Dave Bancroft

Shortstop · Career Stats, Hall of Fame Bio & Records (1915-1930)

Dave Bancroft was a shortstop who played in Major League Baseball from 1915 to 1930 for 4 teams, including the Philadelphia Phillies, a span of 16 seasons. In 1,913 career games, he hit .279 with 2,004 hits, 32 home runs, and 591 RBI. Dave Bancroft was inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1971. His career PIV — Baseball Data Hub's era-adjusted measure of offensive impact — is 4,247.

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

⭐ Hall of Fame 1971
AVG .279
HR 32
RBI 591
H 2,004
OPS .714
PIV 4,247
Position
Shortstop
Bats / Throws
B / R
Height / Weight
5'9" / 160 lb
Born
4/20/1891 in Sioux City, IA, USA
Died
10/9/1972 in Superior, WI, USA
MLB Debut
1915-04-14
Last Game
1930-05-31
Hall of Fame
Inducted 1971 (BBWAA)

Full name: David James Bancroft

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Career Batting Statistics

Dave Bancroft — Career Batting Statistics
G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB BB SO AVG OBP SLG OPS PIV
1,913 7,182 1,048 2,004 320 77 32 591 145 827 487 .279 .355 .358 .714 4,247

Career AVG .279 vs. league average .276 across their career seasons — near league average.

Career OBP .355 vs. league average .338 across their career seasons — +5.1% above league average.

Career SLG .358 vs. league average .379 across their career seasons — 5.5% below league average.

Career OPS .714 vs. league average .717 across their career seasons — near league average.

Season-by-Season Batting

Career Arc

Click a stat to plot it across every season.

Dave Bancroft Stats, Bio & Career Records
Year Team Lg G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB BB SO AVG Lg AVG Lg OBP Lg SLG Lg OPS PIV
1915 PHI NL 153 563 85 143 18 2 7 30 15 77 62 .254 .250 (+1%) .318 (+9%) .332 (-1%) .651 (+4%) 671.8
1916 PHI NL 142 477 53 101 10 0 3 33 15 74 57 .212 .248 (-15%) .314 (+3%) .326 (-23%) .640 (-10%) -426.9
1917 PHI NL 127 478 56 116 22 5 4 43 14 44 42 .243 .248 (-2%) .312 (-2%) .323 (+4%) .635 (+1%) 34.1
1918 PHI NL 125 499 69 132 19 4 0 26 11 54 36 .265 .255 (+4%) .318 (+6%) .326 (-2%) .645 (+2%) 267.1
1919 PHI NL 92 335 45 91 13 7 0 25 8 31 30 .272 .262 (+4%) .322 (+3%) .347 (+1%) .670 (+2%) 129.4
1920 PHI NL 42 171 23 51 7 2 0 5 1 9 12 .298 .271 (+10%) .331 (+2%) .363 (avg) .694 (+1%) 7.5
1920 NY1 NL 108 442 79 132 29 7 0 31 7 33 32 .299 .271 (+10%) .331 (+5%) .363 (+9%) .694 (+7%) 7.5
1921 NY1 NL 153 606 121 193 26 15 6 67 17 66 23 .318 .286 (+11%) .344 (+13%) .395 (+11%) .739 (+12%) 1667.4
1922 NY1 NL 156 651 117 209 41 5 4 60 16 79 27 .321 .285 (+12%) .345 (+15%) .397 (+5%) .743 (+10%) 1587.6
1923 NY1 NL 107 444 80 135 33 3 1 31 8 62 23 .304 .282 (+7%) .344 (+13%) .390 (+2%) .734 (+7%) 821.2
1924 BSN NL 79 319 49 89 11 1 2 21 4 37 24 .279 .283 (-2%) .345 (+3%) .389 (-13%) .734 (-6%) -189.3
1925 BSN NL 128 479 75 153 29 8 2 49 7 64 22 .319 .288 (+11%) .349 (+14%) .407 (+5%) .756 (+9%) 1064.1
1926 BSN NL 127 453 70 141 18 6 1 44 3 64 29 .311 .279 (+11%) .345 (+15%) .390 (-2%) .735 (+6%) 832.8
1927 BSN NL 111 375 44 91 13 4 1 31 5 43 36 .243 .282 (-14%) .344 (-6%) .392 (-22%) .736 (-15%) -831.9
1928 BRO NL 149 515 47 127 19 5 0 51 7 59 20 .247 .280 (-12%) .342 (-5%) .395 (-23%) .737 (-15%) -1120.5
1929 BRO NL 104 358 35 99 11 3 1 44 7 29 11 .277 .289 (-4%) .353 (-6%) .415 (-20%) .769 (-14%) -797.7
1930 NY1 NL 10 17 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 2 1 .059 — — — — 0.0
Career · 17 seasons 1,913 7,182 1,048 2,004 320 77 32 591 145 827 487 .279 — — — — 3,724

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.

Postseason Statistics

Playoff Career Batting

Dave Bancroft — Playoff Career Batting
G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO AVG
24 93 10 16 1 0 0 7 6 10 .172

Playoff Batting by Year

Dave Bancroft — Playoff Batting by Year
Year Round Team G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO AVG
1923 WS NY1 6 24 1 2 0 0 0 1 1 2 .083
1922 WS NY1 5 19 4 4 0 0 0 2 2 1 .211
1921 WS NY1 8 33 3 5 1 0 0 3 1 5 .152
1915 WS PHI 5 17 2 5 0 0 0 1 2 2 .294

Game Log & Splits

View full game log (1913 games) →

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

Batting — Home / Away

Dave Bancroft — Batting — Home / Away
SplitGABRHHRRBIAVG
Home966353252497521311.276
Away9473651524102911296.282

Last 10 Games — Batting

Dave Bancroft — Last 10 Games — Batting
DateTmOppResABRH2B3BHRRBIBBSO
1930-05-31 NY1BSNL 100000000
1930-05-26 NY1BROL 000000000
1930-05-23 NY1PHIL 000000000
1930-05-22 NY1PHIL 100000000
1930-05-21 NY1PHIW 400000001
1930-05-20 NY1BSNL 400000000
1930-05-18 NY1BSNW 300000010
1930-05-18 NY1BSNL 301100000
1930-05-17 NY1BSNL 000000010
1930-05-02 NY1CINL 100000000

Fielding Statistics

Career Fielding Totals by Position

Dave Bancroft — Career Fielding Totals by Position
Position G GS PO A E DP
2B 14 0 45 41 6 10
3B 3 0 1 2 0 0
OF 2 0 4 0 0 0
SS 1873 0 4623 6561 660 1017

Season-by-Season Fielding

Dave Bancroft — Season-by-Season Fielding
Year Team Pos G GS PO A E DP
1915 PHI SS 153 0 336 492 64 60
1916 PHI SS 142 0 326 510 60 64
1917 PHI 2B 3 0 11 6 3 2
1917 PHI OF 2 0 4 0 0 0
1917 PHI SS 120 0 274 439 49 56
1918 PHI SS 125 0 371 457 64 57
1919 PHI SS 88 0 242 306 28 43
1920 PHI SS 42 0 106 153 5 28
1920 NY1 SS 108 0 256 445 40 67
1921 NY1 SS 153 0 396 546 39 105
1922 NY1 SS 156 0 405 579 62 93
1923 NY1 2B 11 0 34 35 3 8
1923 NY1 SS 96 0 246 381 43 54
1924 BSN SS 79 0 186 259 18 57
1925 BSN SS 125 0 300 459 44 81
1926 BSN 3B 2 0 1 2 0 0
1926 BSN SS 123 0 317 398 33 75
1927 BSN 3B 1 0 0 0 0 0
1927 BSN SS 104 0 275 329 39 66
1928 BRO SS 149 0 350 484 46 66
1929 BRO SS 102 0 224 309 25 45
1930 NY1 SS 8 0 13 15 1 0

Career Games by Position

Position Diamond

Circle size = games played at each position.

Dave Bancroft Stats, Bio & Career Records
Position Games
Second Base 12
Third Base 3
Shortstop 1873
Left Field 2

Awards & Honors

Dave Bancroft — Awards & Honors
Year Award Notes
1926 Baseball Magazine All-Star SS
1923 Baseball Magazine All-Star SS
1921 Baseball Magazine All-Star SS
1915 Baseball Magazine All-Star SS

Award Voting History

Dave Bancroft — Award Voting History
Year Award League Finish Points Won Points Max Votes First
1926 Most Valuable Player NL 9th 17.0 80 0
1925 Most Valuable Player NL 6th 41.0 80 0

Most Similar Players

Career comps based on counting + rate stats and primary position. Score is relative — closest peer anchors at ~98%.

Career Spans

Dave Bancroft (highlighted) compared to peers across the same era.

  1. 98
    Ossie Bluege
    .272 avg, 43 HR
  2. 93
    Phil Rizzuto HOF
    .273 avg, 38 HR
  3. 91
    Jim Gilliam
    .266 avg, 65 HR
  4. 86
    Claude Ritchey
    .273 avg, 18 HR
  5. 85
    Dick Bartell
    .284 avg, 79 HR
  6. 85
    Jose Offerman
    .273 avg, 57 HR

Compare Dave Bancroft

Side-by-side career stat comparisons against Bancroft's closest peers by position and era.

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vs Arky Vaughan
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Dave Bancroft: the record in brief

April 14, 1915 and May 31, 1930 bracket Dave Bancroft's time in the majors: the debut and the last game on record. Bancroft played for the Philadelphia Phillies (1915 to 1920), the New York Giants (1920 to 1930), the Boston Braves (1924 through 1927), and the Brooklyn Robins (1928 to 1929). Bancroft played primarily as a shortstop and switch-hit and threw right-handed. The bio adds a birth date on April 20, 1891, in Sioux City, IA, USA and a listed size of 5 feet, 9 inches and 160 pounds. The bio records the death on October 9, 1972, in Superior, WI, USA. Bancroft's full given name, per the bio, is David James Bancroft.

Bancroft collected 2,004 hits in 7,182 at bats across 1,913 games, good for a .279 batting average, adding 32 home runs, 591 RBI, and 145 stolen bases. Bancroft's career OPS of .714 combines a .355 on-base mark with .358 slugging. The .279 career average is close to the .276 the league hit across the same seasons.

Frequently Asked Questions about Dave Bancroft

What years did Dave Bancroft play?
Dave Bancroft played in Major League Baseball from 1915 to 1930.
Was Dave Bancroft a pitcher?
No. Dave Bancroft was a position player (Shortstop).
How many home runs did Dave Bancroft hit?
Dave Bancroft hit 32 career home runs with 2,004 hits.
Is Dave Bancroft in the Hall of Fame?
Yes. Dave Bancroft was inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1971.
What teams did Dave Bancroft play for?
Dave Bancroft played for 4 teams: the Philadelphia Phillies (1915–1920), the New York Giants (1920–1923, 1930), the Boston Braves (1924–1927), and the Brooklyn Robins (1928–1929).
What were Dave Bancroft's career stats?
In 1,913 games, Dave Bancroft had 2,004 hits, 32 home runs, 591 RBI, 1,048 runs, and 145 stolen bases, with a .279 batting average.
What position did Dave Bancroft play?
Dave Bancroft played primarily as a shortstop, the position where he appeared in the most games.
How tall was Dave Bancroft and how much did he weigh?
Dave Bancroft was listed at 5 feet 9 inches and 160 pounds.
How many home runs did Dave Bancroft hit each season?
Dave Bancroft's home runs by season: 7 in 1915, 3 in 1916, 4 in 1917, 0 in 1918, 0 in 1919, 0 in 1920, 6 in 1921, 4 in 1922, 1 in 1923, 2 in 1924, 2 in 1925, 1 in 1926, 1 in 1927, 0 in 1928, 1 in 1929, and 0 in 1930. His most in one season was 7, in 1915.
What was Dave Bancroft's career batting average?
Dave Bancroft batted .279 over his career, with 2,004 hits in 7,182 at bats.
How many RBI did Dave Bancroft have?
Dave Bancroft drove in 591 runs in his career.