* 1954 – Jon Krakauer, American author

* 1954 – Pat Travers, Canadian singer and musician

* 1954 – Thom Bray, American actor

* 1954 – Jane Campion, New Zealand director

* 1954 – Frank-Michael Marczewski, German footballer

* 1954 – John Lloyd, English tennis player

* 1954 – Derek Warwick, English race car driver

* 1954 – Paul Steigerwald, American sportscaster

* 1954 – Ray Jennings, South African cricketer and coach

* 1954 – Radio Pakistan broadcasts the " Qaumī Tarāna ", the national anthem of Pakistan for the first time.

* 1954 – Nico Assumpção, Brazilian bass player ( d. 2001 )

In 1954 – 55, Australia's batsmen had no answer to the pace of Frank Tyson and Statham.

* 1954 – James Charles Kopp, American murderer of Barnett Slepian

* 1954 – Sammy McIlroy, Irish footballer and manager

* 1993 – Alan Kulwicki, American race car driver ( b. 1954 )

After 1890 came philosopher Josiah Royce ( 1855 – 1916 ), botanist Liberty Hyde Bailey ( 1858 – 1954 ), the Southern Agrarians of the 1920s and 1930s, novelist John Steinbeck ( 1902 – 1968 ), historian A. Whitney Griswold ( 1906 – 1963 ), environmentalist Aldo Leopold ( 1887 – 1948 ), Ralph Borsodi ( 1886 – 1977 ), and present-day authors Wendell Berry ( b. 1934 ), Gene Logsdon ( b. 1932 ), Paul Thompson, and Allan C. Carlson ( b. 1949 ).

Alan Mathison Turing, OBE, FRS ( ; 23 June 1912 – 7 June 1954 ), was a British mathematician, logician, cryptanalyst, and computer scientist.

* 1954 – James Gleick, American author, journalist, and biographer

* 1954 – Benno Möhlmann, German footballer

* 1954 – Gary Peters, English footballer

* 1954 – Joey Giardello knocks out Willie Tory in round seven at Madison Square Garden in the first televised prize boxing fight shown in colour.

* 1954 – Willie Mosconi sets a world record by running 526 consecutive balls without a miss during a straight pool exhibition at East High Billiard Club in Springfield, Ohio.

In game one of the 1954 World Series at the Polo Grounds against the Cleveland Indians, Willie Mays made " The Catch "— a dramatic over-the-shoulder catch of a fly ball by Vic Wertz to deep center field.

In addition to Bobby Thomson and Willie Mays, other memorable members of the Giants teams during the 1950s include: Hall of Fame manager Leo Durocher, coach Herman Franks, Hall of Fame outfielder Monte Irvin, outfielder and runnerup for the 1954 NL batting championship ( won by Willie Mays ) Don Mueller, Hall of Fame knuckleball relief pitcher Hoyt Wilhelm, starting pitchers Larry Jansen, Sal Maglie, Jim Hearn, Marv Grissom, Dave Koslo, Don Liddle, Max Lanier, Rubén Gómez, and Johnny Antonelli, catcher Wes Westrum, catchers Ray Katt and Sal Yvars, shortstop Alvin Dark, third baseman Hank Thompson, first baseman Whitey Lockman, second basemen Davey Williams and Eddie Stanky, outfielder, pitcher Clint Hartung, Hall of Fame second baseman Red Schoendienst and utility players: Bill Rigney, Daryl Spencer, Bobby Hofman, and Dusty Rhodes among others.

* Willie Randolph ( born 1954 ), former MLB player and manager for the New York Mets.

* Willie Thornton ( 1954 – 1959 )

The Catch: Willie Mays hauls in Vic Wertz's drive at the warning track in the 1954 World Series.

The Catch refers to a memorable defensive baseball play by Willie Mays on September 29, 1954, during Game 1 of the 1954 World Series between the New York Giants and the Cleveland Indians at the Polo Grounds in New York on a ball hit by Vic Wertz.

: 5 Willie Mays ( 1954, 1955, 1957, 1964, 1965 )

: 5 Willie Mays ( 1954 – 1955, 1958, 1964 – 1965 )

* 1954 Willie Watson

The catch that Willie Mays made in the 1954 World Series against Vic Wertz of the Cleveland Indians would have been a home run in many other ballparks of the time.

* Willie Murray ( born 1954 ), Scottish footballer who played in the 1974 Scottish League Cup Final

William Joseph " Willie " Thorne ( born 4 March 1954 in Leicester, England ), is a former English professional snooker player and now a sports commentator.

Eddy provided all the singing and speaking voices for the touching final segment, " The Whale Who Wanted to Sing at the Met ," later released as a short, Willie, the Operatic Whale, by RKO in 1954.

“ Fans would come early just to watch their fielding-practice magic .” In an essay on Willie Mays ’ famous 1954 back-to-the-plate catch off Cleveland ’ s Vic Wertz, Hano claimed that an even more sensational play was Lindstrom ’ s full-length, leaping grab before crashing into the outfield wall in a 1932 Giants-Pirates game that the New York Herald Tribune later called “ the greatest catch ever made in the Polo Grounds .”

In that same season, the Indians faced the New York Giants in the 1954 World Series, which matched the two leagues ' champion bats, Ávila and Willie Mays ; it was the third time that top batters in the majors played each other in the Series.

Baseball glove worn by Willie Mays during the 1954 World Series

Willie Mays drags in Vic Wertz's drive, 1954 World Series

The voice on the audio track of the famous Willie Mays catch in Game 1 of the 1954 Series at the Polo Grounds belongs to Brickhouse, who was calling the Series along with the New York Giants ' regular broadcaster, Russ Hodges.

In 1954, Muddy Waters recorded a very popular version of Willie Dixon's "( I'm Your ) Hoochie Coochie Man " song with an additional verse mentioning John the Conquer root:

Liddle is most remembered as the man who, in Game 1 of the 1954 World Series, threw the pitch to Vic Wertz that resulted in The Catch — Giant center fielder Willie Mays ' historic back-to-home-plate, over-the-shoulder grab of Wertz ' line drive with two men on base in the deepest part of centerfield at the Giants ' home field, the Polo Grounds.