of which involved allowing the city to borrow money. The loans, on the ballot at Clark's urging, were designed to allow the city to temporarily increase spending without raising taxes, and were opposed by many ward leaders in both parties. As a result, they went down to unexpected defeat by a 3:2 margin. Undeterred, Clark and his allies revised and relisted the loans for a vote in the general election in November, which would see better turnout and, they believed, a better chance of success.


1953 Philadelphia municipal election, Ballot questions
On the November ballot, the first loan would involve $19 million for parks, libraries, roads, and firehouses. The second authorized borrowing $35,750,000 for sewers and mass transit infrastructure. The third question reorganized the city's existing borrowing to free up $21,650,000 of borrowing power. On the second try, the electorate approved all three loans with 62.07%, 62.39%, and 59.13%, respectively.


1953 Philippine House of Representatives elections
The elections for the House of Representatives of the Philippines were held on November 10, 1953. Held on the same day as the presidential election, the party of the incumbent president, Elpidio Quirino's Liberal Party, won majority of the seats in the House of Representatives. However, Ramon Magsaysay of the opposition Nacionalista Party was elected president, and several elected Liberal Party congressmen defected to the Nacionalista Party, leading to José Laurel, Jr. being elected Speaker of the House of Representatives.


1953 Philippine House of Representatives elections
The elected representatives served in the 3rd Congress from 1953 to 1957.


1953 Philippine Senate election
Elections for the members of the Senate were held on November 10, 1953 in the Philippines. Incumbent President Elpidio Quirino of the Liberal Party lost his opportunity to get a second full term as President of the Philippines to former Defense Secretary Ramon Magsaysay of the Nacionalista Party. Quirino's running mate, Senator Jose Yulo lost to Senator Carlos P. Garcia. Vice President Fernando Lopez did not run for re-election and ran for the Senate instead, in which he emerged as the candidate with the most votes. This was the first time that an elected president did not come from the Senate. To further compound the Liberal Party's woes, they also failed to win any seats in the Senate in this election.


1953 Philippine Senate election
The Citizens' Party and the Democratic Party caucused with the Nacionalistas to provide them the majority in the Senate.


1953 Philippine Senate election, Retiring incumbents, Incumbents running elsewhere
These ran in the middle of their Senate terms. For those losing in their respective elections, they can still return to the Senate to serve out their term, while the winners will vacate their Senate seats, then it would have been contested in a special election concurrently with the next general election.


1953 Philippine Senate election, Results
The Nacionalista Party won five seats contested in the election, with the Democratic Party winning two, and the Citizens' Party winning one.


1953 Philippine Senate election, Results
Nacionalista Eulogio Rodriguez and Lorenzo Tañada of the Citizens' Party both defended their Senate seats. The four Liberal senators whose seats were up in this election were defeated: Camilo Osias, Geronima Pecson, Pablo Angeles y David and Vicente Madrigal. Felixberto Verano, who won a special election in 1951, was the sole Nacionalista defeat.


1953 Philippine Senate election, Results
Three winners are neophyte Nacionalista senators: Alejo Mabanag, Edmundo B. Cea and Emmanuel Pelaez.


1953 Philippine Senate election, Results
Incumbent vice president and Democrat Fernando Lopez returned to the Senate after serving from 1947 to 1949. Mariano Jesús Cuenco, who was defeated in the last election, made a comeback in the Senate, this time under the banner of the Nacionalistas.


1953 Philippine Senate election, Results
Senator Carlos P. Garcia of the Nacionalistas was elected vice president in concurrent elections; his seat will be vacant until 1955 when it would have been contested in a special election.


1953 Philippine Senate election, Results, Per party
The seat vacated by the death of Emiliano Tria Tirona in 1952 was disputed in this election.


1953 Philippine Senate election, Results, Per party
The Nacionalistas originally had 14 seats entering the 3rd Congress, but the election of Senator Carlos P. Garcia to the vice presidency meant that his seat is vacant until 1955, when it was contested in a special election.


1953 Philippine general election
Presidential, legislative and local elections were held on November 10, 1953 in the Philippines. Incumbent President Elpidio Quirino lost his opportunity to get a second full term as President of the Philippines to former Defense Secretary Ramon Magsaysay. His running mate, Senator Jose Yulo lost to Senator Carlos P. Garcia. Vice President Fernando Lopez did not run for re-election. This was the first time that an elected president did not come from the Senate. This election also saw the involvement of the United States with the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) with agent Edward Lansdale running Magsaysay's campaign. Other candidates competed for CIA support too and many normal Filipinos were interested in what the United States citizens views were on it.


1953 Philippine presidential election
The 1953 Philippine presidential and vice presidential elections were held on November 10, 1953. Incumbent President Elpidio Quirino lost his opportunity to get a second full term as President of the Philippines to former Defense Secretary Ramon Magsaysay. His running mate, Senator José Yulo, lost to Senator Carlos P. Garcia. Vice President Fernando Lopez did not run for re-election. This was the first time that an elected president did not come from the Senate.


1953 Philippine presidential election, Summary
After seven years of Liberal rule, the Nacionalista Party laced a strong presidential candidate to end the regime.


1953 Philippine presidential election, Summary, Nacionalista Party
Former President and then-Senator Jose P. Laurel initially had intentions to seek the NP's nomination for president in 1953 but announced he is spiritually tired. He then proposed to adopt Secretary of National Defense Ramon Magsaysay, whose successful anti-insurgency and anti-communist initiatives had strained his relations with President Quirino and the LP.


1953 Philippine presidential election, Summary, Nacionalista Party
Senate President Camilo Osías sought the presidential nomination but ultimately lost to Magsaysay. Senator Carlos P. Garcia of Bohol was picked to be his running-mate.


1953 Philippine presidential election, Summary, Liberal Party
The Liberal Party renominated President Elpidio Quirino and former House Speaker and Liberal Party President José Yulo for president and vice-president respectively.


1953 Philippine presidential election, Summary, Liberal Party
Following the nomination, Philippine Ambassador to Washington Carlos P. Romulo and his men walked out of the LP convention and formed the Democratic Party. The DP then nominated Romulo for the presidency and supported the re-election of Vice President Fernando Lopez.


1953 Philippine presidential election, Summary, Liberal Party
What was supposed to be a three-way race was reduced to a battle between the ruling Liberals against the Nacionalistas after the DP withdrew in support of Magsaysay, resulting in the Nacionalista-Democrata-Nationalist Citizens’ Party (NCP) coalition.


1953 Philippine presidential election, Results, President
Magsaysay carried most of the provinces except Ilocos Norte, Ilocos Sur, La Union, Tawi-Tawi, Sulu and Abra in which Ilocos Sur is a bailiwick and home province of President Quirino.


1953 Philippine presidential election, Results, Vice-President
Garcia also carried the provinces who voted for Magsaysay except for Isabela, Capiz and Sulu who voted for Yulo. The provinces who voted forPresident Quirino also voted for Yulo.


1953 Pittsburgh Panthers football team
The 1953 Pittsburgh Panthers football team represented the University of Pittsburgh in the 1953 college football season. The team compiled a 3–5–1 record under head coach Red Dawson.


1953 Pittsburgh Pirates season
The 1953 Pittsburgh Pirates season was the 72nd in franchise history. In April 1953, the New York Yankees visited Forbes Field and played two preseason games against the Pirates. Mickey Mantle hit a 500-foot home run that landed on the roof.


1953 Pittsburgh Pirates season, 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


1953 Pittsburgh Pirates season, Player stats, Batting, Other batters
Note: G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in


1953 Pittsburgh Pirates season, Player stats, Pitching, Starting pitchers
Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts


1953 Pittsburgh Pirates season, Player stats, Pitching, Other pitchers
Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts


1953 Pittsburgh Pirates season, Player stats, Pitching, Relief pitchers
Note: G = Games pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; SV = Saves; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts


1953 Pittsburgh Steelers season
The 1953 Pittsburgh Steelers season was the franchise's 21st in the National Football League.


1953 Pittsburgh Steelers season, Regular season, Standings
Note: Tie games were not officially counted in the standings until 1972.


1953 Pittsburgh mayoral election
The Mayoral election of 1953 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania was held on Tuesday, November 3, 1953. David Lawrence of the Democratic Party won the right to serve a third term. With a broad base of support among both labor and minority voters, as well as the quiet background support of many GOP business leaders (who lauded the mayor's urban renewal projects), Lawrence coasted to an election win. His victory came over Leonard Kane, a real estate developer and the brother of the Allegheny County Treasurer.


1953 Portuguese legislative election
Parliamentary elections were held in Portugal on 8 November 1953. The ruling National Union won all 120 seats.


1953 Portuguese legislative election, Electoral system
The elections were held using 21 multi-member constituencies and one single-member constituency covering the Azores, together electing a total of 120 members, 13 of which were from Portuguese colonies.


1953 Portuguese legislative election, Electoral system
Voters could delete names from the lists of candidates, but could not replace them. Suffrage was given to all men aged 21 or over as long as they were literate or paid over 100 escudos in taxation, and to women aged over 21 if they had completed secondary education, or if they were the head of a household and met the same literacy and tax criteria as men.


1953 Portuguese legislative election, Campaign
The opposition to the Estado Novo, consisting of anti-communist liberals, republicans and intellectuals, presented three lists with a total of 28 candidates in Lisbon, Oporto and Aveiro. The elections were boycotted by the National Democratic Movement and the Youth Movement for Democratic Union in protest at a lack of freedom, whilst monarchists boycotted the elections except in cases where a National Union candidate was a known royalist.


1953 Prairie View A&M Panthers football team
The 1953 Prairie View A&M Panthers football team was an American football team that represented Prairie View A&M University in the Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) during the 1953 college football season. In their fifth season under head coach Billy Nicks, the Panthers compiled a perfect 12–0 record, won the SWAC championship, and outscored opponents by a total of 387 to 88. In two post-season games, they defeated Florida A&M in the Orange Blossom Classic and Texas Southern in the Prairie View Bowl. The Panthers were recognized as the 1953 black college national champion.


1953 Primera División de Chile
The 1953 Campeonato Nacional de Fútbol Profesional was first tier's 21st season which Colo-Colo reached its sixth professional title.


1953 Princeton Tigers football team
The 1953 Princeton Tigers football team was an American football team that represented Princeton University during the 1953 college football season. In their ninth year under head coach Charlie Caldwell, the Tigers compiled a 5–4 record but were outscored 204 to 144. Homer A. Smith was the team captain.


1953 Princeton Tigers football team
The Tigers were ranked No. 19 in the preseason AP poll but dropped out of the rankings after the first week of play.


1953 Princeton Tigers football team
Princeton played its home games at Palmer Stadium on the university campus in Princeton, New Jersey.


1953 Pro Bowl
The 1953 Pro Bowl was the NFL's third annual all-star game which featured the league's outstanding performers from the 1952 season. The game was played on January 10, 1953, at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum in Los Angeles, California in front of 34,208 fans. The National Conference squad defeated the American Conference by a score of 27–7.


1953 Pro Bowl
The National team was led by the Detroit Lions' Buddy Parker while Paul Brown of the Cleveland Browns coached the American stars. Detroit Lions defensive halfback Don Doll was named the game's outstanding player.


1953 Puerto Rico highway renumbering
In 1953, the Puerto Rico Department of Transportation and Public Works implemented a major renumbering of its insular highways. Before 1953, highway routes were numbered in the 1 to just over 100 range and were distributed randomly throughout the island, resulting in several routes with long road lengths. The numbering system adopted in 1953, which is in use today, increased the range of route numbers from the just-over-100 to 999, resulting in a decrease in the length of many routes.


1953 Puerto Rico highway renumbering
This new numbering system follows a grid pattern for highways numbered between 100 and 999, with the lower numbered roads found to the west and systematically increasing towards 999 as the traveler moves easterly. Although PR-1, PR-2 and PR-3 routes had notable changes in some of their segments, these three are the only highways that kept their route numbers intact due to their interregional prominence.


1953 Puerto Rico highway renumbering, History
The first major roadways in Puerto Rico were built by the Government of Spain. By 1898, the year when Puerto Rico was ceded by Spain to the United States, 275 kilometers (171 mi) of roadways had been built. Additionally, 615 km (382 mi) were built between 1898 and 1908, 300 km (190 mi) more were added from 1908 to 1918, and 483 km (300 mi) were added from 1918 to 1927. By March 1928, there were 12 districts and some highway routes, particularly routes number 1, 2 and 3, crossed multiple districts. Some of the highways within the 12 districts included:


1953 Purdue Boilermakers football team
The 1953 Purdue Boilermakers football team was an American football team that represented Purdue University during the 1953 Big Ten Conference football season. In their seventh season under head coach Stu Holcomb, the Boilermakers compiled a 2–7 record, finished in eighth place in the Big Ten Conference with a 2–4 record against conference opponents, and were outscored by their opponents by a combined total of 167 to 89.


1953 Purdue Boilermakers football team
Notable players on the 1953 Purdue team included guard Tom Bettis.


1953 Queensland state election
Elections were held in the Australian state of Queensland on 7 March 1953 to elect the 75 members of the state's Legislative Assembly. The Labor government was seeking its eighth continuous term in office since the 1932 election. It was the first electoral test for Vince Gair, who had become Premier of Queensland 14 months earlier after the death of Ned Hanlon.


1953 Queensland state election, Results
The result was a considerable swing to the Labor government.


1953 Queensland state election, Results
Queensland state election, 7 March 1953Legislative Assembly << 1950–1956 >>


1953 Queensland state election, Seats changing party representation
This table lists changes in party representation at the 1953 election.


1953 RAC Tourist Trophy
The 1953 RAC Tourist Trophy was a motor race for sports cars, held on 5 September 1953 at the Dundrod Circuit in County Antrim, Northern Ireland. It was the sixth round of the 1953 World Sportscar Championship, held just six days after the previous round, the 1000km of Nürburgring. The race was the 20th running of the RAC Tourist Trophy.


1953 RAC Tourist Trophy
The race was won by Peter Collins and Pat Griffith, driving an Aston Martin DB3S.


1953 RAC Tourist Trophy, Report, Entry
A total 45 cars were registered for this event, of which only 28 arrived for practice and qualifying. None of the leading works teams made the trip across to Northern Ireland from mainland Europe. However, from England, the two works teams of Jaguar Cars Ltd. and Aston Martin took part. The team from Coventry arrived with three cars, Jaguar C-Types for the all British pairings of Tony Rolt/Duncan Hamilton, Stirling Moss/Peter Walker and Peter Whitehead/Ian Stewart. Aston Martin also brought along three of their DB3S, with Reg Parnell pairing up alongside Eric Thompson. Roy Salvadori/Dennis Poore and Peter Collins/Pat Griffith made up the crew of the other two Astons. Also from England came three works entered Frazer Nash Le Mans Mk IIs and Kieft-Bristols.


1953 RAC Tourist Trophy, Report, Entry
Going into this round, Ferrari were leading the Manufacturers Championship by just two points from Jaguar. With no representation in the race, Ferrari would be unable score any points, but due to the nature of the scoring system where only the best four results out of the seven races could be retained by each manufacturer, Jaguar would need to finish at least second to score any points, with only one race remaining in the championship- the Carrera Panamericana in Mexico some 2+1⁄2 months away.


1953 RAC Tourist Trophy, Report, Race
Although World Championship points were awarded based on scratch order, this race was run as a handicap race. The race was run over 111 laps, but no cars started from scratch: the largest cars, the Jaguars, had a handicap of 4 laps and 5 minutes, 11.21 seconds. The race would end once any car completed 111 handicap laps.


1953 RAC Tourist Trophy, Report, Race
Conditions of the race were foggy. Despite this, Aston Martin would finish in first and second places, both cars on the same lap. Car number 20, driven by Collins and Griffith took an impressive victory, winning in a time of 9hrs 37:12 mins., averaging a speed of 81.715mph. Second place went to Parnell and Thompson, in their DB3S, just 3:23 minutes behind. The podium was completed by the winner of the two previous Tourist Trophy races held at Dundrod, Moss, aided by his co-driver, Walker, in their Jaguar C-Type.


1953 Railway Cup Hurling Championship
The 1953 Railway Cup Hurling Championship was the 27th series of the inter-provincial hurling Railway Cup. Three matches were played between 8 February 1953 and 17 March 1953 to decide the title. It was contested by Connacht, Leinster, Munster and Ulster.


1953 Railway Cup Hurling Championship
On 17 March 1953, Munster won the Railway Cup after a 5-07 to 5-05 defeat of Leinster in the final at Croke Park, Dublin. It was their 21st Railway Cup title overall and their sixth title in succession.


1953 Railway Cup Hurling Championship
Munster's Christy Ring was the Railway Cup top scorer with 3-05.


1953 Rhode Island Rams football team
The 1953 Rhode Island Rams football team was an American football team that represented the University of Rhode Island as a member of the Yankee Conference during the 1953 college football season. In its third season under head coach Hal Kopp, the team compiled a 6–2 record (3–1 against conference opponents), tied for the conference championship, and outscored opponents by a total of 148 to 100. The team played its home games at Meade Stadium in Kingston, Rhode Island.


1953 Rice Owls football team
The 1953 Rice Owls football team represented Rice University during the 1953 college football season. The Owls were led by 14th-year head coach Jess Neely and played their home games at Rice Stadium in Houston, Texas. They competed as members of the Southwest Conference, winning a share of the conference title with Texas with a 5–1 conference record. Rice finished the regular season with an 8–2 record overall and were ranked 6th in the final polls, which were conducted before bowl season. Rice was invited to the 1954 Cotton Bowl Classic, played on New Years' Day, where they defeated SEC champion Alabama.


1953 Roller Hockey World Cup
The 1953 Roller Hockey World Cup was the ninth roller hockey world cup, organized by the Fédération Internationale de Patinage a Roulettes (now under the name of Fédération Internationale de Roller Sports). It was contested by 13 national teams (11 from Europe, 1 from Africa and for the first time, 1 from South America) and it is also considered the 1953 European Roller Hockey Championship (despite the presences of Egypt and Brazil). All the games were played in the city of Geneva, in Switzerland, the chosen city to host the World Cup. Also for the first time there was a two-group stage, with the first two teams from each group qualifying to a final-four group.


1953 Rose Bowl
The 1953 Rose Bowl was the 39th edition of the college football bowl game, played at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California, on Thursday, January 1, at the end of the 1952 college football season. The fifth-ranked USC Trojans of the Pacific Coast Conference  defeated the #11 Wisconsin Badgers of the Big Ten Conference, 7–0.


1953 Rose Bowl
It was Wisconsin's first bowl game and the first Rose Bowl appearance for the Trojans in five years. It is also the first meeting of the two football programs.


1953 Rose Bowl, Teams, Wisconsin Badgers
Wisconsin was the co-champion of the Big Ten Conference with Purdue, whom they did not play, and entered the Rose Bowl with a 6–2–1 record (4–1–1 in conference). The Badgers' non-conference loss was to UCLA, the Big Ten loss was at Ohio State, and they tied Minnesota in their season-ending rivalry game. This was the program's first bowl game appearance.


1953 Rose Bowl, Teams, USC Trojans
The USC Trojans entered the game as the Pacific Coast Conference champions, with a 6–0 record in conference play. Their sole loss was against Notre Dame in their season-ending rivalry game.


1953 Rose Bowl, Aftermath
This was the first win by a Pacific Coast team over a Big Ten team since the Rose Bowl began its exclusive contract to pair the champions of these two conferences in 1946 (beginning with the 1947 Rose Bowl). It was only the second time in Rose Bowl history that the PCC defeated the Big Ten, the first was 32 years earlier in January 1921, when California defeated Ohio State.


1953 Rose Bowl, Aftermath
This game featured the fewest points scored in a Rose Bowl since the 0–0 tie in 1922. As of 2020, this game still stands as the second-fewest points ever scored in a Rose Bowl, and the fewest scored since the Rose Bowl started pairing the Big Ten and West (PCC/AAWU) champions for the game. The next time these two teams met in a Rose Bowl (1963), they combined to break the record for the most points ever scored in the game.


1953 Rose Bowl, Aftermath
USC quarterback Rudy Bukich was named the  Player of the Game. Future Heisman Trophy winner, Wisconsin running back/linebacker Alan Ameche, finished the game with 133 rushing yards on 28 carries. Bukich and Ameche have subsequently been inducted into the Rose Bowl Hall of Fame.


1953 Round Australia Trial
The 1953 Round Australia Trial, officially the Redex Trial was the inaugural running of the Round Australia Trial. The rally took place between 30 August and 13 September 1953. The event covered 10,460 kilometres around Australia. It was won by Ken Tubman and John Marshall, driving a Peugeot 203.


1953 Rupertwildt
1953 Rupertwildt, provisionally designated 1951 UK, is an asteroid from the outer region of the asteroid belt, approximately 22 kilometers in diameter. It was discovered on 29 October 1951, by the Indiana Asteroid Program of Indiana University at its Goethe Link Observatory, Indiana, United States, and named after astronomer Rupert Wildt.


1953 Rupertwildt, Orbit and classification
Rupertwildt orbits the Sun in the outer main-belt at a distance of 2.5–3.7 AU once every 5 years and 6 months (2,003 days). Its orbit has an eccentricity of 0.18 and an inclination of 2° with respect to the ecliptic. Due to a precovery taken at Lowell Observatory in 1929, the asteroid's observation arc begins 22 years before its official discovery observation at Goethe Link.


1953 Rupertwildt, Physical characteristics
According to the surveys carried out by NASA's Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer with its subsequent NEOWISE mission, Rupertwildt measures 22.0 kilometers in diameter and its surface has an albedo of 0.070. Assuming an albedo in the range of 0.05 to 0.25, the asteroid measures between 12 and 26 kilometers in diameter, based on an absolute magnitude of 11.9.


1953 Rupertwildt, Physical characteristics, Lightcurves
As of 2017, Rupertwildt's composition, rotation period and shape remain unknown.


1953 Rupertwildt, Naming
This minor planet was named in memory of German–American astronomer Rupert Wildt (1905–1976), professor of Astronomy at Yale University. In 1966, he was awarded the Eddington Medal by the Royal Astronomical Society for his discovery of the importance of negative hydrogen ions as a contributor to the solar atmosphere's opacity. He was one of the first to construct a model of the composition of the giant planets, as he recognized that the hydrogen-rich methane (CH4) and ammonia (NH3) are responsible for the absorption bands at red wavelengths. In the 1960s and 1970s, Wildt was chairman, president and the first scientific representative on the board of AURA.


1953 Rupertwildt, Naming
The approved naming citation was published by the Minor Planet Center on 6 June 1982 (M.P.C. 6954). The lunar crater Wildt is also named in his honour.


1953 Rutgers Queensmen football team
The 1953 Rutgers Queensmen football team represented Rutgers University in the 1953 college football season. In their 12th season under head coach Harvey Harman, the Queensmen compiled a 2–6 record, won the Middle Three Conference championship, and were outscored by their opponents 215 to 126.


1953 Ryder Cup
The 10th Ryder Cup Matches were held 2–3 October 1953 at Wentworth Club in Virginia Water, Surrey, England, west of London. The United States team won its sixth consecutive competition by a score of 61⁄2 to 51⁄2 points.


1953 Ryder Cup, Format
The Ryder Cup is a match play event, with each match worth one point. From 1927 through 1959, the format consisted of 4 foursome (alternate shot) matches on the first day and 8 singles matches on the second day, for a total of 12 points. Therefore, 61⁄2 points were required to win the Cup. All matches were played to a maximum of 36 holes.


1953 Ryder Cup, Teams
The British team was selected by the tournament committee of the P.G.A. with power to add to their numbers. In January 1953 Henry Cotton was chosen as captain and was co-opted onto the selection committee. In mid-August a group of 17 was announced from which the team would be chosen. This consisted of the eventual team of 10 plus Cotton, Tom Haliburton, Jack Hargreaves, Sam King, Arthur Lees, Norman Sutton and Charlie Ward. John Jacobs was later added to the list. Cotton withdrew from consideration for medical reasons. The P.G.A. arranged a series of trial matches at Wentworth starting on 23 September with the team announced on 26 September.


1953 Ryder Cup, Teams
The American team was announced in early August, after the 1953 All American Open. The 1952 and 1953 winners of the PGA Championship received automatic places. The remaining 8 members of the team were decided using a points-based system. Ben Hogan and Dutch Harrison qualified but declined their invitations. They were replaced Dave Douglas and Fred Haas, the next two in the points list.


1953 Ryder Cup, Friday's foursome matches
In the middle two matches the American pairs won easily after being 8 up and 7 up at lunch. In the first match Douglas and Oliver led by three after three holes of the afternoon round. The British pair reduced the lead to one with six holes to play. Both pairs holes good putts at the 15th but the British pair bogeyed the 16th to be dormie-two. Oliver drove out of bounds at the 17th but the British pair took 6 and the hole was halved.


1953 Ryder Cup, Friday's foursome matches
In the final match, Daly and Bradshaw were three up at lunch but lost the first two holes in the afternoon. Daly and Bradshaw's lead increased to 3 at the turn but then the Americans reduced the lead to one. Bradshaw had some luck at the 16th when his drive hit a spectator and the hole was halved. Middlecoff missed a 7-foot putt at the 17th which would have tied the match. The American pair got a 4 at the last but Daly holed from 3 yards to win the match.


1953 Ryder Cup, Friday's foursome matches
18 hole scores: Douglas/Oliver: 1 up, Mangrum/Snead: 8 up, Kroll/Burke: 7 up, Daly/Bradshaw: 3 up.


1953 Ryder Cup, Saturday's singles matches
The start was delayed by 80 minutes because of mist. At lunch each side was up in three matches with the other two matches level. Rees was ahead after 12 holes of the afternoon round but lost 2 & 1. Daly was 6 up at lunch and won his match easily. Mangrum had levelled his match against Brown with birdies at the 15th and 16th but Brown finished with two fours to win the match. Snead was 4 up at lunch and increased this to five. However he played the last six holes very badly and Weetman won at the last hole, finishing with two fours.


1953 Ryder Cup, Saturday's singles matches
With Middlecoff and Bradshaw winning their matches, the British team needed 11⁄2 points from the remaining 2 matches to win or a point to tie. The two British players in these matches were 22-year-old Peter Alliss and 23-year-old Bernard Hunt. Alliss had gone 1 up at the 14th but he 3-putted the 15th while Turnesa got down in two from a bunker. Alliss went out of bounds at the 17th to give Turnesa the lead.


1953 Ryder Cup, Saturday's singles matches
Turnesa was in the trees at the last and still short of the green in 3. However, Alliss, just off the green in 2, fluffed his chip, and eventually halved the hole in 6, to guarantee that the USA would retain the Ryder Cup. In the last match Hunt had won the 12th, 13th, 16th and 17th to be dormie-one. At the last, Hunt's second shot was in the trees on the right but he managed to get his third shot to the back of the green. He putted to 4 feet and, with Douglas taking 5, he needed to hole the putt to win the match. He missed and so the USA won 61⁄2 to 51⁄2.


1953 Ryder Cup, Saturday's singles matches
18 hole scores: Rees v Burke: all square, Daly: 6 up, Brown: 2 up, Snead: 4 up, Middlecoff: 3 up, Turnesa: 1 up, Hunt v Douglas: all square, Bradshaw: 1 up.


1953 Ryder Cup, Individual player records
Each entry refers to the Win–Loss–Half record of the player.


1953 Ryder Cup, Continental Europe–United States match
In January 1953 the PGA of America received an invitation from the European Golf Association to play a match against a team of European professionals. A match was arranged by the EGA and the French Golf Federation, played at Golf de Saint-Cloud, Saint-Cloud, Paris on 6 and 7 October. The match consisted of 5 fourball matches on the first day and 10 singles on the second day, all matches over 18 holes. Originally foursomes matches were planned for the first day but were replaced by fourballs.


1953 Ryder Cup, Continental Europe–United States match
Ed Oliver returned to America after the Ryder Cup. He was replaced by PGA officials, Warren Orlick on the first day and Ray Maguire on the second day. The continental europe team was Jean Baptiste Ado, Alfonso Angelini, Georg Bessner, Aldo Casera, Arthur Devulder, Gerard de Wit, Ugo Grappasonni, Marcelino Morcillo, Albert Pélissier and François Saubaber. Ángel Miguel was originally announced in the team but was replaced by Marcelino Morcillo. The team therefore had three players from France and Italy, and one each from Belgium, Germany, the Netherlands and Spain. Auguste Boyer was the non-playing captain.


1953 Ryder Cup, Continental Europe–United States match
The leading European golfer, Flory Van Donck, did not play. Van Donck had already won four continental open championships in 1953 and two British tournaments. However, the match clashed with the Dunlop Masters which was played on 7 and 8 October. Van Donck was the only continental player competing in the limited field of 20.


1953 Ryder Cup, Continental Europe–United States match
The United States led 4–1 after the first day. The Italian pair of Alfonso Angelini and Ugo Grappasonni beat Jim Turnesa and Warren Orlick 2 & 1. On the second day Europe won one match and halved two, giving a final score of 12–3. None of the American Ryder Cup team lost, Europe's only win was by Marcelino Morcillo who beat Ray Maguire. Albert Pélissier halved his match against Walter Burkemo while Grappasonni also halved against Lloyd Mangrum.


1953 Ryder Cup, Continental Europe–United States match
From 1954 to 1958 the EGA arranged a similar match between the British Isles and the Rest of Europe for the Joy Cup.


1953 SANFL Grand Final
The 1953 SANFL Grand Final was an Australian rules football competition. West Torrens beat Port Adelaide 67 to 60. It was West Torrens' final premiership and Grand Final appearance as a stand-alone team before merging with Woodville in 1990.


1953 SANFL season
The 1953 South Australian National Football League season was the 74th season of the top-level Australian rules football competition in South Australia.


1953 SCCA National Sports Car Championship
The 1953 SCCA National Sports Car Championship season was the third season of the Sports Car Club of America's National Sports Car Championship. It began February 21, 1953, and ended November 8, 1953, after fifteen races. Bill Spear won the season championship.


1953 SCCA National Sports Car Championship, Season results
Note: Although support races counted towards the season points championship, only feature race overall winners are listed below.


1953 Sabena Convair Crash
The 1953 Sabena Convair Crash was the crash of a Convair CV-240 of the Belgian airline Sabena, 3 kilometres (1.9 mi) north of Frankfurt, West Germany, on 14 October 1953. None of the 44 people on board survived the incident.


1953 Sabena Convair Crash, Aircraft
The Convair CV-240-12 involved was built in 1949 with serial number 154 and registration OO-AWQ and was used by the Belgian airline company Sabena from 1 April 1949 until its destruction in 1953.


1953 Sabena Convair Crash, Crash
After having arrived from Salzburg Airport for her stopover, the Sabena flight was scheduled to depart from Frankfurt International Airport bound for Zaventem Airport with 40 passengers and four crew members on board at 15.20 pm on 14 October 1953. However shortly after takeoff, the crew noticed that both engines were losing power. The crew followed the normal procedures and raised the flaps while trying to keep control of their plane. The aircraft ultimately became uncontrollable and stalled, crashing in a wooded area near Kelsterbach about two miles north of the airport she departed from. Firefighters and four ambulances reached the crash scene after following the rising smoke plume but it was quickly discovered that all 44 onboard had perished in the flaming wreckage.


1953 Sabena Convair Crash, Probable cause
The cause of the crash was determined to possibly be a heavy deposit of lead on the sparking plugs which reside in the engines. The investigation states that as the plugs warmed up during takeoff, the metal deposits formed a circuit which ended up short circuiting the plugs causing the fatal engine failure and subsequent stalling and crash of the aircraft. It is unknown whether the pilots actions contributed to the crash or if the fatal outcome was unavoidable.


1953 Sabena Convair Crash, Aftermath
The aircraft was destroyed by the impact and post-crash fire with only pieces of debris scattered around the wooded area. The crash site was documented on film on 21 October by the German press.


1953 San Diego State Aztecs football team
The 1953 San Diego State Aztecs football team represented San Diego State College during the 1953 college football season.


1953 San Diego State Aztecs football team
San Diego State competed in the California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA). The team was led by seventh-year head coach Bill Schutte, and played home games at both Aztec Bowl and Balboa Stadium. They finished the season with five wins, three losses and one tie (5–3–1, 3–1–1 CCAA). Overall, the team outscored its opponents 230–142 for the season.


1953 San Diego State Aztecs football team, Team players in the NFL
The following San Diego State players were selected in the 1954 NFL Draft.


1953 San Francisco 49ers season
The 1953 San Francisco 49ers season was the franchise's 4th season in the National Football League and their 8th overall. They were coming off a 7–5 record in 1952.


1953 San Francisco 49ers season
The 49ers would play consistent football all season long, never losing consecutive games throughout the season en route to a franchise-best 9–3 record. However, the 49ers would lose both games against the Detroit Lions, who finished the season 10–2 to win the Western Conference and earn a spot in the NFL Championship game.


1953 San Francisco 49ers season
Offensively, San Francisco was led by quarterback Y. A. Tittle, who threw for 2121 yards and 20 TD's while completing 57.5% of his passes. Running back Joe Perry had another great season, rushing for 1018 yards along with 10 TD's, while Hugh McElhenny rushed for 503 yards and 3 TD's, and caught 30 passes for 474 yards and 6 TDs. Wide receiver Billy Wilson would catch a team-high 51 passes for 840 yards and 10 TDs.


1953 San Francisco 49ers season, Schedule, Standings
Note: Tie games were not officially counted in the standings until 1972.


1953 San Francisco State Gators football team
The 1953 San Francisco State Gators football team represented San Francisco State College during the 1953 college football season.


1953 San Francisco State Gators football team
San Francisco State competed in the Far Western Conference (FWC). The Gators were led by 4th-year head coach Joe Verducci. They played home games at Cox Stadium in San Francisco, California. The team finished the season with a record of five wins and three losses (5–3, 0–1 FWC). For the season the team outscored its opponents 180–159.


1953 San Francisco State Gators football team, Team players in the NFL
No San Francisco State players were selected in the 1954 NFL Draft.


1953 San Francisco State Gators football team, Team players in the NFL
The following finished their college career in 1953, were not drafted, but played in the NFL.


1953 San Jose State Spartans football team
The 1953 San Jose State Spartans football team represented San Jose State College during the 1953 college football season.


1953 San Jose State Spartans football team
San Jose State played as an Independent in 1953. The team was led by fourth-year head coach Bob Bronzan, and played home games at Spartan Stadium in San Jose, California. They finished the season with a record of four wins, four losses and one tie. Overall, the team was outscored by its opponents 156–220 for the season.


1953 San Jose State Spartans football team, Team players in the NFL
The following San Jose State players were selected in the 1954 NFL Draft.


1953 Santa Barbara Gauchos football team
The 1953 UC Santa Barbara Gauchos football team represented Santa Barbara College during the 1953 college football season.


1953 Santa Barbara Gauchos football team
Santa Barbara competed in the California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA). The team was led by sixth-year head coach Stan Williamson, and played home games at La Playa Stadium in Santa Barbara, California. They finished the season with a record of two wins, six losses and one tie (2–6–1, 1–4 CCAA).


1953 Santa Barbara Gauchos football team, Team players in the NFL
No Santa Barbara Gaucho players were selected in the 1954 NFL Draft.


1953 Santos FC season
The 1953 season was the forty-second season for Santos FC.


1953 Sardinian regional election
The Sardinian regional election of 1953 for the Second Council took place on 14 June 1953.


1953 Sardinian regional election
After the election Luigi Crespellani, the incumbent Christian Democratic President, was re-elected President by the Regional Council. He was later succeeded by Alfredo Corrias (1954–1955) and Giuseppe Brotzu (1955–1957).


1953 Sarnia tornado
On the afternoon of Thursday, May 21, 1953, a violent F4 tornado struck the cities of Port Huron, Michigan, United States and Sarnia, Ontario, Canada. The long-tracked, over mile-wide tornado destroyed large sections of the downtown areas of both cities, as well scores of neighborhoods in the surroundings areas. Seven people were killed, 117 others were injured, and damages were estimated $17.6 million (1953 USD). The tornado was the last of a two-day severe weather outbreak that also produced two intense tornadoes in Iowa the day before.


1953 Sarnia tornado, Tornado event
One of many violent tornadoes during this exceedingly active and deadly season, this tornado touched down at 4:21 p.m. near Smiths Creek, Michigan (approximately 10 miles (16 km) southwest of Port Huron). It moved steadily towards the east-northeast at 35 mph (56 km/h) passing through Tappan before devastating the southern edge of Port Huron some 20 minutes later (Grazulis, 1990) resulting in widespread F3 and F4 damage. Two people were killed in Port Huron and 68 more were injured. Close to 400 homes were damaged or destroyed in the United States with monetary losses totaling $2.6 million ($24.4 million 2018 USD)(Grazulis, 1990).


1953 Sarnia tornado, Tornado event
Before crossing the St. Clair River into Canada, the parent thunderstorm dumped heavy amounts of rain and golf-ball-size hail on the city of Sarnia. This circumstance was credited with clearing the streets of motorists and pedestrians, thus reducing the potential number of tornado-related casualties. By 5:45 p.m., however, the over 1 mi (1.6 km) wide tornado roared into Canada just south of Sarnia Harbour (Grazulis, 1990). Moving to the northeast, the tornado passed directly through the downtown area where nearly a hundred commercial buildings sustained damage. A four-floor hotel on the waterfront lost many of its upper floors, as did a furniture store on Christina Street. The auditorium of the Imperial Theatre completely collapsed. Nearby however, a steel-reinforced telephone exchange building received minimal damage, as a result of its sturdy construction.


1953 Sarnia tornado, Tornado event
At least 150 homes on the more suburban outskirts of the city were damaged and in some instances reduced to rubble. Before exiting Sarnia, the tornado curved even further to the northeast and began to weaken, as its path narrowed to approximately 30 m (33 yd) across. The nearby radio station CHOK was severely damaged by the tornado as well. As it moved into rural Lambton and Middlesex Counties, more F4 damage was inflicted upon farmsteads and homes near Nairn, before the tornado dissipated south of Stratford around 7 pm EDT (Grazulis, 1990).


1953 Sarnia tornado, Tornado event
This suggests a total path length exceeding 120 km (75 mi), though it is highly probable that this damage path was made up of more than one tornado, possibly as many as four. At the very least, there were two other storm tracks that day both of which paralleled the Sarnia storm to its north and south. One of these tracked from Strathroy to northeast of London whereas the other originated near Lambton Shores before weakening near St. Mary's.


1953 Sarnia tornado, Tornado event
Significant tornado damage in the F2 to F4 range was also reported with these storms, and it is likely that these parent supercells were also of the cyclic variety. As many as nine individual tornadoes may have touched down during this outbreak. Financial losses in Canada totaled $15 million; five people were killed, 48 were injured, and 500 were left homeless.


1953 Sarnia tornado, Tornado event
Overall, the tornado was on the ground for 2 hours and 39 minutes, tracked 75–90 miles (121–145 km), and was 1–1.5 miles (1.6–2.4 km) wide at its peak. Seven people were killed, 117 others were injured, and damages were estimated $17.6 million (1953 USD).


1953 Sarnia tornado, Aftermath
Although CHOK returned to the air within a few hours, it remained under emergency circumstances for several days, and Port Huron's two AM radio stations, WTTH and WHLS, were also off the air and had sustained even more severe damage than CHOK. In the days to come, radio stations in Detroit, Windsor, and London would aid in the relief effort by relaying messages and emergency information from CHOK to listeners around the region. Nevertheless, the work of local radio announcers such as Karl Monk at CHOK and Robin Busse at WTTH, who had kept listeners informed of the storm as it developed until their stations were knocked off the air, was credited for saving many lives.


1953 Sarnia tornado, Aftermath
Both CHOK-AM (1070 kHz) and CHOK-FM (97.5 MHz) were knocked off the air; while the AM station returned to the air later that day, the FM station was never rebuilt and its license was cancelled in 1957. CHOK would remain an AM-only station until adding an FM rebroadcaster 55 years later.


1953 Sarnia tornado outbreak
A localized, but devastating series of severe thunderstorms affected the Great Lakes region during May 20-21, 1953. The strongest of these storms produced three intense, long-tacked tornadoes in Iowa, Michigan, and Ontario. The worst tornado event was a violent F4 tornado that tore the cities of Port Huron, Michigan and Sarnia, Ontario on May 21, damaging or destroying hundreds of structures and causing dozens of casualties. Overall, the tornadoes killed eight people, injured 123 others, and caused at least $17.6 million (1953 USD) in damage. Thunderstorm winds also caused an additional fatality when a tree fell on a house in Waterloo, Iowa.


1953 Sarnia tornado outbreak, Meteorological synopsis
A low pressure system formed over south central Montana early on May 20, 1953. This low moved eastward into South Dakota as favorable conditions to its east generated scattered severe thunderstorms across the Upper Midwest thanks in part to another low that was moving northeastward through Ontario. Continuing eastward, the original low moved into Minnesota by May 21 as it made a gradual northeastward turn, producing more severe weather across Ohio and Michigan until a high-pressure system pushed out of the area.


1953 Sarnia tornado outbreak, Confirmed tornadoes, Port Huron, Michigan–Sarnia, Ontario
This large, violent tornado touched down at 4:21 p.m. CST near Smiths Creek, Michigan, southwest of Port Huron. It moved northeast and quickly strengthened before hitting Port Huron, resulting in widespread F3 and F4 damage. Two people were killed in Port Huron and 68 more were injured. Close to 400 homes were damaged or destroyed in the United States with monetary losses totaling $2.6 million ($24.4 million 2018 USD). Crossing the St. Clair River, the 1-mile-wide (1.6 km) tornado moved into Canada just south of Sarnia Harbour.


1953 Sarnia tornado outbreak, Confirmed tornadoes, Port Huron, Michigan–Sarnia, Ontario
Moving to the northeast, the tornado moved directly through Downtown Sarnia, Ontario, where almost 100 commercial buildings sustained damage. At least 150 homes on the more suburban outskirts of the city were damaged and in some instances reduced to rubble. Five people were killed in Sarnia. Before exiting Sarnia, the tornado curved even further to the northeast and began to weaken, as its path narrowed to approximately 30 m (33 yd) across.


1953 Sarnia tornado outbreak, Confirmed tornadoes, Port Huron, Michigan–Sarnia, Ontario
The tornado then restrengthened as it moved into rural Lambton and Middlesex Counties, where more F4 damage was inflicted upon farmsteads and homes near Nairn, before it dissipated south of Stratford. This suggested a total path length exceeding 120 km (75 mi), though it is highly probable that this damage path was made up of more than one tornado, possibly as many as four. Overall, the tornado was on the ground for 2 hours and 39 minutes, tracked 75–90 miles (121–145 km), and was 1–1.5 miles (1.6–2.4 km) wide at its peak. Seven people were killed, 117 others were injured, and damages were estimated $17.6 million (1953 USD).


1953 Sarnia tornado outbreak, Non-tornadic events
Widespread wind damage occurred throughout an 18 county area in Iowa on May 20. Some of the worst damage occurring near Almoral and Elgin where farmsteads were severely damaged. In Waterloo, a man was crushed to death when a tree fell on him while he was in bed. Other towns in the area reported mostly light damage with uprooted trees and disrupted power and communication lines and light scattered damage was reported elsewhere outside these counties as well. Wind and hail damage was also reported in Southern Wisconsin.


1953 Sarnia tornado outbreak, Non-tornadic events
Trees were uprooted, disrupting power and communication lines to several large cities, including Milwaukee and Madison. Rural areas were particularly hard-hit as farm buildings were damaged and small barns were destroyed. Hail caused some slight damage to crops throughout the region as well. Storm damage was also reported in Michigan the next day with winds damaged a couple of farm buildings northeast of Bath while a home and it contents along US 27 south of St. Johns were completely destroyed by fire after it was struck by lightning.


1953 Scottish Cup Final
The 1953 Scottish Cup Final was played on 25 April 1953 at Hampden Park in Glasgow and was the final of the 68th staging of the Scottish Cup. Aberdeen and Rangers contested the match. The match was drawn 1–1 and was replayed four days later. In the rematch Rangers won 1–0  through a Billy Simpson goal in the 42nd minute.


1953 Scottish League Cup Final
The 1953 Scottish League Cup Final was played on 24 October 1953, at Hampden Park in Glasgow and was the final of the 8th Scottish League Cup competition. The final was contested by East Fife and Partick Thistle. East Fife won the match 3–2, thanks to goals by Frank Christie, Charlie Fleming and Ian Gardiner.


1953 Segunda División Peruana
The 1953 Segunda División Peruana, the second division of Peruvian football (soccer), was played by 10 teams. The tournament winner, Carlos Concha was promoted to the Primera División Peruana 1954.


1953 Segunda División de Chile
The 1953 Segunda División de Chile was the second season of the Segunda División de Chile.


1953 Seychellois parliamentary election, Electoral system
The right to vote was granted to all citizens over the age of 21 who could write their name, paid income tax on an annual income of SR 3,000 or more, and could prove that they had lived in the Seychelles for at least a year. Only around 10% of the population were able to register.


1953 Seychellois parliamentary election, Results
All the seats were won by independents and members of the Seychelles Taxpayers and Producers Association, who primarily represented the interests of large landowners. Voter turnout was only 36%.


1953 Shaw Bears football team
The 1953 Shaw Bears football team was an American football team that represented Shaw University as a member of the Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association (CIAA) during the 1953 college football season. Led by Howard K. Wilson in his seventh and final year as head coach, Shaw returned to competition after not fielding a football team in 1952. The team's captain was Pete Hawkins, who played center, and the co-captain was Wilson Chambers. Playing their home games at Chavis Park in Raleigh, North Carolina, the Bears finished the season with an overall record of 2–7 and a conference mark of 2–4. Their first win of the season, over Bluefield State on November 7, snapped a 13-game losing streak dating back to the 1951 season.


1953 Sikkimese general election
General elections were held in Sikkim in mid-1953. The Sikkim National Party and the Sikkim State Congress both won six seats. Voter turnout was less than 30%.


1953 Sikkimese general election, Electoral system
The State Council was established in 1953 by the Chogyal. It had 18 members, of which 12 were elected and six (including the President) appointed by the Chogyal. Of the 12 elected members, six were for the Nepali community and six for the Lepcha and the Bhutia communities.


1953 Sikkimese general election, Electoral system
Candidates for election to the Council had to be at least 30 years old, whilst the voting age was set at 21. Around 50,000 voters registered for the election.


1953 Sikkimese general election, Results, Appointed members
In addition to the elected members, five members were appointed to the Sikkim State Council by the Chogyal; John S. Lal (President of the Council and Dewan of Sikkim), Rai Bahadur Densapa, Tekbir Khati, Palda Lama and Hon Lt Prem Bahadur Basnet.


1953 Sikkimese general election, Executive Council
Following the elections, an Executive Council was appointed, which consisted of the President of the Council, John S. Lal and two of the elected members, Sonam Tsering and Kashiraj Pradhan.


1953 Sindh provincial election
Provincial elections were held in Sindh province of Pakistan in 1953. The elections, were first attempt at participatory democracy for the young nation, which received its independence six years earlier. It was neither free nor fair.


1953 Sindh provincial election
The election took place in May after several instances of rescheduling and suffered from the same voting irregularities that other states experienced in the 1951 provincial elections. Just five years later, President Iskander Mirza suspended elections, declared martial law, and seized power for twenty days until General Ayub Khan overthrew him in the 1958 coup d'état, the country's first military coup d'état.


1953 Singapore City Council election
The 1953 Singapore City Council election was the 3rd election to the Singapore City Council. It was held on 5 December 1953 to elect 6 of the 18 seats in the City Council.


1953 Skyways Avro York disappearance
On 2 February 1953, an Avro York four-engined piston airliner registered G-AHFA of Skyways Limited disappeared over the North Atlantic on a flight from the United Kingdom to Jamaica. The aircraft had 39 occupants including 13 children.


1953 Skyways Avro York disappearance, Accident
The Avro York was a military trooping flight for the British Air Ministry from Stansted Airport in the United Kingdom to Jamaica with six crew and 33 passengers, including soldiers with their families. The aircraft had stopped at Lajes Field in the Azores and departed at 23:25 on 1 February 1953 for Gander Airport in Newfoundland. The aircraft transmitted Positional Operational Meteorological Reports at approximately one-hour intervals from 00:10 to 04:25 on 2 February. At 04:10 the aircraft position was given as 44°32'N 41°38'W. At 05:31 Gander heard an Urgency signal from the aircraft giving a position a minute before the message as 46°15'N 46°31'W. The urgency signal was followed by a distress message SOS, SOS, SOS DE G-A the message stopped abruptly and no further communications from the aircraft were heard.


1953 Skyways Avro York disappearance, Accident
An extensive air and sea search failed to find any trace of the aircraft or the 39 occupants. The following day (3 February) United States Coast Guard cutter Campbell reported several large oil patches and dye markers about 120 miles south-west of the last reported position of the aircraft; the Campbell reported that the search area had snow squalls.


1953 Skyways Avro York disappearance, Aircraft
The Avro York (registration: G-AHFA) had been built in 1946 and had completed 6,418 hours total flying time. It had a valid certificate of airworthiness issued three days before the disappearance and had been completely overhauled in November 1952. The aircraft was owned by the Lancashire Aircraft Corporation and operated by Skyways Limited.


1953 Skyways Avro York disappearance, Aircraft
The aircraft was first registered to the Ministry of Supply and Aircraft Production on 20 March 1946. It was registered to British South American Airways (BSAA) on 20 August 1946 and operated with the name "Star Dale". It was sold to British Overseas Airways Corporation (BOAC) on 3 September 1949. BOAC sold the aircraft in 1951 and it was registered to the Lancashire Aircraft Corporation on 11 December 1951.


1953 Skyways Avro York disappearance, Investigation
A public inquiry was opened in London at Holborn Town Hall on 2 July 1953 to consider possible causes of the loss of the York. The Solicitor General representing The Crown absolved the crew from blame; he also ruled out sabotage or contaminated fuel. On the second day the Chief Investigation Officer of the Accidents Investigation Branch (AIB) gave an opinion that it may have been an uncontrollable fire in one of the aircraft's engines.


1953 Skyways Avro York disappearance, Investigation
The report of the inquiry was issued on 3 December 1953 and stated that the cause was unascertainable. The court found the loss was not contributed by any wrongful act or default of any person or party. It was concluded that the urgency signal was transmitted at a normal speed and possibly not an indication that urgent assistance was required, quickly followed by a hasty distress signal indicated that whatever the trouble it developed in a sudden and violent manner.


1953 Small Club World Cup (1st tournament)
The 1953 Small Club World Cup (first tournament) was the second edition of the Small Club World Cup, a tournament held in Venezuela between 1952 and 1957, and in 1963 and in 1965. It was played by four participants, half from Europe and half from South America but deviated from its usual double round robin format and featured players such as Angel Labruna, Amadeo Carrizo, Felix Loustau for River Plate, Gerhard Hanappi, Ernst Happel for Austria Wien, Nestor Rossi, Ramón Alberto Villaverde and Alfredo Di Stefano for Millonarios who played his last matches for the club in this tournament.


1953 Small Club World Cup (2nd tournament)
The 1953 Small Club World Cup (2nd tournament) was the third edition of the Small Club World Cup, a tournament held in Venezuela between 1952 and 1957, and in 1963 and in 1965. It was played by four participants, half from Europe and half from South America in double round robin format and featured stars like László Kubala, goalkeeper Antoni Ramallets, Estanislau Basora for Barcelona, goalkeeper Gilmar, Baltazar for Corinthians, Egisto Pandolfini and Carlo Galli for Roma. This was the 2nd tournament played in the same year; none was held in the next calendar year.


1953 Small Club World Cup (2nd tournament)
Corinthians entered to the competition (as champion of 1952 Campeonato Paulista), after Vasco da Gama (1952 Campeonato Carioca champion) declined the invitation. FC Barcelona striker László Kubala was the topscorer of the competition, along with Brazilian midfielder Luizinho, with 5 goals each.


1953 South African general election
General elections were held in South Africa on 15 April 1953. The elections consolidated the position of the National Party under D. F. Malan, which won an absolute majority of the 156 elected seats in the House of Assembly. The United Party under JGN Strauss lost several seats, and suffered several splits after the election.


1953 South African general election, Changes in composition, Native representative members
The second term of the white MPs elected to represent black voters, from special electoral districts in Cape Province under the Representation of Natives Act 1936, expired on 30 June 1948 (just over a month after the National Party came to power in the 1948 general election). These seats were not vacated by a dissolution of Parliament, so they were not contested at either the 1948 or 1953 general elections.


1953 South African general election, Changes in composition, Native representative members
The three representative seats were filled by elections on 17 November 1948. Two Independent MPs (W.H. Stuart of Transkeian Territories and Mrs V.M.L. Ballinger of Cape Eastern) were returned. The third seat was taken by Sam Kahn, a South African Communist Party member, who gained the seat from an Independent.


1953 South African general election, Changes in composition, Native representative members
The term of these members expired on 30 June 1954 (the first 30 June to fall after five years from the date of election).


1953 South African general election, Changes in composition, Native representative members
The Communist Party dissolved itself (at least as an open political party) when legislation to ban it was going through Parliament in 1950. Sam Kahn was ultimately banned from being a member of Parliament, in 1952, under the anti Communist legislation. Subsequently, two successive by-elections were held in Cape Western, but the victors had similar views to Mr Kahn and were also excluded from Parliament. The seat was then left vacant for the remainder of the term.


1953 South African general election, Changes in composition, South-West Africa
The white electors of the territory of South-West Africa (present day Namibia), were allocated six seats in the House of Assembly. These new electoral divisions were first filled at by-elections on 31 August 1950. The governing National Party won all the seats, which were additional to the 150 general roll seats allocated to the Union of South Africa.


1953 South African general election, Delimitation of electoral divisions
The South Africa Act 1909 had provided for a delimitation commission to define the boundaries for each electoral division. The representation by province, under the tenth delimitation report of 1953, is set out in the table below. The figures in brackets are the number of electoral divisions in the previous (1947) delimitation. If there is no figure in brackets then the number was unchanged.


1953 South African general election, Delimitation of electoral divisions
The above table does not include the three native representative seats in Cape Province nor the six South-West African divisions, which were not included in the delimitation of the general roll seats for the Union under the South Africa Act 1909.


1953 South African general election, Position at the dissolution
At the end of the 10th Union Parliament, when it was dissolved in 1953, the House of Assembly consisted of two groups of members. General roll voters (white voters from the whole Union and South-West Africa and coloured electors in Cape Province and Natal) were represented by 156 members. Black voters in Cape Province were represented by three white MPs, known at the time as Native Representative Members (NRM).


1953 South African general election, Position at the dissolution
The general election, on 15 April 1953, only affected the representatives of general roll voters. From 1938 the Native Representative Members had fixed terms and were elected on a different date. The overall composition of the House, set out by province before the general election, was as below.


1953 South African general election, Position at the dissolution
Note: The NRM seat, formerly held by the Communist Party, is listed as Independent in the above table. Sam Kahn and his two successors, after the Communist Party dissolved its public organisation and went underground, all claimed to be Independents.


1953 South African general election, Campaign
Since the 1948 general election Dr Malan's Reunited National Party had merged with its coalition partner, the Afrikaner Party. The merged party was named the National Party (NP). The government had also strengthened its political position, by conferring six parliamentary seats upon the white population of the territory of South West Africa.


1953 South African general election, Campaign
The principal opposition party was the United Party (UP). Since the previous general election, in 1948, the UPs veteran leader Field Marshal Jan Smuts had died. The new Leader of the Opposition was J.G.N. Strauss.


1953 South African general election, Campaign
The other parliamentary opposition party was the Labour Party. In 1953, the United Party and the Labour Party had an electoral pact, for the third successive general election.


1953 South African general election, Campaign
During the campaign, the Labour leader John Christie died. His seat was consequently contested at a by election after the normal day of the general election poll. It was retained by a new Labour candidate and is included in the totals for the results section of this article,


1953 South African general election, Campaign
The NP promoted its policy of apartheid Dr Malan suggested that the white voters could unite around the Nationalist programme. The UP criticised the idea of apartheid as impractical. Mr Strauss campaigned alleging that the first task of a South African government should be the suppression of Native criminals, who created insecurity in the cities. United Party supporters were optimistic on the eve of the poll.


1953 South African general election, Results
Due to the first-past-the-post system, the Nationalists won 37 more seats than United despite finishing only two percentage points ahead of United in the popular vote. This was enough to deliver the Nationalists a second consecutive majority government.


1953 South American Basketball Championship
The 1953 South American Basketball Championship was the 15th edition of this regional tournament. It was held in Montevideo, Uruguay and won by the host, Uruguay national basketball team. A record seven national teams competed. It was the first to follow the first World Championship in 1950.


1953 South American Basketball Championship, Results
Each team played the other six teams once, for a total of six games played by each team and 21 overall in the preliminary round. The three-way tie between Chile, Peru, and Paraguay was broken by a sub-bracket; each was 1–1 against the other teams in that sub-bracket. The point differentials within the bracket gave Chile the top spot in it with +5, Paraguay had +4, and Peru had -9. This was mostly due to Chile's relatively large victory over Peru while the other two games (Peru-Paraguay and Chile-Paraguay) had both been much closer.


1953 South American Championship
The South American Championship 1953 was a football tournament held in Peru and won by Paraguay with Brazil second. Argentina, and Colombia withdrew from the tournament. Francisco Molina from Chile became top scorer of the tournament with 7 goals.


1953 South American Championship Final
The 1953 South American Championship Final was the final match to determine the winner of the 1953 South American Championship. It was held on April 1, 1953, in Estadio Nacional of Lima, Peru.


1953 South American Championship Final
Paraguay won the match against Brazil by a 3–2 score, winning its first continental title.


1953 South American Championship Final, Overview
Some journalists stated that Paraguay's best moments in football were during those years. In fact, the Paraguayan side achieved some notable results such as the 5–1 win to Argentina (current South American champion by then) in July 1945.


1953 South American Championship Final, Overview
Other good performances by the Paraguayan team had been the 3rd place in 1946 –with goalkeeper Sinforiano García (considered one of the greatest in Paraguayan football) as its most notable player–, the 2nd place in 1947 and the win over Brazil on group stage in 1949 (although the host country would thrash Paraguay 7–0 in the final).


1953 South American Championship Final, Overview
After former player Manuel Fleitas Solich was appointed coach, Paraguay started a hard training routine with the purpose of being in the best shape for the 1953 South American tournament. Results were highly satisfactory so Paraguay crowned champion unbeaten, winning Brazil in the final and taking revenge on the 1949 final.


1953 South American Championship squads
The following squads were named for the 1953 South American Championship that took place in Peru.


1953 South American Championships in Athletics (unofficial)
Unofficial South American Championships in Athletics (Campeonato Sudamericano Extraordinario de Atletismo) were held on 19–26 April 1953, at Chile's national stadium, Estadio Nacional in the capital, Santiago.


1953 South Australian state election
State elections were held in South Australia on 7 March 1953. All 39 seats in the South Australian House of Assembly were up for election. The incumbent Liberal and Country League led by Premier of South Australia Thomas Playford IV defeated the Australian Labor Party led by Leader of the Opposition Mick O'Halloran.


1953 South Australian state election, Background
Labor won three seats, metropolitan Norwood and Prospect and rural Victoria from the LCL. The LCL won one seat, rural Murray from Labor. Notably, neither major party contested the independent-held seat of Ridley.


1953 South Australian state election, Background
The Labor opposition won 53 percent of the statewide two-party vote however the LCL retained government with the assistance of the Playmander − an electoral malapportionment that also saw a clear majority of the statewide two-party vote won by Labor while failing to form government in 1944, 1962 and 1968.


1953 South Australian state election, Results
South Australian state election, 7 March 1953House of Assembly << 1950–1956 >>


1953 South Carolina Gamecocks football team
The 1953 South Carolina Gamecocks football team represented the University of South Carolina during the 1953 college football season. The Gamecocks were led by 13th-year head coach Rex Enright and played their home games at Carolina Stadium in Columbia, South Carolina. They competed as members of the Atlantic Coast Conference, in the conference's inaugural year. South Carolina and six other schools from the Southern Conference broke off to form the new conference in 1953. The Gamecocks finished the season 7–3 overall.


1953 South Carolina's 4th congressional district special election
The 1953 South Carolina 4th congressional district special election was held on June 2, 1953 to select a Representative for the 4th congressional district to serve out the remainder of the term for the 83rd Congress. The special election resulted from the death of Representative Joseph R. Bryson on March 10, 1953. Robert T. Ashmore emerged as the winner in a crowded field of Democrats.


1953 South Carolina's 4th congressional district special election, General election campaign
The South Carolina Democratic Party decided to forgo a primary election so the general election held on June 2 featured a crowded field of six Democrats. The South Carolina Republican Party was nothing more than a patronage institution at the time and it had no chance to win the seat so no Republican filed for the election. Robert T. Ashmore, a solicitor from Greenville, prevailed over Spartanburg State Senator Charles C. Moore.


1953 South Dakota Coyotes football team
The 1953 South Dakota Coyotes football team was an American football team that represented the University of South Dakota in the North Central Conference (NCC) during the 1953 college football season. In its 15th season under head coach Harry Gamage, the team compiled a 2–6 record (2–4 against NCC opponents), tied for fifth place out of seven teams in the NCC, and was outscored by a total of 149 to 115. The team played its home games at Inman Field in Vermillion, South Dakota.


1953 South Dakota State Jackrabbits football team
The 1953 South Dakota State Jackrabbits football team was an American football team that represented South Dakota State University in the North Central Conference during the 1953 college football season. In its seventh season under head coach Ralph Ginn, the team compiled a 5–3–1 record (5–0–1 against conference opponents), won the NCC championship, and outscored opponents by a total of 247 to 186.


1953 South Sydney season
The 1953 South Sydney Rabbitohs season was the 46th in the club's history. They competed in the New South Wales Rugby Football League's 1953 Premiership, and won the grand final.


1953 Southern 500
The 1953 Southern 500, the fourth running of the event, was a NASCAR Grand National Series event that was held on September 7, 1953, at Darlington Raceway in Darlington, South Carolina.


1953 Southern 500
Junior Johnson would make his NASCAR Cup Series debut in this event; amongst a long list of other rookie drivers. Bob Weatherly, Lonnie Bragg, and Elmer Cooper would race their only NASCAR event here along with several others. " Just months prior to the 1953 running of the Southern 500, the shape of the track made passing opportunities very few. A reconstruction helped to mold the racetrack into a fast venue for stock car racing prior to the completion of Daytona International Speedway.


1953 Southern 500
Along with this track, almost every track in the Southeastern United States had a weekly racing series. During the 1950s, regular passenger cars were not so different from the cars that the NASCAR drivers used at the races. The gulf between everyday passenger vehicles and NASCAR vehicles started to widen in the mid-1970s due to environmental concerns; becoming pronounced by the late-1970s.


1953 Southern 500, Background
Darlington Raceway, nicknamed by many NASCAR fans and drivers as "The Lady in Black" or "The Track Too Tough to Tame" and advertised as a "NASCAR Tradition", is a race track built for NASCAR racing located near Darlington, South Carolina. It is of a unique, somewhat egg-shaped design, an oval with the ends of very different configurations, a condition which supposedly arose from the proximity of one end of the track to a minnow pond the owner refused to relocate. This situation makes it very challenging for the crews to set up their cars' handling in a way that will be effective at both ends.


1953 Southern 500, Background
The track is a four-turn 1.366 miles (2.198 km) oval. The track's first two turns are banked at twenty-five degrees, while the final two turns are banked two degrees lower at twenty-three degrees. The front stretch (the location of the finish line) and the back stretch is banked at six degrees. Darlington Raceway can seat up to 60,000 people.


1953 Southern 500, Race report
A grand total of 59 American drivers competed in this 364-lap event. Due to irregularities in the way that early NASCAR events were recorded, two drivers were recorded as starting in 19th place. Further irregularities would ensue when Elmer Cooper and Bobby Myers ended up jointly qualifying for the race in 50th place. Lloyd Hulette's car number was actually 7777 but since NASCAR didn't seem to allow three-digit numbers at Darlington, much less four, he was scored as 7.


1953 Southern 500, Race report
Dick Passwater would make his final NASCAR Grand National Series appearance in this race. Curtis Turner ran the race using a number other than his usual #41. Both Junior Johnson and Lacy Jackson flipped in this race. Johnson would leave the race on lap 222 because he blew a tire and scraped the wall, spinning back into it hood first before flipping once, turning on the nose, and setting back down on the wheels. Meanwhile, Jackson would exit the race in a relatively quiet manner on lap 288.


1953 Southern 500, Race report
There were 35 lead changes made between four drivers (Buck Baker, Fonty Flock, Herb Thomas and Fireball Roberts). 16 year old Emory Lewis races in his first NASCAR race, who started 19th and finished 46th. This was impressive considering he barely was old enough to have a license, being eligible for just 11 months prior to this race.


1953 Southern 500, Race report
Instead of being measured by the apron, the track surface started to be measured by the banking.


1953 Southern 500, Race report
Dick Meyer - a native of Porterville, California - would die while street racing back in California just several days after competing in this event. Porterville would eventually bring two more to compete in NASCAR; 1973 Talladega 500 winner Dick Brooks and Marv Acton. Today, Acton is still involved in the stock car world, building NASCAR simulators and owning a shop dedicated to the fabrication of stock car vehicles.


1953 Southern 500, Race report
Ned Jarrett was the last-place finisher due to a faulty oil line on lap 8 while Bob Hunter was the lowest-finishing driver to finish the race; 154 laps behind the lead lap drivers. After more than five hours, Buck Baker would defeat Fonty Flock by three laps; Baker would go on to win the 1960 Southern 500 and the 1964 Southern 500 to solidify himself as one of the toughest racers who has ever raced at Darlington.


1953 Southern 500, Race report
Flock was the pole sitter at 107.983 miles per hour (173.782 km/h) during qualifying. In contrast to that speed, the average speed of the race was 92.881 miles per hour (149.477 km/h). Seventeen laps were run at reduced speeds as a result of the caution flag. Some of the notable owners in this race were Herb Thomas, Frank Christian and Bob Griffin. More than half the grid failed to finish; Herb Thomas had engine problems on lap 354 but ultimately earned a respectable fifth-place finish. Mike Magill flipped over the wall on lap 244 that caused him to finish in 34th after qualifying 20th.


1953 Southern 500, Race report
Five drivers were declared to be "null" entries by NASCAR because they didn't submit their entry blanks within a reasonable period of time. While they were still permitted to race, their finishes did not count towards the overall season standings.


1953 Southern 500, Race report
Individual race earnings for this event ranged from the winner's share of $6,285 ($60,059 when adjusted for inflation) to the last-place finisher's portion of $100 ($956 when adjusted for inflation) from a total of $24,430 ($233,452 when adjusted for inflation). T.H. King, Boyce Hagler and Smokey Yunick were three notable crew chiefs that participated in this event.


1953 Southern Conference Baseball Tournament
The 1953 Southern Conference Baseball Tournament was held in Raleigh, North Carolina from May 14 through May 16. This was the league's final championship tournament to be held until 1987, as seven schools, including three participants in the tournament, departed the conference to form the Atlantic Coast Conference after the season. Modern Southern Conference baseball records begin with the 1954 baseball season. The South Division's second seed Duke won the tournament for the third time.


1953 Southern Conference Baseball Tournament, Seeding
The top two teams from each division participated in the tournament. Complete standings are not available, but the teams below all fielded baseball teams within the Southern Conference.


1953 Southern Conference Men's Basketball Tournament
The 1953 Southern Conference Men's Basketball Tournament took place from March 5–7, 1953 at the Reynolds Coliseum in Raleigh, North Carolina. The Wake Forest Demon Deacons, led by head coach Murray Greason, won their first Southern Conference title and received the automatic berth to the 1953 NCAA Tournament.


1953 Southern Conference Men's Basketball Tournament, Format
The top eight finishers of the conference's seventeen members were eligible for the tournament. Teams were seeded based on conference winning percentage. The tournament used a preset bracket consisting of three rounds.


1953 Southern Illinois Salukis football team
The 1953 Southern Illinois Salukis football team was an American football team that represented Southern Illinois University (now known as Southern Illinois University Carbondale) in the Interstate Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (IIAC) during the 1953 college football season. Under second-year head coach William O'Brien, the team compiled a 2–7 record. The team played its home games at McAndrew Stadium in Carbondale, Illinois.


1953 Southern Rhodesian federation referendum
A referendum on the formation of the Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland was held in Southern Rhodesia on 9 April 1953. The proposal was approved by 63.45% of voters.


1953 Southwark Borough election
Elections to Metropolitan Borough of Southwark were held in 1953.


1953 Southwark Borough election
The borough had ten wards which returned between 3 and 8 members. Labour won all the seats with 84% of the vote in one ward.


1953 Southwestern Louisiana Bulldogs football team
The 1953 Southwestern Louisiana Bulldogs football team was an American football team that represented the Southwestern Louisiana Institute of Liberal and Technical Learning (now known as the University of Louisiana at Lafayette) in the Gulf States Conference during the 1953 college football season. In their third year under head coach Raymond Didier, the team compiled a 4–7 record.


1953 Soviet Class B
Following are the results of the 1953 Soviet First League football championship. FC Dinamo Minsk winning the championship.


1953 Soviet Cup
The 1953 Soviet Cup was an association football cup competition of the Soviet Union.


1953 Soviet Top League
11 teams took part in the league with FC Spartak Moscow winning the championship.


1953 Soviet nuclear tests
The Soviet Union's 1953 nuclear test series was a group of 5 nuclear tests conducted in 1953. These tests followed the 1949-51 Soviet nuclear tests series and preceded the 1954 Soviet nuclear tests series.


1953 Spa 24 Hours
The 1953 24 Heures de Spa Francorchamps took place on 25 and 26 July 1953, at the Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps, (Belgium). It was also the fourth round of the FIA World Sports Car Championship. This was the first time the event had taken place since Luigi Chinetti and Jean Lucas won in 1949. The race was not run again until 1964.


1953 Spa 24 Hours
Although the 1953 season places two 24 hour races in two months would not be an easy maneuver. But, Spa is a favourite amongst the drivers and teams, therefore, the event would be a popular one, not to be missed by the top teams and their star drivers


1953 Spa 24 Hours, Report, Entry
A grand total 43 racing cars were registered for this event, of which 40 arrived for practise and qualifying. From Italy, the two work teams of Scuderia Ferrari and S. P. A. Alfa Romeo. The Scuderia from Maranello arrived with three cars, all 375 MM's. In the cockpits sat the driver pairings, Giuseppe Farina / Mike Hawthorn, Luigi Villoresi / Alberto Ascari and Umberto Maglioli with Piero Carini . Alfa Romeo brought two cars to Belgium, which went into different classes at the start.


1953 Spa 24 Hours, Report, Entry
Juan Manuel Fangio and Consalvo Sanesi piloted an Alfa Romeo 6C 3000 CM in the sports car category. Max Thirion, together with Mario Damonte were entered in an Alfa Romeo 1900 in the touring car class. The host country was represented by the Ecurie Francorchamps, which entered a Jaguar C-Type and a Ferrari 212 Export.


1953 Spa 24 Hours, Report, Qualifying
The Ferrari 375 MM of Mike Hawthorn took pole position, averaging a speed of 113.871 mph around the 8.77 mile circuit. However, following an accident in practise, the Fiat 1100 of “Thillios” and Johnny Claes was withdrawn, leaving 39 cars to start.


1953 Spa 24 Hours, Report, Race
The day of the race would be warm and dry, but that would mean very little as the team prepared for the start at 4pm. As the field took off, it wouldn’t be long before the Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps would prove to be a greater threat, even to the best teams and drivers in the race.