John Beckwith

Third Baseman · Career Stats, Bio & Records (Final season: 1937)

John Beckwith was a third baseman who played in Major League Baseball for 9 teams, including the Chicago Giants. In 587 career games, he hit .350 with 749 hits, 97 home runs, and 550 RBI. His totals include Negro Leagues seasons, which MLB recognized as major league in 2020. His career PIV — Baseball Data Hub's era-adjusted measure of offensive impact — is 12,267.

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

AVG .350
HR 97
RBI 550
H 749
OPS .999
PIV 12,267
Position
Third Baseman
Bats / Throws
R / R
Height / Weight
5'11" / 200 lb
Born
1/10/1900 in Louisville, KY, USA
Died
1/4/1956 in New York, NY, USA
Last Game
1937-07-05

Full name: John Christopher Beckwith

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Negro Leagues Career Statistics

Batting

John Beckwith — Batting
PA AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO SB BA OBP SLG OPS
218.0 196.0 43.0 76.0 13.0 3.0 14.0 12.0 18.0 6.0 0 .388 .439 .699 1.138

Negro Leagues (season totals). Additive Retrosheet-digitized totals for seasons not already in the logs above; they are not summed into the career line. No team/league breakdown is available, and coverage may be partial.

Negro Leagues Season-by-Season Batting

John Beckwith — Negro Leagues Season-by-Season Batting
Season PA AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO SB BA OBP SLG OPS
1936 1.0 1.0 1.0 1.0 0 0 1.0 2.0 0 0 0 1.000 1.000 4.000 5.000
1937 3.0 3.0 0 2.0 0 0 0 1.0 0 0 0 .667 .667 .667 1.334
Listed seasons · 2 4 4 1 3 0 0 1 3 0 0 0 .750 — — —

Career Batting Statistics

John Beckwith — Career Batting Statistics
G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB BB SO AVG OBP SLG OPS PIV
587 2,137 441 749 159 37 97 550 49 182 33 .350 .404 .596 .999 12,267

Career AVG .350 vs. league average .282 across their career seasons — +24.4% above league average.

Career OBP .404 vs. league average .343 across their career seasons — +17.6% above league average.

Career SLG .596 vs. league average .395 across their career seasons — +50.8% above league average.

Career OPS .999 vs. league average .738 across their career seasons — +35.3% above league average.

Season-by-Season Batting

Career Arc

Click a stat to plot it across every season.

John Beckwith 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
1920 COG NNL 30 115 12 28 6 0 1 14 1 6 0 .243 .271 (-10%) .331 (-15%) .363 (-11%) .694 (-13%) -249.8
1921 COG NNL 46 184 32 72 14 5 4 39 8 15 1 .391 .286 (+37%) .344 (+27%) .395 (+49%) .739 (+38%) 1219.5
1922 CAG NNL 66 223 44 80 21 5 7 52 11 19 5 .359 .285 (+26%) .345 (+20%) .397 (+49%) .743 (+35%) 1394.4
1923 CAG NNL 72 270 36 82 21 9 8 77 5 19 0 .304 .282 (+7%) .344 (+1%) .390 (+38%) .734 (+21%) 864.5
1924 BBS ECL 33 119 33 46 6 1 7 31 10 11 4 .387 .283 (+36%) .345 (+29%) .389 (+62%) .734 (+47%) 962.2
1925 BBS ECL 50 183 47 74 14 1 15 64 3 24 0 .404 .288 (+40%) .349 (+35%) .407 (+81%) .756 (+60%) 2017.2
1926 BBS ECL 26 90 19 30 11 1 4 24 1 8 4 .333 .279 (+19%) .345 (+14%) .390 (+57%) .735 (+37%) 526.2
1926 HBG ECL 28 109 23 36 6 3 5 30 3 11 3 .330 .279 (+18%) .345 (+13%) .390 (+48%) .735 (+32%) 526.2
1927 HBG ECL 67 265 62 92 20 3 8 57 1 18 0 .347 .282 (+23%) .344 (+14%) .392 (+37%) .736 (+26%) 1207.0
1928 HG EAS 19 72 8 22 2 2 1 10 0 2 9 .306 .280 (+9%) .342 (-3%) .395 (+9%) .737 (+4%) 23.2
1929 HG ANL 47 176 45 64 13 2 13 52 2 18 2 .364 .289 (+26%) .353 (+20%) .415 (+64%) .769 (+44%) 1389.2
1929 NLG ANL 9 31 12 16 4 0 1 8 0 4 0 .516 — — — — 1389.2
1930 NLG IND 23 74 25 36 7 3 6 33 4 8 0 .486 .293 (+66%) .354 (+51%) .429 (+111%) .784 (+84%) 1093.7
1931 BBS IND 33 112 26 38 4 1 12 35 0 10 4 .339 .276 (+23%) .338 (+16%) .388 (+84%) .726 (+52%) 953.1
1932 NWB EWL 2 8 2 3 1 0 1 4 0 0 0 .375 — — — — 0.0
1933 NBY IND 16 61 9 21 5 0 2 15 0 6 0 .344 .270 (+27%) .329 (+22%) .377 (+39%) .707 (+31%) 307.7
1934 ND NN2 1 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 .000 — — — — 0.0
1934 NBY IND 13 27 6 7 3 1 2 4 0 1 0 .259 — — — — 0.0
1935 HG NN2 6 15 0 2 1 0 0 1 0 2 0 .133 — — — — 0.0
Career · 19 seasons 587 2,137 441 749 159 37 97 550 49 182 33 .350 — — — — 13,624

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 Pitching Statistics

John Beckwith — Career Pitching Statistics
W L G GS CG SHO SV IP H ER HR BB SO ERA Pitcher PIV
0 1 4 1 1 0 0 18.2 18 8 0 8 12 3.86 0.0

Career ERA 3.86 vs. league average 3.87 across their career seasons — near league average.

Season-by-Season Pitching

Pitching Career Arc

Click a stat to plot it across every season.

John Beckwith — Season-by-Season Pitching
Year Team Lg W L G GS CG SHO SV IP H ER BB SO ERA Lg ERA Pitcher PIV
1920 COG NNL 0 1 1 1 1 0 0 8.0 7 4 4 5 4.50 — 0.0
1921 COG NNL 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 9.2 10 4 2 7 3.72 4.02 (+7%) 0.0
1926 BBS ECL 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 1.0 1 0 2 0 0.00 — 0.0
Career · 3 seasons 0 1 4 1 1 0 0 18.2 18 8 8 12 3.86 — 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 (18 games) →

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

Batting — Home / Away

John Beckwith — Batting — Home / Away
SplitGABRHHRRBIAVG
Home92581511.600
Away92751111.407

Last 10 Games — Batting

John Beckwith — Last 10 Games — Batting
DateTmOppResABRH2B3BHRRBIBBSO
1935-09-02 HOMPTCL 000000000
1935-08-19 HOMPTCL 100000000
1935-08-12 HOMBRNL 200000010
1935-08-08 HOMPTCL 401000000
1935-07-31 HOMNY6L 000000000
1935-07-28 HOMNY6L 101000000
1935-07-27 HOMNY6L 300000010
1929-09-01 NYLHILW 322000010
1929-09-01 NYLHILW 423101010
1925-05-03 BLSCUEL 403100000

Fielding Statistics

Career Fielding Totals by Position

John Beckwith — Career Fielding Totals by Position
Position G GS PO A E DP
1B 97 91 907 35 20 49
2B 3 1 1 8 0 0
3B 211 200 196 343 53 20
C 57 48 209 40 5 6
OF 50 42 70 3 3 1
P 4 1 2 4 0 0
SS 183 132 261 404 83 45

Season-by-Season Fielding

John Beckwith — Season-by-Season Fielding
Year Team Pos G GS PO A E DP
1920 COG 1B 1 1 8 1 0 0
1920 COG C 15 14 64 19 1 4
1920 COG P 1 1 0 1 0 0
1920 COG SS 14 14 37 46 8 6
1921 COG 2B 1 1 1 7 0 0
1921 COG OF 1 0 1 0 0 0
1921 COG P 2 0 2 3 0 0
1921 COG SS 45 45 78 122 34 9
1922 CAG 1B 5 5 47 2 2 4
1922 CAG 3B 57 56 61 130 18 7
1922 CAG OF 1 1 2 0 0 0
1922 CAG SS 3 1 1 2 0 0
1923 CAG 1B 59 58 606 26 13 27
1923 CAG 3B 8 5 10 12 2 1
1923 CAG C 10 9 35 9 1 1
1924 BBS SS 33 33 64 84 13 7
1925 BBS 1B 3 0 0 0 0 0
1925 BBS 2B 1 0 0 0 0 0
1925 BBS 3B 7 1 0 2 1 1
1925 BBS C 2 0 0 0 0 0
1925 BBS SS 39 0 0 0 0 0
1926 BBS 3B 21 21 21 23 6 2
1926 BBS OF 3 1 4 0 0 0
1926 BBS P 1 0 0 0 0 0
1926 BBS SS 6 2 5 7 3 0
1926 HBG 3B 27 27 24 37 6 0
1926 HBG SS 1 1 2 7 0 1
1927 HBG 1B 1 0 2 0 0 1
1927 HBG 3B 26 26 23 49 8 4
1927 HBG C 17 17 66 8 1 1
1927 HBG OF 6 3 2 0 0 0
1927 HBG SS 22 19 39 81 13 16
1928 HG 3B 6 6 3 3 1 0
1928 HG C 1 1 6 0 0 0
1928 HG SS 12 12 22 40 7 4
1929 HG 1B 16 16 142 5 3 10
1929 HG 3B 20 20 21 28 6 1
1929 HG C 5 3 18 3 2 0
1929 HG OF 2 2 2 0 0 0
1929 HG SS 8 5 13 15 5 2
1929 NLG 3B 9 9 9 9 1 0
1930 NLG 1B 11 10 88 1 2 6
1930 NLG 3B 9 9 7 16 0 1
1931 BBS 3B 9 9 8 12 3 1
1931 BBS OF 24 24 44 1 2 1
1932 NWB 2B 1 0 0 1 0 0
1932 NWB 3B 2 2 1 4 0 0
1933 NBY 1B 1 1 14 0 0 1
1933 NBY 3B 5 5 2 8 1 1
1933 NBY C 2 1 5 0 0 0
1933 NBY OF 9 8 12 1 1 0
1934 ND 3B 1 1 2 0 0 0
1934 NBY 3B 3 3 2 10 0 1
1934 NBY C 1 0 0 0 0 0
1934 NBY OF 3 2 3 0 0 0
1935 HG 3B 1 0 2 0 0 0
1935 HG C 4 3 15 1 0 0
1935 HG OF 1 1 0 1 0 0

Career Games by Position

Position Diamond

Circle size = games played at each position.

John Beckwith Stats, Bio & Career Records
Position Games
Pitcher 4
Catcher 57
First Base 97
Second Base 3
Third Base 211
Shortstop 183
Left Field 7
Center Field 1
Right Field 42

Most Similar Players

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

  1. 98
    Willard Brown HOF
    .354 avg, 63 HR
  2. 50
    Buck Leonard HOF
    .343 avg, 100 HR
  3. 36
    Dobie Moore
    .349 avg, 33 HR
  4. 34
    Mule Suttles HOF
    .339 avg, 188 HR
  5. 32
    George Scales
    .329 avg, 76 HR
  6. 31
    Edgar Wesley
    .320 avg, 87 HR

John Beckwith: the record in brief

The season rows for John Beckwith begin in 1920. Beckwith played for the Chicago Giants (1920 to 1921), the Chicago American Giants (1922 to 1923), the Baltimore Black Sox (1924 to 1931), the Harrisburg Giants (1926 through 1927), the Homestead Grays (1928 to 1935), the New York Lincoln Giants (1929 through 1930), the Newark Browns (1932), and the New York Black Yankees (1933 through 1934), among other clubs in the table. At 5-foot-11 and 200 pounds, Beckwith is listed as a third baseman. Beckwith batted and threw right-handed, per the bio block. The recorded birth is January 10, 1900, in Louisville, KY, USA. Beckwith's death is recorded on January 4, 1956, in New York, NY, USA. Beckwith's full given name, per the bio, is John Christopher Beckwith.

In 587 games and 2,137 at bats, Beckwith batted .350 with 749 hits, plus 97 homers, 550 RBI, and 49 stolen bases. On-base and slugging figures of .404 and .596 give Beckwith a career OPS of .999.

Frequently Asked Questions about John Beckwith

Was John Beckwith a pitcher?
No. John Beckwith was a position player (Third Baseman), though he did pitch in 4 career games.
How many home runs did John Beckwith hit?
John Beckwith hit 97 career home runs with 749 hits.
What teams did John Beckwith play for?
John Beckwith played for 9 teams: the Chicago Giants (1920–1921), the Chicago American Giants (1922–1923), the Baltimore Black Sox (1924–1926, 1931), the Harrisburg Giants (1926–1927), the Homestead Grays (1928–1929, 1935), the New York Lincoln Giants (1929–1930), the Newark Browns (1932), the New York Black Yankees (1933–1934), and the Newark Dodgers (1934).
What were John Beckwith's career stats?
In 587 games, John Beckwith had 749 hits, 97 home runs, 550 RBI, 441 runs, and 49 stolen bases, with a .350 batting average.
What position did John Beckwith play?
John Beckwith played primarily as a third baseman, the position where he appeared in the most games.
How tall was John Beckwith and how much did he weigh?
John Beckwith was listed at 5 feet 11 inches and 200 pounds.
How many home runs did John Beckwith hit each season?
John Beckwith's home runs by season: 1 in 1920, 4 in 1921, 7 in 1922, 8 in 1923, 7 in 1924, 15 in 1925, 9 in 1926, 8 in 1927, 1 in 1928, 14 in 1929, 6 in 1930, 12 in 1931, 1 in 1932, 2 in 1933, 2 in 1934, and 0 in 1935. His most in one season was 15, in 1925.
What was John Beckwith's career batting average?
John Beckwith batted .350 over his career, with 749 hits in 2,137 at bats.
How many RBI did John Beckwith have?
John Beckwith drove in 550 runs in his career.
What was John Beckwith's career ERA?
John Beckwith finished with a 3.86 career ERA, going 0-1 with 12 strikeouts.
Is John Beckwith in the Hall of Fame?
No. John Beckwith has not been inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame.