Walter Johnson vs Hippo Vaughn: Career Stats Comparison

Walter Johnson (1907–1927) and Hippo Vaughn (1908–1921) — both came up during the 1900s, so the matchup is a direct one. Walter Johnson compiled 417 wins and 3,509 strikeouts; Hippo Vaughn put up 178 wins and 1,416 strikeouts. The numbers below run them through identical career and rate-stat lenses.

Walter Johnson

Pitcher · 1907–1927
Wins
417
Losses
279
Strikeouts
3,509
ERA
2.17
WHIP
1.06
IP
5,914
View Walter Johnson's full profile →

Hippo Vaughn

Pitcher · 1908–1921
Wins
178
Losses
137
Strikeouts
1,416
ERA
2.49
WHIP
1.20
IP
2,730
View Hippo Vaughn's full profile →

Career Stats Side-by-Side

Every cell below is a career total or career rate. Cells highlighted in green mark the player who leads that line. For pitchers, lower ERA, WHIP, and BB/9 lead; higher K/9 leads.

Statistic Walter Johnson Hippo Vaughn
Wins 417 178
Losses 279 137
Games 802 390
Games Started 666 331
Complete Games 531 215
Shutouts 110 41
Saves 34 5
Strikeouts 3,509 1,416
Walks 1,363 817
Hits Allowed 4,913 2,461
Home Runs Allowed 97 39
Innings Pitched 5,914 2,730
ERA 2.17 2.49
WHIP 1.06 1.20
K/9 5.34 4.67
BB/9 2.07 2.69

PIV Comparison

By PIV (Player Impact Value), Walter Johnson outpaces Hippo Vaughn 124,021 to 27,688 — a gap driven primarily by per-season impact (5,906 vs 1,978 per year). PIV adjusts each season to league baselines, so it's the cleanest way to compare careers across eras.

Walter Johnson
124,021
Career Pitcher PIV · 5,906 per season (21 seasons)
Hippo Vaughn
27,688
Career Pitcher PIV · 1,978 per season (14 seasons)

How PIV is calculated →

Peak Seasons

The best single seasons each player produced, ranked by ERA among qualified workloads (120+ innings).

Walter Johnson — top 3 seasons by ERA (lower is better)

19131.14 ERA36-7, 243 K in 346 IP
19181.27 ERA23-13, 162 K in 326 IP
19101.36 ERA25-17, 313 K in 370 IP

Hippo Vaughn — top 3 seasons by ERA (lower is better)

19181.74 ERA22-10, 148 K in 290 IP
19191.79 ERA21-14, 141 K in 306 IP
19101.83 ERA13-11, 107 K in 221 IP

Verdict

On the head-to-head card, Walter Johnson leads in wins, strikeouts, ERA, and WHIP, while Hippo Vaughn owns no headline categories. That doesn't settle the era debate, but on the raw scoreboard the edge goes to Walter Johnson. PIV agrees: Walter Johnson grades out higher across their careers. Click through to each profile for the full season-by-season breakdown.

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