Elmer Flick vs King Kelly: Career Stats Comparison
Elmer Flick (1898–1910) and King Kelly (1878–1893) — they broke in during the 1890s and the 1870s respectively, which makes the side-by-side worth doing carefully. Elmer Flick finished with 1,752 hits and 48 home runs; King Kelly finished with 1,813 hits and 69 home runs. Below is the full career table, PIV adjustment, peak seasons, and a verdict.
Elmer Flick
Career Stats Side-by-Side
Every cell below is a career total or career rate for Elmer Flick and King Kelly. Cells highlighted in green mark the category leader. Counting stats reward longevity; the rate stats at the bottom are era-agnostic.
| Statistic | Elmer Flick | King Kelly |
|---|---|---|
| Games | 1,483 | 1,456 |
| At-Bats | 5,597 | 5,896 |
| Runs | 950 | 1,357 |
| Hits | 1,752 | 1,813 |
| Doubles | 268 | 359 |
| Triples | 164 | 102 |
| Home Runs | 48 | 69 |
| RBI | 756 | 950 |
| Walks | 597 | 549 |
| Strikeouts | 567 | 418 |
| Stolen Bases | 330 | 368 |
| Batting Avg | .313 | .307 |
| On-Base % | .389 | .368 |
| Slugging % | .445 | .438 |
| OPS | .834 | .806 |
PIV Comparison
By PIV (Player Impact Value), Elmer Flick edges King Kelly 29,192 to 27,425 — a gap driven primarily by per-season impact (2,085 vs 1,524 per year). PIV adjusts each season to league baselines, so it's the cleanest way to compare careers across eras.
Peak Seasons
The best single seasons each player produced, ranked by OPS among qualified workloads (300+ at-bats).
Elmer Flick — top 3 seasons by OPS
King Kelly — top 3 seasons by OPS
Verdict
On the head-to-head card, King Kelly leads in hits, home runs, RBI, and runs, while Elmer Flick owns batting average, OBP, and OPS. That doesn't settle the era debate, but on the raw scoreboard the edge goes to King Kelly. Note that PIV actually grades Elmer Flick ahead, which means King Kelly's edge is partly volume. Click through to each profile for the full season-by-season breakdown.