1955 Kansas City Athletics season, Regular season, Opening game
The A's other batting star was center fielder Bill Wilson, who collected three hits and a base on balls, scoring three runs, in four plate appearances; one of his hits was the first home run in Kansas City MLB annals, a solo blast in the eighth inning. Left-hander Alex Kellner got the victory, while former Cincinnati Reds star Ewell Blackwell pitched three scoreless innings in relief for the save.


1955 Kansas City Athletics 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


1955 Kansas City Athletics 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


1955 Kansas City Athletics season, Player stats, Pitching, Starting pitchers
Note: G = Games played; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts


1955 Kansas City Athletics season, Player stats, Pitching, Other pitchers
Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts


1955 Kansas City Athletics season, Player stats, Pitching, Relief pitchers
Note: G = Games pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; SV = Saves; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts


1955 Kansas City Athletics season, Farm system
Welch franchise transferred to Marion and renamed, July 14, 1955


1955 Kansas Jayhawks football team
The 1955 Kansas Jayhawks football team represented the University of Kansas in the Big Seven Conference during the 1955 college football season. In their second season under head coach Chuck Mather, the Jayhawks compiled a 3–6–1 record (1–4–1 against conference opponents), finished tied for fifth in the Big Seven Conference, and were outscored by all opponents by a combined total of 222 to 93. They played their home games at Memorial Stadium in Lawrence, Kansas.


1955 Kansas Jayhawks football team
The team's statistical leaders included John Francisco with 459 rushing yards and 24 points scored and Wally Strauch with 498 passing yards. Ralph Moody and Dick Reich were the team captains.


1955 Kansas State Wildcats football team
The 1955 Kansas State Wildcats football team represented Kansas State University in the 1955 college football season. The team's head football coach was Bus Mertes, in his first year at the helm of the Wildcats. The Wildcats played their home games in Memorial Stadium. 1955 saw the Wildcats finish with a record of 4–6, and a 3–3 record in Big Seven Conference play. The Wildcats scored 165 points while giving up 191. They finished tied for third in the Big Seven. Ten Days before the Kansas game on November 5, K-State's mascot Touchdown IV was stolen by Kansas students. At the end of the first quarter the mascot was returned but the theft had already been avenged as K-State led the Jayhawks, 26–0, at that point and went on to defeat Kansas, 46–0.


1955 Kent State Golden Flashes football team
The 1955 Kent State Golden Flashes football team was an American football team that represented Kent State University  in the Mid-American Conference (MAC) during the 1955 college football season. In their tenth season under head coach Trevor J. Rees, the Golden Flashes compiled a 6–2–1 record (4–1–1 against MAC opponents), finished in third place in the MAC, and outscored all opponents by a combined total of 184 to 87.


1955 Kent State Golden Flashes football team
The team's statistical leaders included fullback Mike Norcia with 600 rushing yards, Bob Stimac with 428 passing yards, and Ken Redin with 102 receiving yards. Norcia was selected as a first-team All-MAC player.


1955 Kentucky Derby
The 1955 Kentucky Derby was the 81st running of the Kentucky Derby. The race took place on May 7, 1955. The race carried a purse of $152,500 of which winner Swaps received $108,400, a then record.


1955 Kentucky Wildcats football team
The 1955 Kentucky Wildcats football team was an American football team that represented the University of Kentucky in the Southeastern Conference (SEC) during the 1955 college football season. In their second season under head coach Blanton Collier, the Wildcats compiled a 6–3–1 record (3–3–1 against SEC opponents), tied for seventh in the conference, and outscored opponents by a total of 178 to 131. The team played its home games at Stoll Field in Lexington, Kentucky.


1955 Kentucky gubernatorial election
The 1955 Kentucky gubernatorial election was held on November 7, 1955. Democratic nominee Happy Chandler defeated Republican nominee Edwin R. Denney with 58.02% of the vote.


1955 Kesteven County Council election
Elections to Kesteven County Council were held on Saturday, 2 April 1955. Kesteven was one of three divisions of the historic county of Lincolnshire in England; it consisted of the ancient wapentakes (or hundreds) of Aswardhurn, Aveland, Beltisloe, Boothby Graffoe, Flaxwell, Langoe, Loveden, Ness, and Winnibriggs and Threo. The Local Government Act 1888 established Kesteven as an administrative county, governed by a Council; elections were held every three years from 1889, until it was abolished by the Local Government Act 1972, which established Lincolnshire County Council in its place.


1955 Kesteven County Council election
The County Council was divided into 60 electoral divisions. 45 independents and 15 Labour candidates were returned in the 1961 elections.


1955 Kilkenny Senior Hurling Championship
The 1955 Kilkenny Senior Hurling Championship was the 61st staging of the Kilkenny Senior Hurling Championship since its establishment by the Kilkenny County Board.


1955 Kilkenny Senior Hurling Championship
On 6 November 1955, Bennettsbridge won the championship after a 6-06 to 1-04 defeat of Mooncoin in the final. It was their fourth championship title overall and their first title in two championship seasons.


1955 LFF Lyga
The 1955 LFF Lyga was the 34th season of the LFF Lyga football competition in Lithuania. It was contested by 12 teams, and Lima Kaunas won the championship.


1955 LPGA Championship
The 1955 LPGA Championship was the first edition of the LPGA Championship, held July 15–17 at Orchard Ridge Country Club in Fort Wayne, Indiana.


1955 LPGA Championship
The championship's format was three rounds of stroke play, followed by match play on Sunday to determine the final standings. The championship match was played over 36 holes and the other matches were over 18 holes. Rain washed out play on Thursday and delayed the start to late morning on Friday; 36 holes were played on Saturday.


1955 LPGA Championship
Beverly Hanson won the first of her three major championships at 4 & 3 over runner-up Louise Suggs.


1955 LPGA Tour
The 1955 LPGA Tour was the sixth season since the LPGA Tour officially began in 1950. The season ran from January 6 to October 9. The season consisted of 27 official money events. Patty Berg won the most tournaments, six. She also led the money list with earnings of $16,492.


1955 LPGA Tour
The season saw the first winner from outside the United States, Fay Crocker from Uruguay. It also included the last of Babe Zaharias's 41 wins, she died the following year. The LPGA added a major championship to its schedule, the LPGA Championship, won by Beverly Hanson. Another major, the Women's Western Open, changed its format from match play to stroke play.


1955 LPGA Tour, Tournament results
The following table shows all the official money events for the 1955 season. "Date" is the ending date of the tournament. The numbers in parentheses after the winners' names are the number of wins they had on the tour up to and including that event. Majors are shown in bold.


1955 LSU Tigers football team
The 1955 LSU Tigers football team represented Louisiana State University during the 1955 college football season. Under head coach Paul Dietzel, the Tigers had a record of 3–5–2 with an SEC record of 2–3–1. It was Dietzel's first season as head coach at LSU.


1955 La Flèche Wallonne
The 1955 La Flèche Wallonne was the 19th edition of La Flèche Wallonne cycle race and was held on 30 April 1955. The race started in Charleroi and finished in Liège. The race was won by Stan Ockers.


1955 Labour Party Shadow Cabinet election
Elections to the Labour Party's Shadow Cabinet (more formally, its "Parliamentary Committee") occurred in 1955. In addition to the 12 members elected, the Leader (Clement Attlee), Deputy Leader (Herbert Morrison), Labour Chief Whip (William Whiteley), Labour Leader in the House of Lords (William Jowitt) were automatically members.


1955 Labour Party leadership election
The 1955 Labour Party leadership election was held following the resignation of Clement Attlee. Attlee was Prime Minister from 1945 to 1951 and  stayed on as party leader until he lost the 1955 general election.


1955 Labour Party leadership election, Ballot
The result of the only ballot of Labour MPs on 14 December was as follows:


1955 Lafayette Leopards football team
The 1955 Lafayette Leopards football team was an American football team that represented Lafayette College during the 1955 college football season. Lafayette won the Middle Three Conference championship.


1955 Lafayette Leopards football team
In their fourth year under head coach Steve Hokuf, the Leopards compiled a 6–2 record, and defeated both of their Middle Three opponents. Bob Fyvie and Jack Burcin were the team captains.


1955 Lafayette Leopards football team
Lafayette played its home games at Fisher Field on College Hill in Easton, Pennsylvania.


1955 Laotian parliamentary election
Parliamentary elections were held in Laos on 25 December 1955 to elect members of the National Assembly, the lower chamber of Parliament. The result was a victory for the ruling National Progressive Party, which won 22 of the 39 seats. Voter turnout was 75.6%.


1955 Laotian parliamentary election, Results
Elections were only held in ten of the twelve provinces.


1955 Latvian SSR Higher League, Overview
It was contested by 10 teams, and Darba Rezerves won the championship.


1955 Le Mans disaster
The 1955 Le Mans disaster was a major crash that occurred on 11 June 1955 during the 24 Hours of Le Mans motor race at Circuit de la Sarthe in Le Mans, Sarthe, France. Large pieces of debris flew into the crowd, killing 83 spectators and French driver Pierre Levegh, and injuring nearly 180 more. It was the most catastrophic crash in motorsport history, and it prompted Mercedes-Benz to retire from motor racing until 1987.


1955 Le Mans disaster
The crash started when Jaguar driver Mike Hawthorn pulled to the right side of the track in front of Austin-Healey driver Lance Macklin and started braking for his pit stop. Macklin swerved out from behind the slowing Jaguar into the path of Levegh, who was passing on the left in his much faster Mercedes-Benz 300 SLR. Levegh rear-ended Macklin at high speed, overriding Macklin's car and launching his own car through the air.


1955 Le Mans disaster
Levegh's car skipped over a protective earthen berm at 200 km/h (125 mph) and made at least two impacts within the spectator area, the last of which caused the car to disintegrate, throwing him onto the track where he was instantly killed. Large pieces of debris, including the Mercedes' engine block, radiator, front suspension, and bonnet, were sent flying into the packed spectator area in front of the grandstand. The rear of Levegh's car landed on the berm and exploded into flames.


1955 Le Mans disaster
There was much debate over blame for the disaster. The official inquiry held none of the drivers specifically responsible and criticised the layout of the 30-year-old track, which had not been designed for cars as fast as the ones involved in the crash.


1955 Le Mans disaster, Before the crash
There was great anticipation for the 1955 24 Hours of Le Mans, as Ferrari, Jaguar, and Mercedes-Benz had all won the race previously and all three automakers had arrived with new and improved cars. The Ferraris, current champions at the time, were very fast but fragile and prone to mechanical failure. Jaguar concentrated their racing almost exclusively on Le Mans and had a very experienced driver line-up, including Formula 1 (F1) Ferrari driver Mike Hawthorn.


1955 Le Mans disaster, Before the crash
After conquering F1, Mercedes-Benz had debuted its new 300 SLR in that year's World Sportscar Championship, including a record-setting win at the Mille Miglia for Stirling Moss. The 300 SLR featured a body made of an ultra-lightweight magnesium alloy called Elektron. The car lacked the more effective state-of-the-art disc brakes featured on the rival Jaguar D-Type, instead incorporating inboard drum brakes and a large air brake behind the driver that could be raised to increase drag and slow the car.


1955 Le Mans disaster, Before the crash
Mercedes team manager Alfred Neubauer assembled a multinational team for the race: pairing his two best drivers Juan Manuel Fangio and Stirling Moss in the lead car, 1952 race-winner Karl Kling with Frenchman André Simon (both also in the current F1 team) and American John Fitch with one of the elder statesmen of French motor-racing, Pierre Levegh. It had been Levegh's unprecedented solo drive in the 1952 race that failed in the last hour, which allowed Mercedes-Benz their first Le Mans victory.


1955 Le Mans disaster, Before the crash
Aside from two layout changes to make the circuit shorter, the Circuit de la Sarthe was largely unaltered since the inception of the race in 1923, when top speeds of cars were typically in the region of 100 km/h (60 mph). By 1955, top speeds for the leading cars were over 270 km/h (170 mph). That said, the circuit had been resurfaced and widened after the Second World War.


1955 Le Mans disaster, Before the crash
The pits and grandstands had been reconstructed, but there were no barriers between the pit lane and the racing line, and only a 4 ft (1.2 m) earthen bank between the track and the spectators. The cars had no seat belts; the drivers reasoned that it was preferable to be thrown clear in a collision rather than be crushed or trapped in a burning car.


1955 Le Mans disaster, Before the crash
The 1955 race began at 4pm on Saturday, and, as predicted, the lead cars of Eugenio Castellotti (Ferrari), Hawthorn (Jaguar), and Fangio (Mercedes-Benz) were at the head of the field in the first hour. The other team cars were being kept on tighter leashes to conserve the cars, but still racing in the top ten. Going into the second hour, Castellotti started dropping back, but Hawthorn and Fangio continued the duel, swapping the lead and dropping the lap record further and further, lapping most of the field.


1955 Le Mans disaster, Before the crash
The accident happened at 6:26 pm, at the end of lap 35, when the first pit stops for the leading cars were starting.


1955 Le Mans disaster, Crash, Immediate cause
On lap 35, Hawthorn and Fangio were racing as hard as ever. In his biography, Hawthorn said he was "momentarily mesmerized by the legend of the Mercedes superiority... Then I came to my senses and thought ‘Damn it, why should a German car beat a British car.'" The lap before, Hawthorn's pit crew had signalled for him to come in the next lap. He had just lapped Levegh (running sixth) after Arnage (one of the corners of the race track) and was determined to keep Fangio at bay as long as possible.


1955 Le Mans disaster, Crash, Immediate cause
Coming out of the Maison Blanche portion of the course, he rapidly caught Lance Macklin in his Austin Healey 100S, who had seen him and moved over to the right to let him pass. Putting another lap on Macklin coming up to the main straight, Hawthorn then raised his hand to indicate he was pitting and pulled across to the right (from Hawthorn's testimony). What caught Macklin out though was that Hawthorn, using his advanced disc brakes, braked very hard to be able to slow the Jaguar from such a speed in time.


1955 Le Mans disaster, Crash, Collision
There were two key factors regarding the track layout at that time – first, there was no designated deceleration lane for cars coming into the pits, and second, that just before the main straight, there was a very slight right-hand kink in the road just after which Hawthorn started braking.


1955 Le Mans disaster, Crash, Collision
Macklin, who also braked hard, ran off the right-hand edge of the track, throwing up dust. Macklin tried to avoid Hawthorn, whether it was an instinctive swerve from surprise, a loss of control from going onto the change of road-surface, or his car's disc brakes operating unevenly. As a result, Macklin's car veered across to the centre of the track, apparently briefly out of control. This put him into the path of Levegh's Mercedes, closing at over 200 km/h (120 mph), intent on doing another lap and in front of Fangio, who was patiently waiting to pass. Levegh had no time to evade and with possibly his last action, raised his hand, warning Fangio, thereby probably saving Fangio's life. With his eyes shut Fangio—with his own quick reflexes—squeezed through the carnage, just brushing Hawthorn's now-stationary Jaguar in the pits, but getting through unscathed.


1955 Le Mans disaster, Crash, Collision
Levegh's right-front wheel rode up onto the left rear corner of Macklin's car, which acted as a ramp and launched Levegh's car into the air, flying over spectators and rolling end over end for 80 metres (260 ft). Levegh was thrown free of the tumbling car, but his skull was fatally crushed when he hit the ground.


1955 Le Mans disaster, Crash, Collision
The critical kink in the road put the car on a direct trajectory toward the packed terraces and grandstand. The car landed on the earthen embankment between the spectators and the track, bounced, then slammed into a concrete stairwell structure and disintegrated. The momentum of the heaviest components of the car – the engine block, radiator, and front suspension – hurtled straight on into the crowd for almost 100 metres (330 ft), crushing all in their path. The bonnet lid scythed through the air, "decapitating tightly jammed spectators like a guillotine." Spectators who had climbed onto ladders and scaffolding to get a better view of the track, and those crowding to use the underpass to get to the pits, found themselves in the path of the lethal debris.


1955 Le Mans disaster, Crash, Collision
Jaguar driver Duncan Hamilton, watching from the pit wall, recalled, "The scene on the other side of the road was indescribable. The dead and dying were everywhere; the cries of pain, anguish, and despair screamed catastrophe. I stood as if in a dream, too horrified to even think."


1955 Le Mans disaster, Crash, Collision
When the rest of Levegh's car landed on the embankment, the rear-mounted fuel tank exploded. The fuel fire raised the temperature of the remaining Elektron bodywork past its ignition temperature, which was lower than that of other metal alloys due to its high magnesium content. The alloy burst into white-hot flames, showering the track and crowd with magnesium embers, made worse by rescue workers unfamiliar with magnesium fires who poured water onto the inferno, greatly intensifying the fire. As a result, the car burned for several hours.


1955 Le Mans disaster, Crash, Collision
Meanwhile, Macklin's car, heavily damaged, rammed the left-side barrier, then veered to the right of the track into the pit lane, narrowly missing Kling's Mercedes-Benz, Roberto Mieres's Maserati, and Don Beauman's Jaguar, all of which were already in the pits refuelling before the accident. Macklin's car hit the unprotected pit-wall, just short of the Cunningham and Mercedes-Benz pits where Shell and Lockheed equipment were stationed, running down a policeman, a photographer and two officials (all seriously injured), then rebounded back across the track again to end up skating down the left-side fence for a second time. Macklin survived the incident without serious injury, jumping out of the wreck and over the bank.


1955 Le Mans disaster, Aftermath, Following hours
Hawthorn had overshot his pits and stopped. Getting out he was immediately ordered by his team to get back in and do another lap to get away from the total confusion and danger. When he pit stopped during the next lap he staggered out of the car completely distraught, adamant that he had caused the catastrophe. Ivor Bueb and Norman Dewis, both Le Mans debutants, had to step into their respective cars for their first driver stints. Bueb in particular was very reluctant, but given Hawthorn's condition had no choice, as Dewis firmly pointed out to him.


1955 Le Mans disaster, Aftermath, Following hours
John Fitch, Levegh's American co-driver, had suited up and was ready to take over the car at the upcoming pit stop, and was standing with Levegh's wife Denise Bouillin. They saw the whole catastrophe unfold. Levegh's lifeless body, severely burned, lay in full view on the pavement until a gendarme hauled down a banner to cover it. Levegh's wife was inconsolable and Fitch stayed with her until she could be comforted.


1955 Le Mans disaster, Aftermath, Following hours
Half an hour after the crash Fitch realised that news was probably being broadcast on the radio, and he needed to telephone his family to reassure them that he was not the driver of the crashed car. When he got to the media centre to use a telephone, he got his first inkling of the sheer enormity of the disaster, overhearing a reporter filing that 48 deaths were already confirmed.


1955 Le Mans disaster, Aftermath, Following hours
When Fitch returned to his pit, he urged the Mercedes team to withdraw from the race, as continuing to compete would be a public relations disaster for Mercedes-Benz regardless of whether they won or lost. Team manager Alfred Neubauer had already reached the same conclusion, but did not have the authority to make such a decision.


1955 Le Mans disaster, Aftermath, Following hours
Despite expectations for the race to be red-flagged and stopped entirely, race officials, led by race director Charles Faroux, kept the race running. In the days after the disaster, several explanations were offered by Faroux for this course of action. They included:


1955 Le Mans disaster, Aftermath, Following hours
After an emergency meeting and vote of Mercedes-Benz company directors by telephone in Stuttgart, West Germany, Neubauer finally got the call approving his team's withdrawal just before midnight. Waiting until 1:45 am, when many spectators had left, he stepped onto the track and quietly called his cars into the pits, at the time running first and third. Their retirement was briefly announced over the public address system. The Mercedes trucks were packed up and gone by morning. Chief engineer Rudolf Uhlenhaut had gone to the Jaguar pits to ask if the Jaguar team would respond in kind, out of respect for the crash victims. Jaguar team manager "Lofty" England declined.


1955 Le Mans disaster, Aftermath, Conclusion of the race
Hawthorn and the Jaguar team kept racing. With the Mercedes team withdrawn and the Ferraris all out of commission, Jaguar's main competition had gone. Hawthorn and Bueb won the race by a margin of five laps from Aston Martin. The weather had closed in on Sunday morning and there was no victory celebration. However, a press photograph showed Hawthorn smiling on the podium drinking from the victor's bottle of champagne. The French magazine L'Auto-Journal published it with the sarcastic caption, "À votre santé, Monsieur Hawthorn!" (In English, "To your health ('Cheers'), Mr. Hawthorn!")


1955 Le Mans disaster, Aftermath, After the race
Accounts put the death toll at 80 to 84 (spectators plus Levegh), either by flying debris or from the fire, with a further 120 to 178 injured. Other observers estimated the toll to be much higher. It has remained the most catastrophic crash in motorsport history. A special Mass was held in the morning in the Le Mans Cathedral for the first funerals of the victims.


1955 Le Mans disaster, Aftermath, After the race
The death toll led to an immediate temporary ban on motorsports in France, Spain, Switzerland, West Germany, and other nations, until racetracks could be brought to a higher safety standard. In the United States, the American Automobile Association (AAA) dissolved their Contest Board that had been the primary sanctioning body for motorsport in the US (including the Indianapolis 500) since 1904. It decided that auto racing detracted from its primary goals, and the United States Automobile Club was formed to take over the race sanctioning and officiating.


1955 Le Mans disaster, Aftermath, After the race
Most countries lifted their racing bans within a year after the disaster. France in particular, as the host of Le Mans, lifted their complete ban on 14 September 1955. On that date, the Ministry of the Interior released new regulations for racing events and codified the approval process that future racing events would need to follow. In contrast, Switzerland's ban, which also extended to the running of timed motorsports such as hillclimbs, was not quickly lifted. This forced Swiss racing promoters to organize circuit events in foreign countries including France, Italy, and West Germany.


1955 Le Mans disaster, Aftermath, After the race
In 2003, the Federal Assembly of Switzerland started a lengthy discussion about whether this ban should be lifted. The discussion focused on traffic policy and environmental questions rather than on safety. On 10 June 2009, the Ständerat (upper house of the Swiss parliament) defeated a proposal to lift the ban for the second time. In 2015, the ban was relaxed for electric vehicles only, such as cars involved in Formula E electric racing.


1955 Le Mans disaster, Aftermath, After the race
The next round of the World Sportscar Championship at the Nürburgring was cancelled, as was the non-championship Carrera Panamericana. The rest of the 1955 World Sportscar Championship season was completed, with the remaining two races at the British RAC Tourist Trophy and the Italian Targa Florio, although they were not run until September and October, several months after the catastrophe. Mercedes-Benz won both of these events, and was able to secure the constructors championship for the season. Having achieved that, Mercedes withdrew from motorsport.


1955 Le Mans disaster, Aftermath, After the race
The horror of the crash caused some drivers present, including Americans Fitch (after completing the season with Mercedes), Phil Walters (who had been offered a drive with Ferrari for the rest of the season), and Sherwood Johnston, to retire from racing. Macklin also decided to retire after being involved in another fatal crash, during the 1955 RAC Tourist Trophy race at Dundrod Circuit. Fangio never raced at Le Mans again. At the Circuit de la Sarthe, the audience stands at the pits were demolished.


1955 Le Mans disaster, Aftermath, After the race
Much recrimination was directed at Hawthorn, saying that he had suddenly cut in front of Macklin and slammed on the brakes near the entrance to the pits, forcing Macklin to take desperate evasive action into the path of Levegh. This became the semi-official pronouncement of the Mercedes team and Macklin's story. The Jaguar team in turn questioned the fitness and competence of Macklin and Levegh as drivers. The initial media accounts were wildly inaccurate, as shown by subsequent analysis of photographic evidence conducted by Road & Track editor (and 1955 second-place finisher) Paul Frère in 1975. Additional details emerged when the stills reviewed by Frère were converted to video form.


1955 Le Mans disaster, Aftermath, After the race
The media also speculated on the violent fire that engulfed the wreck, which intensified when fire marshals poured their water-based extinguishers on the flames. They suggested that Mercedes-Benz had tampered with the official fuel-supply with an explosive additive, but the intensity of the fire was due instead to the magnesium-alloy construction of the chassis. Neubauer got the French authorities to test residual fuel left in the wreck's fuel injection and the result vindicated the company.


1955 Le Mans disaster, Aftermath, After the race
Opinions differed widely amongst the other drivers as to who was directly to blame for the crash, and such differences remain even today. Macklin claimed that Hawthorn's move to the pits was sudden, causing an emergency that led him to swerve into Levegh's path. Years later Fitch claimed, based on his own recollection and from what he heard from others, that Hawthorn had caused it. Dewis ventured the opinions that Macklin's move around Hawthorn was careless and that Levegh was not competent to meet the demands of driving at the speeds the 300SLR was capable of.


1955 Le Mans disaster, Aftermath, After the race
Both Jaguar and Mercedes-Benz issued official statements, mainly in self-defense against the accusations leveled against them and their drivers. Neubauer limited himself to suggesting improvements to the pit straight and making pit-stops safer.


1955 Le Mans disaster, Aftermath, After the race
Macklin, on reading Hawthorn's 1958 autobiography, Challenge Me the Race, was embittered when he found that Hawthorn now disclaimed all responsibility for the crash without identifying who had caused it. With Levegh dead, Macklin presumed that Hawthorn's implication was that he (Macklin) had been responsible, and he began a libel action. The action was still unresolved when Hawthorn was killed in a non-racing crash on the Guildford bypass in 1959, ironically while overtaking a Mercedes-Benz in his Jaguar.


1955 Le Mans disaster, Aftermath, After the race
The official government inquiry into the accident called officials, drivers, and team personnel to be questioned and give evidence. The wreckage was examined and tested and, finally, returned to Mercedes-Benz nearly twelve months after the catastrophe. In the end the enquiry ruled that no specific driver was responsible for the crash, and that it was merely a terrible racing incident. The death of the spectators was blamed on inadequate safety standards for the track design. Tony Rolt and other drivers had been raising concerns about the pit straight since 1953.


1955 Le Mans disaster, Aftermath, Legacy
Over the next year, the Automobile Club de l'Ouest (ACO) set about making extensive track improvements and infrastructure changes at the Circuit de la Sarthe—the pit straight was redesigned and widened to remove the kink just before the start-finish line, and to give room for a deceleration lane. The pits complex was pulled down and rebuilt, giving more room to the teams, but thereby limiting spaces to only 52 starters rather than the previous 60. The grandstand was demolished and rebuilt with new spectator terraces and a wide ditch between them and the racetrack. Track safety technology and practices evolved slowly until F1 driver Jackie Stewart organized a campaign to advocate for better safety measures ten years later. Stewart's campaign gained momentum after the deaths of Lorenzo Bandini and Jim Clark.


1955 Le Mans disaster, Aftermath, Legacy
Fitch became a major safety advocate and began active development of safer road cars and racing circuits. He invented traffic safety devices currently in use on highways, including the sand-and-air-filled Fitch barrels.


1955 Le Mans disaster, Aftermath, Legacy
Macklin's Austin-Healey 100 was sold to several private buyers before appearing on the public auction block. In 1969, it was bought for £155 (equivalent to £2,570 in 2019). In December 2011, the car, estimated to raise £800,000 before the auction, was sold for £843,000. The car retained the original engine SPL 261-BN, but was reported to be in 'barn find' condition. It was then restored to its original condition, arguably destroying much of its history.


1955 LeHi 300
The 1955 LeHi 300 (known officially in NASCAR as 1955-40) was a NASCAR Grand National Series event that was held on October 9, 1955, at Memphis-Arkansas Speedway in LeHi, Arkansas.


1955 LeHi 300
The race car drivers still had to commute to the races using the same stock cars that competed in a typical weekend's race through a policy of homologation (and under their own power). This policy was in effect until roughly 1975. By 1980, NASCAR had completely stopped tracking the year model of all the vehicles and most teams did not take stock cars to the track under their own power any more.


1955 LeHi 300, Race report
The 200-lap race took three hours and thirty-four minutes to complete in front of 8500 live spectators. Speedy Thompson defeated Marvin Panch by ¾ of a single lap. Ford would win their first race as a manufacturer since 1950. Fonty Flock earned the pole position with a speed of 100.390 miles per hour (161.562 km/h) while the winner of the race achieved a speed of 83.948 miles per hour (135.101 km/h). Jim Reed was disqualified for using non-stock cylinder heads, and was considered a repeat violation according to NASCAR. The in-race disqualification resulted in Reed given the last-place finish on lap 8. All of the 41 drivers on the racing grid were Caucasian American-born males. This was the 40th racing event out of the 45 done in the 1955 NASCAR Grand National Series season.


1955 LeHi 300, Race report
Bob Flock would make his only NASCAR Grand National Series start under car owner Carl Kiekhafer. Due to strained relationships between Flock and Kiekhafer, Flock would never drive for him again. In this race, 21 of the drivers had previously won in the NASCAR Grand National Cup Series. This was also the 12th Of Buck Baker's 16 consecutive finishes to bring the 1955 NASCAR Grand National Series to a conclusion. It was also the 10th of 12 starts for Johnny Mantz.


1955 LeHi 300, Race report
The total amount of prize winnings that could have been earned from this racing event was $9,120 ($88,107.13 when adjusted for inflation). Smokey Yunick and Carl Kiekhaefer were the two notable crew chiefs that participated in the event.


1955 LeHi 300, Race report
Tiny Lund would make his career start during this event and would make $60 for his troubles ($579.65 when adjusted for inflation). Other drivers making their NASCAR Cup Series debut in this race included Johnny Allen, Bill Morton, Jim Murray, Norm Nelson, and Chuck Stevenson. A lot of drivers would make their grand exits from NASCAR after this race: this relatively long list included Floyd Curtis, Hooker Hood, Roscoe Rann and Leland Sewell. One-time race car drivers Bob Coleman, Al Hager, and Gene Rose would make their only NASCAR appearances during this race.


1955 LeHi 300, Race report
Even during the 1950s, it was unusual to see four cars fail to finish the race due to problems with the vapor lock. It occurs when the liquid fuel changes state from liquid to gas while still in the fuel delivery system. This disrupts the operation of the fuel pump, causing loss of feed pressure to the carburetor, resulting in transient loss of power or complete stalling. Restarting the engine from this state may be difficult. The fuel can vaporize due to being heated by the engine, by the local climate or due to a lower boiling point at high altitude.


1955 Leeds City Council election
The Leeds municipal elections were held on Thursday 12 May 1955, with one third of the council up for election, as well as a vacancy in Wellington.


1955 Leeds City Council election
With the third consecutive election producing swings to them - this time a 2.1% swing - the Conservatives managed to top the poll and make gains from Labour for the first time since the 1951 election, echoing their national result. This, however, did not stop Labour winning a comfortable majority of the seats contested. The three gains were in Beeston, Westfield and Wortley - wards where Labour had gained from them following 1951. Party totals remained unchanged with the new division of aldermen effectively wiping out those three gains, as Labour were allotted - at Conservative expense - three more aldermen. Turnout rose marginally to a low figure of 39.4%.


1955 Leeds City Council election, Election result
The result had the following consequences for the total number of seats on the council after the elections:


1955 Lehigh Engineers football team
The 1955 Lehigh Engineers football team was an American football team that represented Lehigh University during the 1955 college football season. Lehigh placed second in the Middle Three Conference.


1955 Lehigh Engineers football team
In their tenth year under head coach William Leckonby, the Engineers compiled a 7–2 record, 1–1 against conference opponents. Bruno Pagnani was the team captain.


1955 Lehigh Engineers football team
Lehigh played its home games at Taylor Stadium on the university's main campus in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania.


1955 Liberian constitutional referendum
A constitutional referendum was held in Liberia on 3 May 1955. The changes to the constitution would grant women in the Provinces the right to vote (other women had been granted the right to vote in a 1946 referendum), grant all women the right to be elected to Parliament, and remove the section detailing that the Chief Justice would oversee any impeachment of the President or Vice-President. The changes were approved by voters.


1955 Liberian constitutional referendum, Constitutional change
The proposed changes would be to Chapters I and II.


1955 Liberian constitutional referendum, Constitutional change
A two-thirds majority in the vote was necessary for the changes to be approved.


1955 Liberian general election
General elections were held in Liberia in May 1955. For the first time since 1931 there was more than one candidate in the presidential election. However, William Tubman of the True Whig Party was easily re-elected, winning over 99.5% of the vote.


1955 Limerick Senior Hurling Championship
The 1955 Limerick Senior Hurling Championship was the 61st staging of the Limerick Senior Hurling Championship since its establishment by the Limerick County Board in 1887.


1955 Limerick Senior Hurling Championship
Ahane won the championship after a 2-05 to 0-05 defeat of Geraldines in the final. It was their 16th championship title overall and their first title since 1948.


1955 Little League World Series
The 1955 Little League World Series was held from August 23 to August 26 in Williamsport, Pennsylvania. Morrisville Little League of Morrisville, Pennsylvania, defeated Delaware Township Little League of Delaware Township, New Jersey, in the championship game of the 9th Little League World Series.


1955 Little League World Series
This was the first time that the Little League World Series title was won with a walk-off home run, hit by Rich Cominski in the bottom of the 7th inning. Attendees at the final game included former General of the Army George Marshall and Governor of Pennsylvania George M. Leader.


1955 Liverpool City Council election
Elections to Liverpool City Council were held on Thursday 12 May 1955. After the election, the composition of the council was:


1955 Liverpool City Council election, Ward results
The Councillors seeking re-election at this election were elected in the 'all-up' election in 1953 for a two-year term (as they were the candidates receiving the second highest number of votes). Therefore, comparisons are made with the 1953 election results.


1955 Liverpool City Council election, Aldermanic elections
At the meeting of the City Council on 23 May 1955 the terms of office of twenty of the forty Aldermen expired and the Councillors elected twenty Aldermen to fill the vacant positions for a term of six years. Fifteen Conservative, one Independent, and two Liberal Aldermen were replaced by eighteen Labour Aldermen, allowing Labour to take control of the council for the first time.


1955 Liverpool City Council election, By-elections, Low Hill
By-election caused by the election of John Mathew Taylor (elected Cllr. for Low Hill in 1954) as Alderman.


1955 Liverpool City Council election, By-elections, Abercromby
By-election caused by the election of Harry Livermore (elected Cllr. for Abercromby in 1953) as Alderman.


1955 Liverpool City Council election, By-elections, Central
By-election caused by the election of Bessie Braddock as Alderman.


1955 Liverpool City Council election, By-elections, Granby
By-election caused by the election of Elizabeth Trainor (elected as Cllr. for Granby in 1953) as Alderman.


1955 Liverpool City Council election, By-elections, St. James
By-election caused by the election of Hugh Carr (elected as Cllr. for St. James in 1953) and William George Ingham (elected as Cllr. for St. James in 1954) as Aldermen.


1955 Liverpool City Council election, By-elections, Speke
By-election caused by the election of Alexander Hardman (elected as Cllr. for Speke in 1953) as Alderman.


1955 Liverpool City Council election, By-elections, Westminster
By-election caused by the election of John Hamilton (elected as Cllr. for Westminster in 1953) as Alderman.


1955 Liverpool City Council election, By-elections, Everton
By-election caused by the election of  John Leslie Hughes (elected as Cllr. for Everton in 1953) and David Nickson (elected as Cllr. for Everton in 1954) as Aldermen.


1955 Liverpool City Council election, By-elections, Sandhills
By-election caused by the election of Peter McKernan (elected as Cllr. for Sandhills in 1953), Henry Aldritt (elected as Cllr. for Sandhills in 1954) and Stanley Part (elected as Cllr. for Sandhills in 1955) as Aldermen.


1955 Liverpool City Council election, By-elections, Vauxhall
By-election caused by the election of  Joseph Cyril Brady (elected as Cllr. for Vauxhall in 1954) as Alderman.


1955 Liverpool City Council election, By-elections, Dingle
By-election caused by the election of Frank Hampton Cain (elected as Cllr. for Dingle in 1955) as Alderman.


1955 Liverpool City Council election, By-elections, Pirrie
By-election caused by the election of  Joseph Morgan (elected as Cllr. for Pirrie in 1955) as Alderman.


1955 Liverpool City Council election, By-elections, Picton
By-election caused by the election of Charles James Minton (elected as Cllr. for Picton in 1953) as Alderman.


1955 Liverpool City Council election, By-elections, Dovecot
By-election caused by the election of Abraham Louis Caplan  (elected as Cllr. for Dovecot in 1954) as Alderman.


1955 Liverpool City Council election, By-elections, Church by-election 27 October 1955
Cllr. Peter James O'Hare was elected by the Councillors as an Alderman on 4 January 1956 and assigned as the Returning Officer for the County ward.


1955 Liège–Bastogne–Liège
The 1955 Liège–Bastogne–Liège was the 41st edition of the Liège–Bastogne–Liège cycle race and was held on 1 May 1955. The race started and finished in Liège. The race was won by Stan Ockers.


1955 London County Council election
An election to the County Council of London took place on 31 March 1955. The council was elected by First Past the Post with each elector having three votes in the three-member seats. The Conservative Party made significant gains, but the Labour Party retained a substantial majority.


1955 London County Council election
The size of the council was cut by three members, with Fulham East, Fulham West and Hammersmith South abolished, and replaced in part by the new constituencies of Barons Court and Fulham. This mirrored changes to constituencies for the House of Commons which were implemented at the 1955 general election, shortly afterwards.


1955 London County Council election, Campaign
The Labour Party began their campaign with a celebration at the Royal Festival Hall, to mark twenty-one years of running the council, and the twenty-fifth anniversary of the Daily Herald. A newspaper strike limited coverage of the election; the Manchester Guardian noted that there were fewer posters and fewer meetings than in previous elections, although parties were doing more doorstep campaigning.


1955 London County Council election, Campaign
The Labour Party manifesto proposed more comprehensive schools, and championed their programmes of house building and improved services for children and elderly people. The Conservative Party opposed comprehensive schools, and argued that the council wasted money, proposing that civic restaurants should be closed and residential nurseries reduce their costs. Several constituencies were expected to see close battles between the two: Battersea South, Holborn and St Pancras South, Wandsworth Central and Woolwich West. Barons Court was considered an unknown, as a completely new seat.


1955 London County Council election, Campaign
The Liberal Party manifesto proposed more housing, schools, nurseries and play areas, with their highest hopes of a seat being in Bethnal Green. The Communist Party focused on housing and opposition to nuclear weapons.


1955 London County Council election, Results
The Conservatives gained fourteen seats from Labour. Barons Court was particularly closely fought, with six recounts required before the result was announced: two Labour seats, and one Conservative. Once the new and abolished seats were taken into account, Labour were down 18 seats, and the Conservatives up 15.


1955 London County Council election, Results
Turnout was particularly low, at 32%. In Woolwich West, it reached 55.9%, but in Stepney it fell to only 17.6%.


1955 Long Beach State 49ers football team
The 1955 Long Beach State 49ers football team represented Long Beach State College during the 1955 college football season. The 49ers were in their first year of existence, and did not compete in any college conference in 1955.


1955 Long Beach State 49ers football team
The team was led by head coach Mike DeLotto, in his first year, and played home games at Veterans Stadium adjacent to the campus of Long Beach City College in Long Beach, California. They finished the season with a record of five wins and two losses (5–2).


1955 Long Beach State 49ers football team, Team players in the NFL
No Long Beach State 49ers were selected in the 1956 NFL Draft.


1955 Los Angeles Rams season
The 1955 Los Angeles Rams season was the team's 18th year with the National Football League and the tenth season in Los Angeles. The Rams won the Western Conference title and hosted the NFL championship game, but lost to the Cleveland Browns, 38–14.


1955 Los Angeles Rams season
The Rams did not reach another NFL title game until 24 years later, in Super Bowl XIV in January 1980.


1955 Los Angeles Rams season, Playoffs, Standings
Note: Tie games were not officially counted in the standings until 1972.


1955 Los Angeles State Diablos football team
The 1955 Los Angeles State Diablos football team represented Los Angeles State during the 1955 college football season.


1955 Los Angeles State Diablos football team
Los Angeles State competed in the California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA). The team was led by fifth-year head coach Leonard (Bud) Adams, who had been the leader of the team since the school started playing intercollegiate football in 1951. The Diablos played home games at Snyder Stadium. They finished the season with a record of three wins and six losses (3–6, 0–1 CCAA).


1955 Los Angeles State Diablos football team, Team players in the NFL
No Los Angeles State players were selected in the 1956 NFL Draft.


1955 Louisiana Highway renumbering
In 1955, Louisiana passed a law that undertook a comprehensive revision to the state highway classification and numbering system. The new system designated roads by importance to travel patterns and rectified the previous numbering system under new unified designations.


1955 Louisiana Highway renumbering, History
Highway numbers in Louisiana first appeared in 1921, per Act 95 of the 1921 Special Session of the Louisiana Legislature. Routes 1 through 98 were defined that year. These first 98 routes remained consistent throughout the pre-1955 era. The lowest numbered routes seem to have followed major auto trails; for instance, LA 1 was the Jefferson Highway, LA 2 was the Old Spanish Trail, etc. The remainder of the numbering system seemed to work on a lower-number, higher-order principle, with some clustering; for instance, LA 61 and 62 both existed in St. Bernard Parish. When US highways were added in 1926, the US designations were simply overlaid over the preexisting state route (SR) designations in a method similar to modern Georgia (the state route was included in signage as well).


1955 Louisiana Highway renumbering, History
Other routes were added as time went on, numbered in consecutive fashion, starting with LA 99 in 1924. By 1926 there were 162 defined routes; by 1929, 490. The number of routes increased precipitously during the Huey Long era, with 1325 routes defined by 1930 and more to come. A few routes were given "half" numbers, such as LA 99½ and LA 1315½, for reasons perhaps related to numerical duplications in the official legal descriptions of the routes. (LA 99½, which had been jokingly referred to as "the left lane of 100," was redesignated in the pre-1955 era, as LA 2203.)


1955 Louisiana Highway renumbering, History
The pre-1955 system eventually reached the 22xx numeric range (or so) at its zenith. There were also "C-xxxx" roads, the purpose of which is unclear. All roads were seemingly numbered in the order that they were taken into the system, which led to anarchy, inconsistency, and disorder prevailing among the system of numbered routes. Major through routes were often divided up into several different route designations, and the routing of several primary marked routes (such as the old LA 1 and LA 30) came to make little sense from a traffic flow perspective.


1955 Louisiana Highway renumbering, History
Route designations were somewhat sacrosanct; apparently they could only be rerouted to take advantage of minor alignment shifts along the same general route. Former route segments retained the same number with a letter suffix added, starting with "D" and increasing with other bypassed segments in the same area. For example, bypassed LA 7 west of Hammond (current LA 1040) became LA 7D (or 7-D) while a bypassed segment east of Hammond (current LA 1067) became LA 7E (or 7-E). However, the major routes by and large retained consistent numbers despite the lack of major reroutings. Suffixes were also used in a way similar to the "spur" routes in the present system.


1955 Louisiana Highway renumbering, History
Unlike today's system, clustering of the higher numbers seems to have occurred only when multiple routes in an area were added at the same time. For example, LA 1225 to 1251 all existed within Jefferson Parish and were designated by the same act of legislature in 1930. Otherwise, routes appear to have been numbered sequentially as they were added to the system.


1955 Louisiana Highway renumbering, History
Not all numbers were assigned to existing roads; some roads were merely "projected", which is to say they were only lines on paper. State roads were often improved only "if funds were available." This resulted in routes being nonexistent in the field, in whole or in part, or signed along routes that sometimes differed from their legal description. LA 33 was always discontinuous as ten miles of the New Orleans–Hammond Highway was never completed as planned through St. John the Baptist and St. Charles Parishes. LA 1 did not match its legal description until 1928 when the Jefferson Highway was completed between Shrewsbury and New Orleans.


1955 Louisiana Highway renumbering, Renumbering
Post-war efforts to make improvements to Louisiana's unorganized highway-numbering system reached fruition at the 1955 legislative session, where a comprehensive highway bill was passed that year and enacted into law. The new law effected a comprehensive revision of state highway classification and numbering, in order to designate roads by importance to travel patterns and to rectify the confusing numbering system by marking primary travel routes under unified designations.


1955 Louisiana Highway renumbering, Renumbering
One element of the highway reform lobby's efforts that was left out of the 1955 highway law was a proposal to reduce the amount of state-maintained mileage, mainly by shedding the many miles of minor and local service roads the state had accumulated over the years for political and other reasons. According to one proposal by the Louisiana Legislative Council, the 16,000 miles (26,000 km) or so which existed in the state system at the time would have been ultimately reduced to around 9,000 miles (14,000 km) through the turnback of all but the most important farm-to-market roads. Thus to this day, Louisiana retains an inordinately large state highway system which continues to contain many miles of roads that would be otherwise locally maintained in other states. Louisiana's state highway system ranks 10th nationally as a proportion of all road miles in the state.


1955 Louisiana Highway renumbering, Renumbering
The 1955 renumbering renumbered all routes based on an A-B-C system of route classification: A was primary, B secondary, and C farm-to-market. The A routes mainly comprised one and two digit highways. The B routes primarily comprised three digit routes below 300. All routes 300 through 1241, along with parts or all of a very few lower-numbered routes, were classified C routes. Numerical clustering was and is still apparent in the ranks of routes 300 and up (excluding 3xxx routes), especially with routes 700 and above. The A and B "primary" route range was 1 to 185. No 2xx numbers were used; this range may have been intended as an expansion area for future primary route designations (this was never done). LA 191 was added around 1980 as the Toledo Bend Scenic Drive; is the only primary route designation to be added after 1955.


1955 Louisiana Highway renumbering, Renumbering
Odd numbers in 1955 and thereafter were assigned to cardinal north-south routes and even numbers to east–west routes as in the federal U.S. and Interstate highway systems; this practice is consistently adhered to in primary routes (lower numbers), but anomalies have occurred in the four-digit numbers. Prior to 1955 the numbering pattern was essentially the obverse, meaning that almost all the numbers changed in 1955.


1955 Louisiana Highway renumbering, Renumbering
The 1955 route redesignations took effect on June 30 of 1955.


1955 Louisiana Highway renumbering, Post-1955 numbering practices
3xxx designations were given to all new post-1955 SRs, and were the only new type designations, until around the year 2000 when 12xx designations began to be assigned to new routes, starting with 1242 and working up (1241 is the highest-designated 1955 route). State routes in any range can and have been removed from the system, and there are many corresponding gaps in the numerical sequence. Numbers of deleted routes are not recycled into new routes as they are in other states; generally a new 12xx number is assigned when a new number is needed.


1955 Louisiana Highway renumbering, Post-1955 numbering practices
Many newer route designations are given to roads long having been on the state rolls, but which have been severed or isolated from its former designation by newer construction. Despite the high numbers, some roadways in the 3XXX series are major, heavily trafficked thoroughfares; an example is LA 3132, a connector between I-20 and I-49 in Shreveport—and a rare example, in Louisiana, of a state highway built in the multilane, divided, access-fully-controlled format typical of interstate highways.


1955 Louisiana Highway renumbering, Post-1955 numbering practices
Official US highway-state highway number duplications have been disallowed since 1955, but interstate-state highway duplications are permitted, and all interstate routes except 210 and 220 are duplicated in the rolls of state highway numbers. Most state highways with the same numbers as interstates are a comfortable distance away, with two exceptions: LA 59 and I-59, which exist within 20 miles (32 km) of each other in St. Tammany Parish, and which both intersect I-12; and LA 10 and I-10, which both flow east–west across south Louisiana.


1955 Louisiana Highway renumbering, Post-1955 numbering practices
The confusion between LA 59 and I-59 became so substantial on the eastbound concourse of I-12 that Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development has posted "TO I-59" signs at the bottom of the eastbound exit ramp from I-12 at LA 59 to redirect, back to I-12 eastbound, motorists who confuse LA 59 as I-59.


1955 Louisiana Highway renumbering, "Hyphenated" routes
The Louisiana state highway system's most ubiquitous and unique anachronism is the infamous "hyphenated" routes. These routes were created with the 1955 renumbering, and are a legacy of the assumption by the state through the years of many otherwise local streets in cities and towns throughout the state. The state-maintained city streets were/are often short sections of road, usually interconnected with other state-maintained local streets in the vicinity.


1955 Louisiana Highway renumbering, "Hyphenated" routes
Because of the interconnectedness of these state-maintained streets, as well as their close proximity and extremely short length, it was decided for practical purposes not to separately number each and every street in a town as a separate state route. Instead, each street was deemed a 'section' of a larger whole, with the aggregate comprising a single state highway; this becomes obvious when reading the 1955 statute that defines the newly redesignated state highways. The separate sections are denoted by numbers in the statute, which correspond in signage to the last digit in a hyphenated route number. For example, LA 560-3 is section 3 of LA 560.


1955 Louisiana Highway renumbering, "Hyphenated" routes
Similar as it may sound, this method is different from state route legislative definitions in states such as California, where state routes are often defined as existing in disjoint sections; but in these cases, there is often a linear continuity of a route through cosigning or implied connections made via other routes. In Louisiana's case, the base "route" usually resembles a web-like or disconnected pattern; thus the distinction between sections in signage—or else there would be multiple, often intersecting routes with the same number, and real confusion would ensue.


1955 Louisiana Highway renumbering, "Hyphenated" routes
Over the years many of these hyphenated state routes have been returned to local control, thus deleting parts of, or entire "families" of, hyphenated routes. For example, the LA 466 family originally had 17 sections, all within the city of Gretna in Jefferson Parish. Most of these sections have been turned back to local control; the remaining section lost its "hyphen" and was renumbered as plain LA 466. In Baton Rouge, the LA 950 family had 17 sections; all are extinct. Some families still survive intact, such as the six sections of the LA 830 family in Bastrop. A few have been renumbered, almost always to 3000-series routes: LA 3155 in Metairie was once LA 611-13, and former portions of LA 611-3 and 611-4 that were severed from the rest of their routes were redesignated LA 3261 and LA 3262, respectively.


1955 Louisiana Highway renumbering, "Hyphenated" routes
Invariably, hyphenated routes are short, local streets that seemingly serve no state-level purpose whatsoever; many are dead ends, residential side streets, etc., and sometimes end in arbitrary places. The majority of these routes can be found in urbanized areas, though there are a few that exist in rural surroundings. All of the hyphenated routes in the nomenclature are found among the original secondary SR system (routes 300 to 1241). There are no 3000-series hyphenates because all hyphenates were created with the 1955 renumbering (the 3xxx routes were later additions/renumberings).


1955 Louisiana Tech Bulldogs football team
The 1955 Louisiana Tech Bulldogs football team was an American football team that represented the Louisiana Polytechnic Institute (now known as Louisiana Tech University) as a member of the Gulf States Conference during the 1955 college football season. In their fifteenth year under head coach Joe Aillet, the team compiled a 9–1 record and finished as Gulf States Conference champion.


1955 Louisville Cardinals football team
The 1955 Louisville Cardinals football team was an American football team that represented the University of Louisville as an independent during the 1955 college football season. In their 10th season under head coach Frank Camp, the Cardinals compiled a 7–2 record.


1955 MacArthur Airport United Airlines crash
On April 4, 1955, a United Airlines Douglas DC-6 named Mainliner Idaho crashed shortly after taking off from Long Island MacArthur Airport, in Ronkonkoma, Islip, New York, United States.


1955 MacArthur Airport United Airlines crash
The flight was operated for the purpose of maintaining the currency of the instrument rating of two of the airline's pilots. Shortly after takeoff and only seconds after climbing through 150 feet (46 m), the plane began banking to the right. It continued to roll through 90 degrees; the nose then dropped suddenly and moments later it struck the ground. All three members of the flight crew were killed upon impact.


1955 MacArthur Airport United Airlines crash
A subsequent investigation found a simulated engine failure procedure was being conducted, which involved a member of the crew pulling back the throttle lever for engine No. 4 prior to taking off. Investigators found that if the throttle lever was pulled back too far, it would cause the propeller to reverse—a feature designed to slow the aircraft upon landing.


1955 MacArthur Airport United Airlines crash
Once the landing gear was raised, the crew would have to raise a metal flag in the cockpit to bring the propeller blades back into the correct position, since a safety device prevented electric power from operating the rotating mechanism at the roots of the blades unless the aircraft was on the ground or the flag was manually raised. The Civil Aeronautics Board (CAB) concluded one of the flight crew applied full power to No. 4 engine, thinking this would bring the aircraft out of the increasing bank.


1955 MacArthur Airport United Airlines crash
Because the blades were reversed and the flag was not raised, that increased the reverse thrust from No. 4 engine, causing the DC-6 to spiral out of control. Since the plane was so close to the ground, the suddenness of the bank and dive meant the flight crew had no chance to recover the aircraft before impact.


1955 MacArthur Airport United Airlines crash
In the aftermath of the accident, the Civil Aeronautics Administration (CAA) issued an Airworthiness Directive ordering all DC-6 and DC-6B aircraft to be fitted with a manual device which could prevent the inadvertent reversal of the propeller blades. United Airlines also stated they had begun installing reverse thrust indicator lights in the cockpits of their DC-6 aircraft, which would warn pilots when a propeller had reversed.


1955 MacArthur Airport United Airlines crash, History
On April 4, 1955, a United Airlines check captain, Stanley C. Hoyt, age 45, was carrying out instrument rating checks on two of the airline's pilots. Hoyt had been employed by United Airlines since 1937, and had 9,763 flying hours experience, 549 of which were in a DC-6. He was training the two pilots, Henry M. Dozier, age 40, and Vernis H. Webb, age 35, so they would be able to retain an instrument rating qualification, allowing them to fly under instrument flight rules. The aircraft was a Douglas DC-6, registration N37512, serial number 43001. The airframe had flown 22,068 flying hours, and had undergone an inspection 105 hours before the accident. The aircraft was powered by four Pratt & Whitney R2800-CB16 engines, fitted with Hamilton Standard 43E60-317 propellers.


1955 MacArthur Airport United Airlines crash, History
The weather on the day of the accident was clear, although there was a strong wind of about 20 knots (37 km/h) hitting the airfield from the southwest, with occasional gusts of wind as fast as 30 knots (56 km/h). The aircraft made several circuits, taking off and landing again, before eyewitnesses observed the aircraft standing at the end of the runway and then taking off at about 15:50 Eastern Standard Time. The takeoff weight was around 61,000 pounds (28,000 kg), far below the aircraft's maximum permissible weight and the center of gravity was within the prescribed limits for the model of aircraft.


1955 MacArthur Airport United Airlines crash, History
Between 1,500 feet (460 m) and 1,800 feet (550 m) down the runway, the aircraft reached take-off speed, lifted off the ground, and began climbing normally as the crew retracted the landing gear. Upon climbing through 50 feet (15 m), the aircraft began banking to the right. The climbing bank continued to increase at a rate which alarmed witnesses, and soon after the aircraft rolled through 90° (at which point the wings were vertical to the ground). At a height of around 150 feet (46 m), with all four engines producing take-off thrust, the nose began to fall.


1955 MacArthur Airport United Airlines crash, History
Moments later the right wing and nose impacted the ground, causing the fuselage to cartwheel over, before the aircraft came to rest, with the correct side up. It was immediately engulfed in flames. All three members of the flight crew were instantly killed. Although emergency services at Long Island MacArthur promptly responded to the crash, the aircraft was destroyed by the post-crash fire.


1955 MacArthur Airport United Airlines crash, Investigation, Wreckage examination
The Civil Aeronautics Board (CAB), charged with investigating the accident, examined the wreckage at Long Island MacArthur Airport. Reports from witnesses of the crash indicated the aircraft appeared to have made a normal takeoff and began climbing normally. But, moments later it began banking sharply to the right. Investigators examined the four charred engines and concluded all were producing power at the point of impact. They could not conclusively determine the amount of power being produced, but stated there was no evidence found in the wreckage that suggested the engines might have suffered an operational failure.


1955 MacArthur Airport United Airlines crash, Investigation, Wreckage examination
They were also able to determine all of the flight control surfaces, including the elevators, ailerons and rudder, were functioning properly at the point of the crash, and there were no faults in the flight control system. The flaps were extended to between 15° and 20°, the standard setting for take-off. The propeller blades of No. 4 engine— on the far right side of the aircraft—were reversed—minus 8°, while the blades of Nos. 1, 2 and 3 engines were at 34° positive pitch (also standard for take-off).


1955 MacArthur Airport United Airlines crash, Investigation, Reversed thrust
The propellers of a DC-6 are designed to provide reverse thrust after the aircraft touches down. The pilot then retards the throttle levers to a point below idle speed and that directs the electric mechanisms in the propeller hub to rotate the blades to a position in which they will provide reverse thrust. Should the pilot need to perform a go-around, he moves the thrust levers forward to a positive position again and that will produce forward thrust, enabling the pilot to execute a go-around maneuver.


1955 MacArthur Airport United Airlines crash, Investigation, Reversed thrust
The Douglas Aircraft Company designed a system that would prevent the accidental reversal of propeller blades in-flight. During development of the DC-6, the company installed a system that cut electrical power to the mechanisms which rotated the blades while the airplane was in the air. When there was enough weight on the landing gear (which would only be the case when the aircraft was on the ground), a switch which supplied electrical power to the mechanisms was closed—meaning that when the aircraft touched down the blades could be reversed and thus the airplane could be slowed.


1955 MacArthur Airport United Airlines crash, Investigation, Reversed thrust
When the switch was closed, a red flag would swing into view in the cockpit of the aircraft, warning the crew that the blades could be reversed. Should the switch fail to close upon landing, the flag could be raised manually and electrical power to the mechanisms would be restored. When the aircraft took off, electrical power would be cut to the mechanisms so that the propeller blades could not be inadvertently reversed, and the red flag swung out of sight. Reverse thrust warning lamps, which would have warned the crew if the propellers were reversed, were not fitted on Mainliner Idaho.


1955 MacArthur Airport United Airlines crash, Investigation, Flight tests
The CAB carried out flight tests using a DC-6. They found that if the propellers were reversed prior to take-off they would not, if the flag was not raised, be rotated automatically again in the air to produce forward thrust if full power was applied. Tests performed by United Airlines showed that, if the propellers of just one engine were reversed and full power was applied to all four engines, then the aircraft would spiral into a dive. If METO (maximum except take-off) power was applied to Nos. 1, 2 and 3 engines, and full reverse thrust was applied to engine No. 4, then the aircraft would become uncontrollable.


1955 MacArthur Airport United Airlines crash, Investigation, Flight tests
If full left aileron was applied, the aircraft could be recovered for a short period of time, but a violent turn to the right would continue, and the competing forces would cause the aircraft to stall, and violently roll and pitch down. Flight tests, investigators said, accurately reproduced what happened to Mainliner Idaho during the accident sequence. The tests performed by United and by the investigators showed that if, after the aircraft became airborne, full power was applied to an engine whose propellers were reversed, the propellers would produce not positive thrust, but increased reverse thrust. One aviation author wrote of the crash,


1955 MacArthur Airport United Airlines crash, Investigation, Flight tests
"The flight tests showed conclusively that, at take-off configuration, a DC-6 becomes uncontrollable with an outboard engine at full power with its propeller in reverse pitch. Control is lost so quickly that there is little the crew can do at low altitude. In the case of this accident, it was doubtful if there would have been time for forward thrust to be restored before control was lost."


1955 MacArthur Airport United Airlines crash, Investigation, Conclusions
While the wreckage was being examined, investigators found that all four engines were producing thrust at the time of impact. There were only two ways that the propeller could be reversed during the take-off sequence. Investigators ruled out electrical malfunction since, after detailed examination of the engine hub, there was no evidence found of this happening. Therefore, it was concluded that the only way the propeller could have been reversed was through an unintentional crew action.


1955 MacArthur Airport United Airlines crash, Investigation, Conclusions
Although there was no formal evidence that a simulated engine failure was being performed, statements submitted by witnesses suggested that it was likely this was the case. United Airlines procedure calls for No. 4 engine to be shut down in a simulated engine failure—the same engine which was found at the crash site with its propellers reversed.


1955 MacArthur Airport United Airlines crash, Investigation, Conclusions
The investigation concluded the accident sequence began when the check pilot, while the aircraft was on the ground, retarded the throttle lever for No. 4 engine past the idle position, and therefore reversed the propellers of that engine. Once the airplane took off and started banking to the right, it would have been a natural reaction for one of the flight crew to increase power to No. 4 engine, thinking that by doing so the engine would start producing positive thrust and the aircraft could be recovered. However, since the metal flag was not raised, there was no electrical power to the rotating mechanisms—and increasing power to No. 4 engine would only have created more reverse thrust.


1955 MacArthur Airport United Airlines crash, Investigation, Conclusions
The final accident report concluded there wasn't sufficient time for the crew to react, since the dive began suddenly while the plane was so close to the ground. "Control will be lost so quickly that there is little, if anything, that the pilot can do if it occurs at low altitude," the report stated. "He must recognize what is occurring, analyze it, and take action to unreverse in a very limited amount of time. It is doubtful that unreversing could have been accomplished in this instance before control was lost."


1955 MacArthur Airport United Airlines crash, Investigation, Conclusions
On October 4, 1955, the CAB released the final accident report, which concluded the reversal of the propellers and subsequent increase in power of the No. 4 engine had caused the accident.


1955 MacArthur Airport United Airlines crash, Investigation, Conclusions
"The Board determines that the probable cause of this accident was unintentional movement of No. 4 throttle into the reverse range just before breaking ground, with the other three engines operating at high power output, which resulted in the aircraft very quickly becoming uncontrollable once airborne."


1955 MacArthur Airport United Airlines crash, Aftermath, Technological advances
Following the accident, the Civil Aeronautics Administration (CAA) issued an Airworthiness Directive ordering all DC-6 and DC-6B aircraft to be fitted with a sequence gate latch, known as a Martin bar. The device is a metal bar which a crew would manually swing in front of the thrust levers over the idle line, physically preventing the thrust levers from being retarded into the reverse position. According to the CAB report, a United Airlines engineer told investigators the Martin bar should make propeller reversal "a more reliable and safer device [than the system fitted to Mainliner Idaho] ... with its numerous switches, relays, and automatic operation."


1955 MacArthur Airport United Airlines crash, Aftermath, Technological advances
United Airlines issued a statement saying it had begun installing the device on its fleet of DC-6 and DC-6B aircraft one week before the accident, having used it successfully in service on their fleet of Douglas DC-7 aircraft. A Martin bar had not yet been fitted on Mainliner Idaho. United Airlines also said a program had begun to install reverse thrust indicator lights on all their DC-6 and DC-6B aircraft. The signals, fitted in the cockpit of the aircraft, would have warned the flight crew that the thrust lever had been pulled back too far, and the propellers had been reversed.


1955 MacArthur Airport United Airlines crash, Aftermath, Similar accidents
Since the crash, there have been several other accidents involving reverse thrust. A Douglas DC-8 operating United Airlines Flight 859 crashed in 1961 when the first officer attempted to reverse all four engines during the landing roll. The left engines remained in forward thrust, while the right engines went into reverse, causing the aircraft to veer rapidly to the right and collide with airport construction vehicles, killing 17 of the 122 people aboard and 1 person on the ground.


1955 MacArthur Airport United Airlines crash, Aftermath, Similar accidents
Japan Airlines Flight 350, a DC-8, crashed in 1982 short of the runway in Tokyo, after the mentally ill captain attempted suicide during the final approach phase of the flight, by putting the inboard engines into reverse thrust. Of the 174 people aboard, 24 died. In 1991, Lauda Air Flight 004, operated by a Boeing 767, crashed after the left engine thrust reverser deployed in-flight for reasons that could not be determined. The crash of a TAM Airlines Fokker 100 in 1996 was attributed to the deployment of the thrust reverser on No. 2 engine. The aircraft rolled to the right and crashed in a populated area of São Paulo, Brazil.


1955 Madaba riot
The 1955 Madaba riot, sometimes also referred as the Madaba massacre took place in the predominantly Christians Jordanian town of Madaba, when a number of Christians were killed by Islamist rioters.


1955 Madaba riot
The riot seems to have begun in a dispute between Christian and Muslim taxi drivers, after which the Salt monastery was attacked by members of the Hizb ut-Tahrir, eventually transforming in into an all-out sectarian riot. It is claimed that the event was instigated by the Muslim Brotherhood and Hizb ut-Tahrir. It was also claimed that a Jordanian Parliament Member, Muhammad Salim Abu al-Ghanam, was behind the eruption of the riot.


1955 Madaba riot
Wide-scale anti-Hashemite riots took place the same year in December, lasting for five days. Those came as a result of an attempt to bring Jordan into the Baghdad Pact. The riots were severe – foreign consulates were attacked and many people were killed and wounded throughout the country. The riots were quelled only with the military intervention of the Arab Legion and imposition of a curfew. As a result of the riots, the Majali government fell and the introduction of Jordan into the pact was cancelled.


1955 Maine Black Bears football team
The 1955 Maine Black Bears football team was an American football team that represented the University of Maine as a member of the Yankee Conference during the 1955 college football season. In its fifth season under head coach Harold Westerman, the team compiled a 5–1–1 record (2–1–1 against conference opponents) and finished third out of the six teams in the Yankee Conference championship. The team played its home games at Alumni Field in Orono, Maine. James Duffy and John Small were the team captains.


1955 Major League Baseball All-Star Game
The 1955 Major League Baseball All-Star Game was the 22nd playing of the midsummer classic between the all-stars of the American League (AL) and National League (NL), the two leagues comprising Major League Baseball. The game was held on July 12, 1955, at Milwaukee County Stadium, the home of the Milwaukee Braves of the National League.


1955 Major League Baseball All-Star Game, Summary
The National League overcame a five-run deficit to defeat the American League, 6–5, in this edition of the midsummer classic. Stan Musial led off the bottom of the 12th inning by drilling a home run to deep right field on the first pitch from Frank Sullivan, pulling off one of the greatest victories in All-Star Game history.


1955 Major League Baseball All-Star Game, Summary
The National League began their comeback in the bottom of the seventh inning. Willie Mays led off the frame with a single off Whitey Ford, and after two outs, Hank Aaron walked and Johnny Logan singled to drive home Mays and make it a 5–1 game. Next batter Stan Lopata reached base on an error, and Aaron scored the second run off the inning before the third out was made.


1955 Major League Baseball All-Star Game, Summary
With two outs in the eight inning, Mays, Ted Kluszewski and Randy Jackson hit consecutive singles for a run, and Ford was replaced by Sullivan. Aaron greeted him with an RBI single scoring Kluszewski to knot the game at 5–5.


1955 Major League Baseball All-Star Game, Summary
The American League quickly took the lead in the top of the first inning when Harvey Kuenn and Nellie Fox hit consecutive singles against Robin Roberts, with Kuenn advancing to third base from first and later scoring on a wild pitch. Then Ted Williams walked and Mickey Mantle hit a three-run home run, before Roberts recorded his first out. In the sixth inning, Mickey Vernon grounded out to drive home Yogi Berra to give the American League a five-run cushion.


1955 Major League Baseball All-Star Game, Summary
In the ninth inning, Joe Nuxhall and Sullivan matched strikeouts as the All-Star Game went into extra innings for only the second time since 1950, which turned out to be the first year the game went more than nine innings.


1955 Major League Baseball All-Star Game, Summary
The contest remained tied until the 12th inning, when Gene Conley struck out all three AL batters he faced. Then came the walk-off by Musial, which was his fourth homer in All-Star games, breaking a tie with Ted Williams and Ralph Kiner.


1955 Major League Baseball All-Star Game, Summary
It was the fifth victory for the National League in the last six All-Star games, even though the American League still held a 13–9 overall advantage.


1955 Major League Baseball All-Star Game, Rosters
Players in italics have since been inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame.


1955 Major League Baseball season
The 1955 Major League Baseball season was contested from April 11 to October 4, 1955. It featured 16 teams, eight in the National League and eight in the American League, with each team playing a 154-game schedule. In the World Series the Brooklyn Dodgers defeated the New York Yankees 4 games to 3.


1955 Major League Baseball season
For the third consecutive season, a franchise changed homes as the Philadelphia Athletics moved to Kansas City and played their home games at Municipal Stadium.


1955 Malayan general election
General elections were held in the Federation of Malaya on Wednesday, 27 July 1955, the only general election before independence in 1957. They were held to elect members of the Federal Legislative Council, whose members had previously been fully appointed by the British High Commissioner. Voting took place in all 52 federal constituencies, each electing one member. State elections also took place in all 136 state constituencies in nine states of Malaya and two settlements from 10 October 1954 to 12 November 1955, each electing one councillor to the State Council or Settlement Council.


1955 Malayan general election
The Pan-Malayan Islamic Party (PMIP) was formed primarily to contest in the 1955 elections. Previously the PMIP had been known as the "Pan-Malayan Islamic Association", as a part of the United Malays National Organisation (UMNO). PMIP won support by proclaiming its aim of making Islam the base of the Malay society in the north of Malay Peninsula, which was facing the lowest economic growth in Malaya.


1955 Malayan general election
The elections resulted in a decisive win for the Alliance Party, an alliance of the UMNO, the Malayan Chinese Association (MCA) and Malayan Indian Congress (MIC), and a resounding defeat for Parti Negara, led by former UMNO president Onn Jaafar. Onn himself failed to win a seat, while the Alliance proceeded to form the new government, with its leader Tunku Abdul Rahman becoming Chief Minister.


1955 Malayan general election
Thirty Alliance candidates had majorities of over 10,000 votes. Nine of them had majorities of over 20,000. Forty-three of their opponents lost their deposits.


1955 Malayan general election, Results
The Alliance Party won around 80% of the total vote and 51 out of 52 seats contested. PMIP won their only seat in Krian, Perak. Its sole winning candidate, Haji Ahmad Tuan Hussein, an Islamic scholar, was subsequently nicknamed "Mr. Opposition". Voter turnout was 82.8%.


1955 Malayan local elections
Local elections were held in the Federation of Malaya in 1955.


1955 Malayan state elections
State council elections were held in Malaya from 27 September to 12 November 1955 in all states except Trengganu and Johore.


1955 Maltese general election
General elections were held in Malta between 26 and 28 February 1955. The Malta Labour Party remained the largest party, winning 23 of the 40 seats.


1955 Maltese general election, Electoral system
The elections were held using the single transferable vote system.


1955 Marquette Warriors football team
The 1955 Marquette Warriors football team was an American football team that represented Marquette University as an independent during the 1955 college football season. In its second and final season under head coach Frosty Ferzacca, the team compiled a 2–6–1 record and was outscored by a total of 194 to 77. The team played its home games at Marquette Stadium in Milwaukee.


1955 Marshall Thundering Herd football team
The 1955 Marshall Thundering Herd football team was an American football team that represented Marshall University in the Mid-American Conference (MAC) during the 1955 college football season. In its third season under head coach Herb Royer, the team compiled a 3–6 record (1–5 against conference opponents) and was outscored by a total of 192 to 159. Henry Hinte and Albie Maier were the team captains. The team played its home games at Fairfield Stadium in Huntington, West Virginia.


1955 Maryland State Hawks football team
The 1955 Maryland State Hawks football team was an American football team that represented Maryland State College (now known as University of Maryland Eastern Shore) in the Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association (CIAA) during the 1955 college football season. In their eighth season under head coach Vernon McCain, the team compiled a 9–0 record (7–0 against conference opponents), won the CIAA championship, and shut out seven of nine opponents.


1955 Maryland State Hawks football team
At the end of the season, the team was ranked No. 2 among the nation's black college football teams by the Pittsburgh Courier. Maryland State earned a 23.55 rating, three points behind No. 1 Grambling (26.42) due to the fact that Grambling had played a tenth game.


1955 Maryland State Hawks football team
Key players included sophomore back Johnny Sample who went on to play 11 seasons in the National Football League and American Football League.


1955 Maryland State Hawks football team, After the season
The 1956 NFL Draft was held on January 17–18, 1956. The following Hawks were selected.


1955 Maryland Terrapins football team
The 1955 Maryland Terrapins football team represented the University of Maryland, College Park in the 1955 college football season as a member of the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC). Their perfect 10–0 regular season culminated with a bid to the 1956 Orange Bowl, where they faced top-ranked Oklahoma. Maryland lost, 6–20. Maryland's 25-12 victory over Clemson on November 12 was referenced in the 1989 film Back to the Future Part II, which primarily took place on the same day.


1955 Masters Tournament
The 1955 Masters Tournament was the 19th Masters Tournament, held April 7–10 at Augusta National Golf Club in Augusta, Georgia. It was the last one before CBS began televising the tournament the following year.


1955 Masters Tournament
Cary Middlecoff shot a 65 in the second round, including a then-record 31 on the first nine, to win his only Masters, seven strokes ahead of runner-up Ben Hogan, and the second of his three major championships.


1955 Masters Tournament
After a third round at even-par 72, Middlecoff entered the final round with a four shot lead over  Hogan, the champion in 1951 and 1953. The victory margin of seven strokes was a tournament record for ten years, until Jack Nicklaus won by nine strokes over Arnold Palmer and Gary Player in 1965, later increased to twelve in 1997 by Tiger Woods. The previous record was five strokes, set in 1948 by Claude Harmon and tied by Hogan in 1953. The runner-up finish was Hogan's fourth at the Masters.


1955 Masters Tournament
Arnold Palmer, a professional for less than a year, finished tied for tenth in his first Masters.


1955 Masters Tournament
The Sarazen Bridge, approaching the left side of the 15th green, was dedicated on Wednesday to commemorate the 20th anniversary of Gene Sarazen's double eagle in 1935. Included was a contest to duplicate the 232-yard (212 m) shot, with the closest by Fred Haas at 4 feet 1 inch (1.24 m) away.


1955 Masters Tournament, Course
^ Holes 1, 2, 4, 11, and 14 were later renamed.


1955 Masters Tournament, Field
Claude Harmon (10), Ben Hogan (2,4,6,9,10), Herman Keiser, Byron Nelson (2,6,9), Henry Picard (6), Gene Sarazen (2,4,6), Horton Smith, Sam Snead (4,6,9,10,12), Craig Wood (2)


1955 Masters Tournament, Field
Julius Boros (9,10), Billy Burke, Johnny Farrell, Ed Furgol (10), Lawson Little (3,5), Tony Manero, Lloyd Mangrum (9,10), Fred McLeod, Cary Middlecoff (9,10,12), Sam Parks Jr., Lew Worsham (9,10)


1955 Masters Tournament, Field
Ted Bishop (a), Dick Chapman (5,9,10,a), Charles Coe (9,a), Gene Littler (9,10), Billy Maxwell, Arnold Palmer (11), Skee Riegel (9), Jess Sweetser (5,a), Bud Ward


1955 Masters Tournament, Field
Walter Burkemo (9,12), Vic Ghezzi, Chick Harbert (9,12), Chandler Harper, Johnny Revolta, Jim Turnesa


1955 Masters Tournament, Field
Rex Baxter (a), William C. Campbell (10,a), Don Cherry (11,a), Joe Conrad (a), Bruce Cudd (a), Jimmy Jackson (a), Ed Meister (11,a), Dale Morey (11,a), Billy Joe Patton (9,10,a), Hillman Robbins (a)


1955 Masters Tournament, Field
Jerry Barber (12), Al Besselink, Tommy Bolt (10,12), Jack Burke Jr. (10), Pete Cooper, Marty Furgol (10), Jay Hebert (10), Ed Oliver, Bob Rosburg, Earl Stewart, Bob Toski (10)


1955 Masters Tournament, Field
Max Evans, Leland Gibson, Fred Haas, Dick Mayer, Shelley Mayfield (12), Al Mengert, Johnny Weitzel


1955 Masters Tournament, Field
Pat Fletcher, Rudy Horvath (10), Stan Leonard, Peter Thomson (4,9)


1955 McMath
1955 McMath, provisional designation 1963 SR, is a stony Koronis asteroid from the outer region of the asteroid belt, approximately 10 kilometers in diameter.


1955 McMath
It was discovered on 22 September 1963, by Indiana University's Indiana Asteroid Program at its Goethe Link Observatory near Brooklyn, Indiana, United States. It was later named after solar astronomer Robert Raynolds McMath.


1955 McMath, Orbit and classification
McMath is a stony S-type asteroid and a member of the Koronis family, which is named after 158 Koronis and consists of about 300 known bodies. It orbits the Sun in the outer main-belt at a distance of 2.7–3.0 AU once every 4 years and 10 months (1,762 days). Its orbit has an eccentricity of 0.06 and an inclination of 1° with respect to the ecliptic. The first precovery was taken at Goethe Link Observatory in 1949, extending the asteroid's observation arc by 15 years prior to its discovery. The first (unused) observation at Uccle Observatory dates back to 1936.


1955 McMath, Physical characteristics, Rotation period
It has a well determined rotation period of 5.574±0.002 hours with a brightness amplitude of 0.30 in magnitude (U=3). Between 2011 and 2013, three additional lightcurves with concurring periods of McMath with an amplitude between 0.32 and 0.39 magnitude were obtained through photometric observations in the R- and S-band at the U.S. Palomar Transient Factory in California (U=2/3-/2).


1955 McMath, Physical characteristics, Diameter and albedo
According to the survey carried out by the NEOWISE mission of NASA's Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer, McMath measures 9.8 kilometers in diameter and its surface has a high albedo of 0.32, while the Collaborative Asteroid Lightcurve Link assumes a standard albedo for stony members of the Koronis family of 0.24, and calculates a diameter of 10.3 kilometers.


1955 McMath, Naming
This minor planet was named after American solar astronomer Robert Raynolds McMath (1891–1962), who was also a bridge engineer and businessman. He was a co-donor and the director of the McMath-Hulbert Observatory in Lake Angelus, Michigan, which was deeded to the University of Michigan. Under his advice, the NSF chose the site at Kitt Peak National Observatory for the McMath-Pierce Solar Telescope.


1955 McMath, Naming
From the late 1950s, Robert McMath served as the first president of Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy and thereafter as its chairman. The lunar crater McMath is also named in his and his father's honour. The approved naming citation was published by the Minor Planet Center on 1 March 1981 (M.P.C. 5848).


1955 Meath Intermediate Football Championship
The 1955 Meath Intermediate Football Championship is the 29th edition of the Meath GAA's premier club Gaelic football tournament for intermediate graded teams in County Meath, Ireland. The tournament consists of 12 teams. The championship format consists of a group stage before progressing to a knock-out stage.


1955 Meath Intermediate Football Championship
Dunshaughlin, Oldcastle, St. Patrick's and Summerhill were regraded from the 1954 S.F.C.


1955 Meath Intermediate Football Championship
At the end of the season Donore, Enfield, Oldcastle and St. Patrick's applied to be regraded to the 1956 J.A.F.C.


1955 Meath Intermediate Football Championship
On 23 October 1955, Duleek claimed their 2nd Intermediate championship title when they defeated Slane 1-9 to 2-4 in the final at Pairc Tailteann. This was the first game to be played at the newly renovated pitch along with the S.F.C. final.


1955 Meath Intermediate Football Championship, Team changes
The following teams have changed division since the 1954 championship season.


1955 Meath Intermediate Football Championship, Group stage
There are 2 groups called Group A and B. The top finisher in each group will qualify for the Final. Many results were unavailable in the Meath Chronicle.


1955 Meath Senior Football Championship
The 1955 Meath Senior Football Championship is the 63rd edition of the Meath GAA's premier club Gaelic football tournament for senior graded teams in County Meath, Ireland. The tournament consists of 11 teams. The championship employs a group stage followed by a final between the group winners.


1955 Meath Senior Football Championship
This season saw Ballinlough's debut in the top flight after claiming the 1954 Meath Intermediate Football Championship title. Fordstown also made their debut in the grade after claiming the 1954 J.F.C. title.


1955 Meath Senior Football Championship
Skryne were the defending champions after they defeated Kells Harps in the previous years final, however they lost their crown by failing to progress past the group stages.


1955 Meath Senior Football Championship
St. Vincent's claimed their 1st S.F.C. title by defeating Kells Harps in the final at Pairc Tailteann by 1-12 to 2-3 on 23 October 1955. Kevin Mooney raised the Keegan Cup for the Dublin border side. This was the first match to be played in a renovated Pairc Tailteann.


1955 Meath Senior Football Championship
At the end of the season, newly promoted side Fordstown were regraded to the 1956 I.F.C.


1955 Meath Senior Football Championship, Team Changes
The following teams have changed division since the 1954 championship season.


1955 Mediterranean Games
The II Mediterranean Games – Barcelona 1955, commonly known as the 1955 Mediterranean Games, were the 2nd Mediterranean Games. The Games were held in Barcelona, Spain over 10 days, from 15 to 25 July 1955, where 1,135 athletes (all men) from 10 countries participated. There were a total of 102 medal events from 19 different sports. In the medals table France was first on the podium, Italy second and Egypt came third.


1955 Mediterranean Games
This second edition were held in the Olympic Stadium and Palace of Sport of Barcelona. The stadium was built in 1929 and was especially renovated for the occasion. The symbol of an amphora filled with Mediterranean Sea water was then used for the first time.


1955 Mediterranean Games, Participating Nations
The following is a list of nations that participated in the 1955 Mediterranean Games:


1955 Mediterranean Games, Sports
The second Mediterranean Games sports program featured 19 sports encompassing 102 men-only events. The number in parentheses next to the sport is the number of medal events per sport.


1955 Mediterranean Games, Medal table
The rankings sort by the number of gold medals earned by a country. The number of silvers is taken into consideration next and then the number of bronze. Equal ranking is given and they are listed alphabetically if after the above, countries are still tied. This follows the system used by the IOC, and IAAF.


1955 Meistaradeildin
1955 Meistaradeildin was the 13th season of top-tier football on the Faroe Islands.


1955 Memorial Cup
The 1955 Memorial Cup final was the 37th junior ice hockey championship of the Canadian Amateur Hockey Association. The George Richardson Memorial Trophy champions Toronto Marlboros of the Ontario Hockey Association in Eastern Canada competed against the Abbott Cup champions Regina Pats of the Western Canada Junior Hockey League in Western Canada. In a best-of-seven series, held at Regina Exhibition Stadium in Regina, Saskatchewan, Toronto won their 2nd Memorial Cup, and first since 1929 by defeating Regina 4 games to 1.


1955 Memorial Cup, Winning roster
John Albani, Gary Aldcorn, Bobby Baun, Ron Casey, Gary Collins, Glenn Cressman, Bob Dodds, Ken Girard, Billy Harris, Gerry James, Ron Kendall, Bill Kennedy, Al MacNeil, Mike Nykoluk, Gord Onotsky, Bob Pulford, Jake Smola, Ross Sneddon. Coach: Turk Broda


1955 Memphis State Tigers football team
The 1955 Memphis State Tigers football team was an American football team that represented Memphis State College (now known as the University of Memphis) as an independent during the 1955 college football season. In their ninth season under head coach Ralph Hatley, Memphis State compiled a 2–7 record.


1955 Men's British Open Squash Championship
The 1955 Open Championship was held at the Lansdowne Club in London from 23 March - 28 March. Hashim Khan won his fifth consecutive title defeating his younger brother Azam Khan in a repeat of the 1954 final. Hashim Khan equalled the record number of five wins set by F.D. Amr Bey


1955 Men's European Volleyball Championship
The 1955 Men's European Volleyball Championship, the fourth edition of the event, was organized by Europe's governing volleyball body, the Confédération Européenne de Volleyball. It was hosted in Bucharest, Romania from June 15 to June 25, 1955.


1955 Mestaruussarja
The 1955 season was the twenty-fifth completed season of Finnish Football League Championship, known as the Mestaruussarja.


1955 Mestaruussarja, Overview
The Mestaruussarja was administered by the Finnish Football Association and the competition's 1955 season was contested by 10 teams. KIF Helsinki won the championship and the two lowest placed teams of the competition, TuTo Turku and KoRe Kotka, were relegated to the Suomensarja.


1955 Mexican legislative election
Legislative elections were held in Mexico on 4 July 1955. The Institutional Revolutionary Party won 153 of the 162 seats in the Chamber of Deputies.


1955 Miami Hurricanes football team
The 1955 Miami Hurricanes football team represented the University of Miami as an independent during the 1955 college football season. Led by eighth-year head coach Andy Gustafson, the Hurricanes played their home games at Burdine Stadium in Miami, Florida. Miami finished the season 6–3.