Charles Bender

Pitcher · Career Stats, Hall of Fame Bio & Records (1903-1925)

Charles Bender was a pitcher who played in Major League Baseball from 1903 to 1925 for 4 teams, including the Philadelphia Athletics, a span of 23 seasons. Across 459 career appearances, he went 212-127 with a 2.46 ERA, 1,711 strikeouts, and 34 saves. He also batted .212 with 6 home runs. Charles Bender was inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1953. His career Pitcher PIV — Baseball Data Hub's era-adjusted measure of pitching impact — is 43118.1.

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

⭐ Hall of Fame 1953
W–L 212–127
ERA 2.46
WHIP 1.11
SO 1,711
Pitcher PIV 43118.1
Position
Pitcher
Bats / Throws
R / R
Height / Weight
6'2" / 185 lb
Born
5/5/1884 in Crow Wing County, MN, USA
Died
5/22/1954 in Philadelphia, PA, USA
MLB Debut
1903-04-20
Last Game
1925-07-21
Hall of Fame
Inducted 1953 (BBWAA)

Full name: Charles Albert Bender

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Career Pitching Statistics

Charles Bender — Career Pitching Statistics
W L G GS CG SHO SV IP H ER HR BB SO ERA Pitcher PIV
212 127 459 334 255 40 34 3017.0 2,645 823 40 712 1,711 2.46 43118.1

Career ERA 2.46 vs. league average 2.97 across their career seasons — 17.5% better than league average.

Season-by-Season Pitching

Pitching Career Arc

Click a stat to plot it across every season.

Charles Bender Stats, Bio & Career Records
Year Team Lg W L G GS CG SHO SV IP H ER BB SO ERA Lg ERA Pitcher PIV
1903 PHA AL 17 14 36 33 29 2 0 270.0 239 92 65 127 3.07 3.10 (+1%) 41.4
1904 PHA AL 10 11 29 20 18 4 0 203.2 167 65 59 149 2.87 2.66 (-8%) 3802.1
1905 PHA AL 18 11 35 23 18 4 0 229.0 193 72 90 142 2.83 2.82 (avg) -414.5
1906 PHA AL 15 10 36 27 24 0 3 238.1 208 67 48 159 2.53 2.68 (+5%) 4133.4
1907 PHA AL 16 8 33 24 20 4 3 219.1 185 50 34 112 2.05 2.50 (+18%) 4477.3
1908 PHA AL 8 9 18 17 14 2 1 138.2 121 27 21 85 1.75 2.40 (+27%) 3159.7
1909 PHA AL 18 8 34 29 24 5 1 250.0 196 46 45 161 1.66 2.55 (+35%) 6232.4
1910 PHA AL 23 5 30 28 25 3 0 250.0 182 44 47 155 1.58 2.79 (+43%) 6228.4
1911 PHA AL 17 5 31 24 16 2 3 216.1 198 52 58 114 2.16 3.37 (+36%) 3675.8
1912 PHA AL 13 8 27 19 12 1 2 171.0 169 52 33 90 2.74 3.36 (+19%) 3890.7
1913 PHA AL 21 10 48 21 14 2 13 236.2 208 58 59 135 2.21 3.07 (+28%) 4504.1
1914 PHA AL 17 3 28 23 14 7 2 179.0 159 45 55 107 2.26 2.93 (+23%) 2018.8
1915 BLF FL 4 16 26 23 15 0 1 178.1 198 79 37 89 3.99 2.90 (-38%) 1732.2
1916 PHI NL 7 7 27 13 4 0 3 122.2 137 51 34 43 3.74 2.78 (-35%) -881.9
1917 PHI NL 8 2 20 10 8 4 2 113.0 84 21 26 43 1.67 2.69 (+38%) 518.5
1925 CHA AL 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 1.0 1 2 1 0 18.00 — 0.0
Career · 16 seasons 212 127 459 334 255 40 34 3,017.0 2,645 823 712 1,711 2.46 — 43,118

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

Charles Bender — Career Batting Statistics
G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB BB SO AVG OBP SLG OPS PIV
507 1,147 102 243 40 10 6 116 20 75 160 .212 .266 .280 .546 -2,504

Career AVG .212 vs. league average .255 across their career seasons — 17.0% below league average.

Career OBP .266 vs. league average .318 across their career seasons — 16.3% below league average.

Career SLG .280 vs. league average .336 across their career seasons — 16.8% below league average.

Career OPS .546 vs. league average .655 across their career seasons — 16.6% below league average.

Season-by-Season Batting

Career Arc

Click a stat to plot it across every season.

Charles Bender 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
1903 PHA AL 43 120 10 22 4 1 0 8 3 3 14 .183 .261 (-30%) .316 (-32%) .345 (-33%) .662 (-32%) -580.5
1904 PHA AL 31 79 8 18 3 2 0 5 3 5 12 .228 .246 (-8%) .300 (-6%) .321 (-2%) .622 (-4%) -51.5
1905 PHA AL 38 92 11 20 3 2 0 14 3 3 19 .217 .248 (-12%) .307 (-21%) .322 (-9%) .629 (-15%) -226.3
1906 PHA AL 44 99 9 25 4 0 3 13 2 9 13 .253 .247 (+2%) .307 (+8%) .315 (+22%) .622 (+15%) 249.4
1907 PHA AL 45 100 10 23 6 1 0 8 2 5 6 .230 .245 (-6%) .304 (-12%) .308 (avg) .613 (-6%) -113.3
1908 PHA AL 20 50 5 11 1 0 0 2 1 10 13 .220 .240 (-9%) .298 (+17%) .306 (-22%) .605 (-2%) 37.8
1909 PHA AL 40 93 6 20 5 0 0 9 1 5 10 .215 .244 (-12%) .306 (-17%) .312 (-14%) .618 (-15%) -213.6
1910 PHA AL 36 93 6 25 3 2 0 16 0 6 8 .269 .249 (+8%) .317 (+5%) .326 (+5%) .644 (+5%) 74.3
1911 PHA AL 32 79 9 13 0 0 0 8 2 2 14 .165 .266 (-38%) .336 (-42%) .356 (-54%) .693 (-48%) -584.2
1912 PHA AL 27 60 5 9 1 1 0 4 2 6 3 .150 .268 (-44%) .335 (-32%) .358 (-44%) .694 (-38%) -360.3
1913 PHA AL 48 78 7 12 3 1 0 10 1 6 17 .154 .259 (-41%) .325 (-34%) .345 (-37%) .670 (-36%) -428.2
1914 PHA AL 28 62 4 9 1 0 1 8 0 4 13 .145 .255 (-43%) .322 (-39%) .339 (-38%) .661 (-39%) -359.4
1915 BLF FL 26 60 7 16 2 0 1 2 0 6 6 .267 .250 (+6%) .318 (+5%) .332 (+5%) .651 (+5%) 52.0
1916 PHI NL 28 43 2 12 4 0 0 5 0 3 9 .279 — — — — 0.0
1917 PHI NL 20 39 3 8 0 0 1 4 0 2 3 .205 — — — — 0.0
1925 CHA AL 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 — — — — 0.0
Career · 16 seasons 507 1,147 102 243 40 10 6 116 20 75 160 .212 — — — — -2,504

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

Charles Bender — Playoff Career Batting
G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO AVG
10 32 1 3 0 0 0 2 1 4 .094

Playoff Batting by Year

Charles Bender — Playoff Batting by Year
Year Round Team G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO AVG
1914 WS PHA 1 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
1913 WS PHA 2 8 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 .000
1911 WS PHA 3 11 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 .091
1910 WS PHA 2 6 1 2 0 0 0 1 1 1 .333
1905 WS PHA 2 5 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 .000

Playoff Career Pitching

Charles Bender — Playoff Career Pitching
W L G GS SV IP H ER BB SO ERA
6 4 10 10 0 85.0 65 23 21 59 2.44

Playoff Pitching by Year

Charles Bender — Playoff Pitching by Year
Year Round Team W L G GS SV IP H ER BB SO ERA
1914 WS PHA 0 1 1 1 0 5.1 8 6 2 3 10.12
1913 WS PHA 2 0 2 2 0 18.0 19 8 1 9 4.00
1911 WS PHA 2 1 3 3 0 26.0 16 3 8 20 1.04
1910 WS PHA 1 1 2 2 0 18.2 13 4 4 14 1.93
1905 WS PHA 1 1 2 2 0 17.0 9 2 6 13 1.06

Game Log & Splits

View full game log (968 games) →

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

Batting — Home / Away

Charles Bender — Batting — Home / Away
SplitGABRHHRRBIAVG
Home27355751119248.214
Away23659351123454.207

Pitching — Home / Away

Charles Bender — Pitching — Home / Away
SplitGIPHERBBSOERA
Home2381563.213152923639191.68
Away2211453.213453063478271.89

Last 10 Games — Batting

Charles Bender — Last 10 Games — Batting
DateTmOppResABRH2B3BHRRBIBBSO
1925-07-21 CHWBOSL 000000000
1917-09-30 PHISTLW 301000100
1917-09-24 PHIPITW 412000100
1917-09-05 PHINY1L 300000001
1917-08-30 PHIBSNW 312001100
1917-08-28 PHISTLL 000000000
1917-08-27 PHISTLW 000000000
1917-08-25 PHICINW 300000000
1917-08-24 PHICINW 100000000
1917-08-21 PHICHCW 311000010

Last 10 Games — Pitching

Charles Bender — Last 10 Games — Pitching
DateTmOppDecIPHRERBBSOHR
1925-07-21 CHWBOS — 1.0122101
1917-09-30 PHISTL W 6.0711310
1917-09-24 PHIPIT W 9.0700050
1917-09-05 PHINY1 L 8.0933161
1917-08-30 PHIBSN W 9.0933130
1917-08-28 PHISTL — 1.0000000
1917-08-27 PHISTL SV 2.0200030
1917-08-25 PHICIN W 9.0611000
1917-08-24 PHICIN SV 2.0222230
1917-08-21 PHICHC W 9.0100250

Fielding Statistics

Career Fielding Totals by Position

Charles Bender — Career Fielding Totals by Position
Position G GS PO A E DP
1B 6 2 54 4 4 3
2B 1 0 0 0 0 0
3B 1 0 1 1 0 0
OF 5 3 9 0 0 0
P 459 168 173 809 55 24

Season-by-Season Fielding

Charles Bender — Season-by-Season Fielding
Year Team Pos G GS PO A E DP
1903 PHA 1B 3 0 23 1 1 2
1903 PHA OF 1 0 2 0 0 0
1903 PHA P 36 0 12 79 9 0
1904 PHA P 29 20 13 48 7 0
1905 PHA P 35 23 14 77 3 2
1906 PHA OF 4 3 7 0 0 0
1906 PHA P 36 27 25 54 8 1
1907 PHA 1B 2 1 18 0 3 0
1907 PHA 2B 1 0 0 0 0 0
1907 PHA P 33 24 14 57 5 2
1908 PHA 1B 1 1 13 3 0 1
1908 PHA P 18 17 12 28 3 0
1909 PHA P 34 29 13 78 4 1
1910 PHA P 30 28 13 85 3 3
1911 PHA P 31 0 11 58 0 4
1912 PHA P 27 0 6 36 2 2
1913 PHA P 48 0 8 56 2 1
1914 PHA P 28 0 7 47 2 0
1915 BLF P 26 0 12 45 4 3
1916 PHI 3B 1 0 1 1 0 0
1916 PHI P 27 0 8 39 2 1
1917 PHI P 20 0 5 22 1 4
1925 CHA P 1 0 0 0 0 0

Career Games by Position

Position Diamond

Circle size = games played at each position.

Charles Bender Stats, Bio & Career Records
Position Games
Pitcher 459
First Base 7
Second Base 1
Third Base 1
Left Field 2
Center Field 4

Awards & Honors

Charles Bender — Awards & Honors
Year Award Notes
1911 Baseball Magazine All-Star P4
1910 Baseball Magazine All-Star P3
1910 Baseball Magazine All-Star P4

College History

Charles Bender — College History
School Name City State Years Attended
Dickinson College Carlisle PA 1902
Carlisle Indian Industrial School Carlisle PA 1901, 1902

Award Voting History

Charles Bender — Award Voting History
Year Award League Finish Points Won Points Max Votes First
1913 Most Valuable Player AL 22th 2.0 64 0

Most Similar Players

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

Career Spans

Charles Bender (highlighted) compared to peers across the same era.

  1. 98
    Eddie Cicotte
    209-149, 2.38 ERA
  2. 91
    Ed Walsh HOF
    195-126, 1.82 ERA
  3. 89
    Carl Hubbell HOF
    253-154, 2.98 ERA
  4. 87
    Mordecai Brown HOF
    239-130, 2.06 ERA
  5. 84
    Red Ames
    183-167, 2.63 ERA
  6. 82
    Slim Sallee
    174-143, 2.56 ERA

Compare Charles Bender

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

vs Cy Young
vs Walter Johnson
vs Christy Mathewson
vs Lefty Grove
vs Pete Alexander
vs Dazzy Vance

Browse all MLB player comparisons →

See Charles Bender in Another Era

What would Bender's 1910 season look like in a different era's run environment? Try the cross-era translation with a live slider.

Translate Charles Bender's peak season across eras →

Charles Bender: the record in brief

According to the bio, Charles Bender debuted on April 20, 1903 and played a final game on July 21, 1925. Club by club, the record runs the Philadelphia Athletics (1903 to 1914), the Baltimore Terrapins (1915), the Philadelphia Phillies (1916 through 1917), and the Chicago White Sox (1925). The bio lists Bender as a pitcher who both batted and threw right-handed. Bender is listed at 185 pounds on a 6-foot-2 frame. Bender was born on May 5, 1884, in Crow Wing County, MN, USA. Bender's death is recorded on May 22, 1954, in Philadelphia, PA, USA. Bender's full given name, per the bio, is Charles Albert Bender.

The pitching table credits Bender with a 212-127 record and a 2.46 ERA in 459 games. The same table counts 1,711 strikeouts, 255 complete games, 40 shutouts, and 34 saves. The leagues Bender pitched in allowed 2.97 earned runs per nine over those seasons, so the career ERA was 17.5% better than average. No season topped the 23 wins of 1910.

Frequently Asked Questions about Charles Bender

What years did Charles Bender play?
Charles Bender played in Major League Baseball from 1903 to 1925.
Was Charles Bender a pitcher?
Yes. Charles Bender pitched in the major leagues, recording 212 wins and 1711 strikeouts.
How many home runs did Charles Bender hit?
Charles Bender hit 6 career home runs with 243 hits.
Is Charles Bender in the Hall of Fame?
Yes. Charles Bender was inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1953.
What teams did Charles Bender play for?
Charles Bender played for 4 teams: the Philadelphia Athletics (1903–1914), the Baltimore Terrapins (1915), the Philadelphia Phillies (1916–1917), and the Chicago White Sox (1925).
What were Charles Bender's career stats?
In 459 games, Charles Bender went 212-127 with a 2.46 ERA, 1,711 strikeouts, 3,017.0 innings pitched, and 34 saves. At the plate he had 243 hits and 6 home runs.
What position did Charles Bender play?
Charles Bender played primarily as a pitcher, the position where he appeared in the most games.
How tall was Charles Bender and how much did he weigh?
Charles Bender was listed at 6 feet 2 inches and 185 pounds.
What was Charles Bender's career ERA?
Charles Bender finished with a 2.46 career ERA, going 212-127 with 1,711 strikeouts.
How many strikeouts did Charles Bender have?
Charles Bender recorded 1,711 career strikeouts.