The second USS Worcester (CL-144) was laid down on 29 January 1945 at Camden, New Jersey, by the New York Shipbuilding and Drydock Corp.; launched on 4 February 1947; sponsored by Gloria Ann Sullivan, the daughter of Mayor F. G. Sullivan of Worcester, Massachusetts; and commissioned at the Philadelphia Naval Shipyard on 26 June 1948, Capt. T. B. Dugan in command. The light cruiser was named after two previous ships of that name, honoring Worcester, Massachusetts.