What years did Les Backman play?

Les Backman played in Major League Baseball from 1909 to 1910.

Was Les Backman a pitcher?

Yes. Les Backman pitched in the major leagues, recording 9 wins and 76 strikeouts.

How many home runs did Les Backman hit?

Les Backman hit 0 career home runs with 8 hits.

What was Les Backman's career batting average?

Les Backman batted .108 over his career, with 8 hits in 74 at bats.

How many RBI did Les Backman have?

Les Backman drove in 5 runs in his career.

What was Les Backman's career ERA?

Les Backman finished with a 3.61 career ERA, going 9-18 with 76 strikeouts.

Les Backman

Pitcher · Career Stats, Bio & Records (1909-1910)

Les Backman was a pitcher who played in Major League Baseball from 1909 to 1910 for the St. Louis Cardinals, a span of 2 seasons. Across 47 career appearances, he went 9-18 with a 3.61 ERA and 76 strikeouts.

W (Wins):: Games credited to a pitcher whose team took a lead it never surrendered while he was the pitcher of record.
ERA (Earned Run Average):: Earned runs allowed per nine innings pitched: (ER × 9) ÷ IP. The primary measure of pitching effectiveness.
SO (Strikeouts):: For a batter, times retired on a third strike; for a pitcher, batters retired on a third strike.
WHIP (Walks and Hits per Inning Pitched):: Baserunners allowed per inning: (BB + H) ÷ IP. Under 1.00 is elite.

Data updated October 12, 2026

W–L 9–18

ERA 3.61

WHIP 1.45

SO 76

Pitcher PIV -2854.9

Position: Pitcher
Bats / Throws: R / R
Height / Weight: 6'0" / 195 lb
Born: 3/20/1888 in Cleves, OH, USA
Died: 11/8/1975 in Cincinnati, OH, USA
MLB Debut: 1909-07-03
Last Game: 1910-08-28

Full name: Lester John Backman

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Career Pitching Statistics

Les Backman — Career Pitching Statistics
W	L	G	GS	CG	SHO	SV	IP	H	ER	HR	BB	SO	ERA	Pitcher PIV
9	18	47	26	13	0	2	244.1	263	98	5	92	76	3.61	-2854.9

Career ERA 3.61 vs. league average 2.67 across their career seasons — 35.3% worse than league average.

Season-by-Season Pitching

Pitching Career Arc

Click a stat to plot it across every season.

Les Backman — Season-by-Season Pitching
Year	Team	Lg	W	L	G	GS	CG	SV	IP	H	ER	BB	SO	ERA	Lg ERA	Pitcher PIV
1909	SLN	NL	3	11	21	15	8	0	128.1	146	59	39	35	4.14	2.55 (-63%)	-745.9
1910	SLN	NL	6	7	26	11	5	2	116.0	117	39	53	41	3.03	2.79 (-8%)	-2109.0
Career · 2 seasons			9	18	47	26	13	2	244.1	263	98	92	76	3.61	—	-2,855

Lg columns show the league average for that season, with the player's figure as a percentage above or below it. Career totals the seasons listed above.

Career Batting Statistics

Les Backman — Career Batting Statistics
G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	SB	BB	SO	AVG	OBP	SLG	OPS	PIV
47	74	3	8	1	1	0	5	0	8	28	.108	.214	.149	.363	0

Career AVG .108 vs. league average .247 across their career seasons — 56.2% below league average.

Career OBP .214 vs. league average .312 across their career seasons — 31.4% below league average.

Career SLG .149 vs. league average .320 across their career seasons — 53.5% below league average.

Career OPS .363 vs. league average .632 across their career seasons — 42.6% below league average.

Season-by-Season Batting

Career Arc

Click a stat to plot it across every season.

Les Backman — Season-by-Season Batting
Year	Team	Lg	G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	RBI	BB	SO	AVG	Lg AVG	Lg OBP	Lg SLG	Lg OPS	PIV
1909	SLN	NL	21	39	1	4	0	0	2	4	16	.103	—	—	—	—	0.0
1910	SLN	NL	26	35	2	4	1	1	3	4	12	.114	—	—	—	—	0.0
Career · 2 seasons			47	74	3	8	1	1	5	8	28	.108	—	—	—	—	0

Lg columns show the league average for that season, with the player's figure as a percentage above or below it. Career totals the seasons listed above.

Game Log & Splits

View full game log (94 games) →

Per-game data from Retrosheet (regular season, through 2025).

Batting — Home / Away

Les Backman — Batting — Home / Away
Split	G	AB	R	H	HR	RBI	AVG
Home	26	40	2	5	0	5	.125
Away	21	34	1	3	0	0	.088

Pitching — Home / Away

Les Backman — Pitching — Home / Away
Split	G	IP	H	ER	BB	SO	ERA
Home	26	145.0	136	28	47	48	1.74
Away	21	98.1	128	42	45	35	3.84

Last 10 Games — Batting

Les Backman — Last 10 Games — Batting
Date	Tm	Opp	Res	AB	H	BB	SO
1910-08-28	STL	BSN	W	0	0	0	0
1910-08-19	STL	PHI	L	3	0	0	0
1910-08-16	STL	BSN	L	0	0	0	0
1910-08-05	STL	BRO	L	0	0	0	0
1910-08-03	STL	BRO	L	1	1	0	0
1910-07-31	STL	CHC	L	1	0	1	0
1910-07-27	STL	CHC	W	1	0	0	1
1910-07-20	STL	PHI	L	0	0	0	0
1910-07-11	STL	BSN	L	0	0	0	0
1910-07-10	STL	BSN	L	2	0	0	1

Last 10 Games — Pitching

Les Backman — Last 10 Games — Pitching
Date	Tm	Opp	Dec	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO
1910-08-28	STL	BSN	—	0.2	3	2	2	1	0
1910-08-19	STL	PHI	L	9.0	9	3	2	3	1
1910-08-16	STL	BSN	—	1.0	2	1	0	0	1
1910-08-05	STL	BRO	—	1.0	1	0	0	1	0
1910-08-03	STL	BRO	—	1.0	2	1	0	1	0
1910-07-31	STL	CHC	L	6.1	7	4	3	5	3
1910-07-27	STL	CHC	W	3.0	3	1	1	1	2
1910-07-20	STL	PHI	—	1.2	1	2	2	0	3
1910-07-11	STL	BSN	—	1.0	4	2	2	1	0
1910-07-10	STL	BSN	—	5.0	5	0	0	2	2

Fielding Statistics

Career Fielding Totals by Position

Les Backman — Career Fielding Totals by Position
Position	G	GS	PO	A	E	DP
P	47	26	7	66	4	1

Season-by-Season Fielding

Les Backman — Season-by-Season Fielding
Year	Team	Pos	G	GS	PO	A	E	DP
1909	SLN	P	21	15	2	36	1	0
1910	SLN	P	26	11	5	30	3	1

Career Games by Position

Position Diamond

Circle size = games played at each position.

Les Backman — Career Games by Position
Position	Games
Pitcher	47

College History

Les Backman — College History
School Name	City	State	Years Attended
Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology	Terre Haute	IN	1907, 1908, 1909

Les Backman: the record in brief

Les Backman played a first major league game on July 3, 1909 and a last one on August 28, 1910. Backman's only club in the season tables is the St. Louis Cardinals. Backman is listed as a pitcher at 6 feet, 0 inches and 195 pounds. Backman both batted and threw right-handed, per the bio block. Backman was born on March 20, 1888, in Cleves, OH, USA. Backman died on November 8, 1975, in Cincinnati, OH, USA. Les Backman was the playing name; the full given name is Lester John.

Across 47 games (26 starts), Backman recorded 9 wins against 18 losses with a 3.61 ERA. The same table counts 76 strikeouts and 13 complete games. The league ERA over Backman's seasons was 2.67, so the 3.61 figure ran 35.3% worse than average. 1910 brought Backman a season-high 6 wins. Among the heaviest workloads, the lowest ERA was 3.03 in 1910, when the league's was 2.79.

The position breakdown shows 47 games, all at pitcher. On the mound, Backman's fielding totals are 7 putouts, 66 assists and 4 errors.

Frequently Asked Questions about Les Backman

What years did Les Backman play?: Les Backman played in Major League Baseball from 1909 to 1910.
Was Les Backman a pitcher?: Yes. Les Backman pitched in the major leagues, recording 9 wins and 76 strikeouts.
How many home runs did Les Backman hit?: Les Backman hit 0 career home runs with 8 hits.
What was Les Backman's career batting average?: Les Backman batted .108 over his career, with 8 hits in 74 at bats.
How many RBI did Les Backman have?: Les Backman drove in 5 runs in his career.
What was Les Backman's career ERA?: Les Backman finished with a 3.61 career ERA, going 9-18 with 76 strikeouts.