Nellie Fox vs Johnny Temple: Career Stats Comparison
Nellie Fox has the better career line of the two, leading 11 of the 14 scored categories on this page (1 further counting total is shown but not scored). Nellie Fox played 1947–1965 as a hitter; Johnny Temple played 1952–1964 as a hitter.
- AVG (Batting Average):
- Hits divided by at bats. .300 is the traditional mark of an excellent hitter.
- HR (Home Runs):
- Hits on which the batter circled the bases and scored, almost always by clearing the outfield fence.
- RBI (Runs Batted In):
- Runs that scored as a direct result of a batter's plate appearance.
- OPS (On-Base Plus Slugging):
- On-base percentage plus slugging percentage, the quickest single summary of offensive value. .900 or better is star-level.
Data updated
Nellie Fox (1947–1965) and Johnny Temple (1952–1964) — they broke in during the 1940s and the 1950s respectively, which makes the side-by-side worth doing carefully. Nellie Fox finished with 2,663 hits and 35 home runs; Johnny Temple finished with 1,484 hits and 22 home runs. Below is the full career table, PIV adjustment, peak seasons, and a verdict.
Quick answer
- Who hit more home runs? Nellie Fox, with 35 to Johnny Temple's 22.
- Who had the higher OPS? Johnny Temple, with .713 to Nellie Fox's .710.
- Who had the higher batting average? Nellie Fox, with .288 to Johnny Temple's .284.
- Who had more hits? Nellie Fox, with 2,663 to Johnny Temple's 1,484.
- Who drove in more runs? Nellie Fox, with 790 to Johnny Temple's 395.
- Who has the higher career PIV? Johnny Temple, with 2,226 career PIV to Nellie Fox's 1,100.
Johnny Temple
Career Stats Side-by-Side
Every cell below is a career total or career rate for Nellie Fox and Johnny Temple. Cells highlighted in green mark the category leader. 14 of the 15 lines below are scored; the other one is a counting total on which fewer is not an achievement, so no one is awarded it. Counting stats reward longevity, and strikeouts are left unmarked because a longer career accumulates more of them. Rate stats are not era-adjusted, and the 1940s and the 1950s were different run environments, so read them against their eras, or use the PIV card below, which is adjusted.
| Statistic | Nellie Fox | Johnny Temple |
|---|---|---|
| Games | Leads: 2,367 | 1,420 |
| At-Bats | Leads: 9,232 | 5,218 |
| Runs | Leads: 1,279 | 720 |
| Hits | Leads: 2,663 | 1,484 |
| Doubles | Leads: 355 | 208 |
| Triples | Leads: 112 | 36 |
| Home Runs | Leads: 35 | 22 |
| RBI | Leads: 790 | 395 |
| Walks | Leads: 719 | 648 |
| Strikeouts not scored | 216 | 338 |
| Stolen Bases | 76 | Leads: 140 |
| Batting Avg | Leads: .288 | .284 |
| On-Base % | .348 | Leads: .363 |
| Slugging % | Leads: .363 | .351 |
| OPS | .710 | Leads: .713 |
PIV Comparison through 2025
By PIV (Player Impact Value), Johnny Temple outpaces Nellie Fox 2,226 to 1,100 — driven by per-season impact — 159 PIV per season to 58 — rather than by longevity, since Johnny Temple played 14 seasons to Nellie Fox's 19. PIV adjusts each season to league baselines, so it's the cleanest way to compare careers across eras.
PIV is computed through the 2025 season. The career totals on this page include 2026 to date, so PIV does not yet reflect the 2026 season.
Peak Seasons
The best single seasons each player produced, ranked by OPS among qualified workloads (300+ at-bats).
Nellie Fox — top 3 seasons by OPS
Johnny Temple — top 3 seasons by OPS
Verdict
On the head-to-head card, Nellie Fox leads in hits, home runs, RBI, and runs, while Johnny Temple owns stolen bases, OBP, and OPS. That doesn't settle the era debate, but on the raw scoreboard the edge goes to Nellie Fox. Note that PIV actually grades Johnny Temple ahead, which means Nellie Fox's edge is partly volume. Click through to each profile for the full season-by-season breakdown.
Related Matchups
How the Nellie Fox and Johnny Temple careers compare
The careers of Nellie Fox (1947–1965) and Johnny Temple (1952–1964) overlapped from 1952 to 1964, so for those seasons they faced the same league conditions. Nellie Fox has the far longer record, 2,367 games against 1,420 across 19 and 14 PIV seasons, which inflates every career total. Where Johnny Temple comes out ahead, it is in stolen bases (140 to 76), on-base percentage (.363 to .348), and OPS (.713 to .710). Nellie Fox walked more often than struck out (719 walks, 216 strikeouts); Johnny Temple walked more often than struck out (648 walks, 338 strikeouts). Johnny Temple was the more frequent base stealer relative to games played.
Nellie Fox vs Johnny Temple: Frequently Asked Questions
- Who was better, Nellie Fox or Johnny Temple?
- By the career statistics compared on this page, Nellie Fox leads Johnny Temple in 11 of the 14 scored categories.
- Did Nellie Fox or Johnny Temple hit more home runs?
- Nellie Fox, with 35 to Johnny Temple's 22.
- Who had the higher OPS?
- Johnny Temple, with .713 to Nellie Fox's .710.
- Who had the higher batting average?
- Nellie Fox, with .288 to Johnny Temple's .284.
- Who had more hits?
- Nellie Fox, with 2,663 to Johnny Temple's 1,484.