Cliff Blackmon

Pitcher · Career Stats, Bio & Records

Cliff Blackmon was a pitcher who played in Major League Baseball for 7 teams, including the Chicago American Giants. Across 31 career appearances, he went 5-13 with a 6.28 ERA and 85 strikeouts. His totals include Negro Leagues seasons, which MLB recognized as major league in 2020. His career Pitcher PIV — Baseball Data Hub's era-adjusted measure of pitching impact — is 442.2.

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

W–L 5–13
ERA 6.28
WHIP 1.80
SO 85
Pitcher PIV 442.2
Position
Pitcher
Bats / Throws
R / R
Height / Weight
6'0" / 180 lb
Born
3/25/1914 in Mobile, AL, USA
Died
12/17/1995 in Mobile, AL, USA

Full name: Clifford Lorenza Blackmon

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Negro Leagues Career Statistics

Batting

Cliff Blackmon — Batting
PA AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO SB BA OBP SLG OPS
67.0 58.0 6.0 7.0 1.0 1.0 0 4.0 4.0 3.0 0 .121 .190 .172 .362

Pitching

Cliff Blackmon — Pitching
W L GS CG GF SV IP H R ER HR BB SO ERA WHIP
7 20 31 16 9 0 210.2 242 180 87 8 97 72 3.72 1.61

Career Pitching Statistics

Cliff Blackmon — Career Pitching Statistics
W L G GS CG SHO SV IP H ER HR BB SO ERA Pitcher PIV
5 13 31 20 10 1 0 156.1 197 109 6 84 85 6.28 442.2

Career ERA 6.28 vs. league average 4.23 across their career seasons — 48.5% worse than league average.

Season-by-Season Pitching

Pitching Career Arc

Click a stat to plot it across every season.

Cliff Blackmon — Season-by-Season Pitching
Year Team Lg W L G GS CG SHO SV IP H ER BB SO ERA Lg ERA Pitcher PIV
1937 CAG NAL 3 4 11 6 4 1 0 54.0 71 33 26 27 5.50 4.34 (-27%) 286.8
1938 BBB NAL 2 6 13 7 5 0 0 77.0 81 51 43 42 5.96 4.35 (-37%) 574.6
1939 IAB NAL 0 1 1 1 0 0 0 3.0 9 7 2 3 21.00 — 0.0
1939 MRS NAL 0 1 4 4 1 0 0 15.0 25 12 6 6 7.20 4.28 (-68%) -419.2
1941 NYC NN2 0 1 1 1 0 0 0 3.1 7 4 2 1 10.80 — 0.0
1941 SNS NAL 0 0 1 1 0 0 0 4.0 4 2 5 6 4.50 — 0.0
Career · 6 seasons 5 13 31 20 10 1 0 156.1 197 109 84 85 6.28 — 442

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

Cliff Blackmon — Career Batting Statistics
G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB BB SO AVG OBP SLG OPS PIV
34 57 6 7 1 1 0 3 0 6 3 .123 .219 .175 .394 0

Career AVG .123 vs. league average .271 across their career seasons — 54.8% below league average.

Career OBP .219 vs. league average .340 across their career seasons — 35.6% below league average.

Career SLG .175 vs. league average .389 across their career seasons — 54.9% below league average.

Career OPS .394 vs. league average .729 across their career seasons — 45.9% below league average.

Season-by-Season Batting

Career Arc

Click a stat to plot it across every season.

Cliff Blackmon — Season-by-Season Batting
Year Team Lg G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB BB SO AVG Lg AVG Lg OBP Lg SLG Lg OPS PIV
1937 CAG NAL 11 17 1 2 0 1 0 1 0 3 0 .118 — — — — 0.0
1938 BBB NAL 13 30 5 5 1 0 0 2 0 1 3 .167 — — — — 0.0
1939 IAB NAL 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 — — — — 0.0
1939 MRS NAL 6 5 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 .000 — — — — 0.0
1941 HG NN2 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 — — — — 0.0
1941 NYC NN2 1 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 — — — — 0.0
1941 SNS NAL 1 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 — — — — 0.0
Career · 7 seasons 34 57 6 7 1 1 0 3 0 6 3 .123 — — — — 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 (76 games) →

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

Batting — Home / Away

Cliff Blackmon — Batting — Home / Away
SplitGABRHHRRBIAVG
Home15121000.000
Away24353301.086

Pitching — Home / Away

Cliff Blackmon — Pitching — Home / Away
SplitGIPHERBBSOERA
Home1352.0621611142.77
Away24118.11335865484.41

Last 10 Games — Batting

Cliff Blackmon — Last 10 Games — Batting
DateTmOppResABRH2B3BHRRBIBBSO
1941-08-07 SNOKCML 200000000
1941-07-04 SNOMEML 000000000
1941-06-19 NY6NW2L 200000000
1939-09-04 MEMCAGL 000000000
1939-08-18 MEMKCML 000000000
1939-08-13 MEMKCML 100000000
1939-07-26 MEMSSAW 100000000
1939-07-16 MEMSSAL 000000010
1939-07-09 MEMCV9L 200000000
1939-05-30 ATNSSAL 100000000

Last 10 Games — Pitching

Cliff Blackmon — Last 10 Games — Pitching
DateTmOppDecIPHRERBBSOHR
1941-08-07 SNOKCM — 4.0430560
1941-07-04 SNOMEM L 3.0040000
1941-06-19 NY6NW2 — 3.0630100
1939-09-04 MEMCAG — 0.0000000
1939-08-18 MEMKCM L 9.01040000
1939-07-26 MEMSSA — 5.0433300
1939-07-09 MEMCV9 L 6.0933210
1939-05-30 ATNSSA L 3.0980231
1938-09-04 BIRKCM L 7.01080000
1938-08-16 BIRMEM L 7.0998781

Fielding Statistics

Career Fielding Totals by Position

Cliff Blackmon — Career Fielding Totals by Position
Position G GS PO A E DP
P 31 20 3 37 3 1
PR 1 0 0 0 0 0

Season-by-Season Fielding

Cliff Blackmon — Season-by-Season Fielding
Year Team Pos G GS PO A E DP
1937 CAG P 11 6 2 15 1 0
1938 BBB P 13 7 0 16 2 1
1939 IAB P 1 1 0 1 0 0
1939 MRS P 4 4 1 4 0 0
1941 HG PR 1 0 0 0 0 0
1941 NYC P 1 1 0 1 0 0
1941 SNS P 1 1 0 0 0 0

Career Games by Position

Position Diamond

Circle size = games played at each position.

Cliff Blackmon — Career Games by Position
Position Games
Pitcher 31

Cliff Blackmon: the record in brief

The season rows for Cliff Blackmon begin in 1937. The team column moves through the Chicago American Giants (1937), the Birmingham Black Barons (1938), the Indianapolis ABCs/Atlanta Black Crackers (1939), the Memphis Red Sox (1939), the Homestead Grays (1941), the New York Cubans (1941), and the St. Louis-New Orleans Stars (1941). Blackmon played primarily as a pitcher and threw and hit right-handed. The bio adds a birth date on March 25, 1914, in Mobile, AL, USA and a listed size of 180 pounds on a 6-foot-0 frame. The bio records the death on December 17, 1995, in Mobile, AL, USA. The given name on file is Clifford Lorenza Blackmon.

The pitching table credits Blackmon with a 5-13 record and a 6.28 ERA in 31 games. Also on Blackmon's record: 85 strikeouts and 10 complete games. The league ERA over Blackmon's seasons was 4.23, so the 6.28 figure ran 48.5% worse than average. 1937 was Blackmon's sharpest full season, a 5.50 ERA against the league's 4.34.

Frequently Asked Questions about Cliff Blackmon

Was Cliff Blackmon a pitcher?
Yes. Cliff Blackmon pitched in the major leagues, recording 5 wins and 85 strikeouts.
How many home runs did Cliff Blackmon hit?
Cliff Blackmon hit 0 career home runs with 7 hits.
What teams did Cliff Blackmon play for?
Cliff Blackmon played for 7 teams: the Chicago American Giants (1937), the Birmingham Black Barons (1938), the Indianapolis ABCs/Atlanta Black Crackers (1939), the Memphis Red Sox (1939), the Homestead Grays (1941), the New York Cubans (1941), and the St. Louis-New Orleans Stars (1941).
What were Cliff Blackmon's career stats?
In 31 games, Cliff Blackmon went 5-13 with a 6.28 ERA, 85 strikeouts, and 156.1 innings pitched.
What position did Cliff Blackmon play?
Cliff Blackmon played primarily as a pitcher, the position where he appeared in the most games.
How tall was Cliff Blackmon and how much did he weigh?
Cliff Blackmon was listed at 6 feet and 180 pounds.
What was Cliff Blackmon's career ERA?
Cliff Blackmon finished with a 6.28 career ERA, going 5-13 with 85 strikeouts.
How many strikeouts did Cliff Blackmon have?
Cliff Blackmon recorded 85 career strikeouts.
Is Cliff Blackmon in the Hall of Fame?
No. Cliff Blackmon has not been inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame.