Ewell Blackwell
Born: 10/23/1922 in Fresno, CA, USA
Died: 10/29/1996 in Hendersonville, NC, USA
MLB Debut: 1942-04-21 | Final Game: 1955-04-18
Bats: R | Throws: R | Height: 6'6" | Weight: 195 lbs
Biography
Ewell Blackwell was a prominent pitcher in Major League Baseball, whose career spanned from 1942 until 1955. Born in 1922, Blackwell made his mark during an era that combined the tail end of the pre-television age with the burgeoning excitement of post-war baseball. He finished his career with a record of 82-78 and an earned run average (ERA) of 3.3, showcasing his effectiveness on the mound. Over his career, he accumulated a total of 839 strikeouts and recorded 10 saves, demonstrating his ability not only to start games but also to close them out when necessary.
Blackwell was selected as an All-Star six times, underscoring his status as one of the top pitchers of his time. Known for his powerful fastball and distinctive pitching style, he was able to dominate hitters and was particularly effective during the 1940s and early 1950s, a period characterized by fierce competition and the emergence of many legendary players. His contributions to the game left a lasting legacy, and he is remembered as one of the notable figures in baseball history.
Negro Leagues Career Statistics
Batting
| PA | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | BB | SO | SB | BA | OBP | SLG | OPS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4.0 | 3.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | .000 | .000 | .000 |
Pitching
| W | L | G | GS | CG | SHO | SV | IP | H | R | ER | HR | BB | SO | ERA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 7.0 | 0 | 0 | 2.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 7.0 | 4.0 | 3.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3.00 |
Negro Leagues Season-by-Season Batting
| Season | PA | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | BB | SO | SB | BA | OBP | SLG | OPS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1947 | 4.0 | 3.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | .000 | .000 | .000 |
Negro Leagues Season-by-Season Pitching
| Season | W | L | G | GS | CG | SHO | SV | IP | H | R | ER | HR | BB | SO | ERA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1947 | 7.0 | 0 | 0 | 2.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 7.0 | 4.0 | 3.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3.00 |
Career Pitching Statistics
| W | L | G | GS | CG | SHO | SV | IP | H | ER | HR | BB | SO | ERA | Pitcher PIV |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 82 | 78 | 236 | 169 | 69 | 15 | 10 | 1321.0 | 1150 | 484 | 67 | 562 | 839 | 3.30 | 0 |
Season-by-Season Pitching
| Year | Team | Lg | W | L | G | GS | CG | SHO | SV | IP | H | ER | BB | SO | ERA | Pitcher PIV |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1942 | CIN | NL | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3.0 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 6.00 | 0.0 |
| 1946 | CIN | NL | 9 | 13 | 33 | 25 | 10 | 5 | 0 | 194.3 | 160 | 53 | 79 | 100 | 2.45 | 3816.3 |
| 1947 | CIN | NL | 22 | 8 | 33 | 33 | 23 | 6 | 0 | 273.0 | 227 | 75 | 95 | 193 | 2.47 | 8956.4 |
| 1948 | CIN | NL | 7 | 9 | 22 | 20 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 138.7 | 134 | 70 | 52 | 114 | 4.54 | 2747.4 |
| 1949 | CIN | NL | 5 | 5 | 30 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 76.7 | 80 | 36 | 34 | 55 | 4.23 | 792.8 |
| 1950 | CIN | NL | 17 | 15 | 40 | 32 | 18 | 1 | 4 | 261.0 | 203 | 86 | 112 | 188 | 2.97 | 8140.2 |
| 1951 | CIN | NL | 16 | 15 | 38 | 32 | 11 | 2 | 2 | 232.7 | 204 | 89 | 97 | 120 | 3.44 | 2024.5 |
| 1952 | CIN | NL | 3 | 12 | 23 | 17 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 102.0 | 107 | 61 | 60 | 48 | 5.38 | -1103.2 |
| 1952 | NYY | AL | 1 | 0 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 16.0 | 12 | 1 | 12 | 7 | 0.56 | - |
| 1953 | NYY | AL | 2 | 0 | 8 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 19.7 | 17 | 8 | 13 | 11 | 3.66 | - |
| 1955 | KC1 | AL | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4.0 | 3 | 3 | 5 | 2 | 6.75 | 0.0 |
Career Batting Statistics
| G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | SB | BB | SO | AVG | OBP | SLG | OPS | PIV |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 237 | 443 | 31 | 77 | 12 | 1 | 1 | 22 | 0 | 12 | 73 | 0.174 | 0.196 | 0.212 | 0.408 | -2564.6 |
Season-by-Season Batting
| Year | Team | Lg | G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | SB | BB | SO | AVG | PIV |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1942 | CIN | NL | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.000 | 0.0 |
| 1946 | CIN | NL | 33 | 56 | 2 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 12 | 0.107 | -589.7 |
| 1947 | CIN | NL | 33 | 106 | 5 | 13 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 17 | 0.123 | -1113.4 |
| 1948 | CIN | NL | 22 | 48 | 3 | 11 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 0.229 | 0.0 |
| 1949 | CIN | NL | 30 | 19 | 3 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0.211 | 0.0 |
| 1950 | CIN | NL | 40 | 89 | 7 | 13 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 5 | 9 | 0.146 | -848.8 |
| 1951 | CIN | NL | 39 | 82 | 10 | 24 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 6 | 0 | 5 | 12 | 0.293 | -12.7 |
| 1952 | CIN | NL | 23 | 32 | 1 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 11 | 0.156 | 0.0 |
| 1952 | NYY | AL | 5 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0.200 | 0.0 |
| 1953 | NYY | AL | 8 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0.000 | 0.0 |
| 1955 | KC1 | AL | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | 0.0 |
Postseason Statistics
Playoff Career Batting
| G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | BB | SO | AVG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.000 |
Playoff Batting by Year
| Year | Round | Team | G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | BB | SO | AVG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1952 | WS | NYA | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.000 |
Playoff Career Pitching
| W | L | G | GS | SV | IP | H | ER | BB | SO | ERA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 5.0 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 7.20 |
Playoff Pitching by Year
| Year | Round | Team | W | L | G | GS | SV | IP | H | ER | BB | SO | ERA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1952 | WS | NYA | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 5.0 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 7.20 |
Fielding Statistics
Career Fielding Totals by Position
| Position | G | GS | PO | A | E | DP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| P | 236 | 0 | 46 | 311 | 19 | 20 |
Season-by-Season Fielding
| Year | Team | Pos | G | GS | PO | A | E | DP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1942 | CIN | P | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| 1946 | CIN | P | 33 | 0 | 7 | 58 | 3 | 7 |
| 1947 | CIN | P | 33 | 0 | 10 | 70 | 3 | 2 |
| 1948 | CIN | P | 22 | 0 | 7 | 40 | 1 | 2 |
| 1949 | CIN | P | 30 | 0 | 4 | 18 | 1 | 1 |
| 1950 | CIN | P | 40 | 0 | 8 | 54 | 5 | 2 |
| 1951 | CIN | P | 38 | 0 | 6 | 46 | 5 | 5 |
| 1952 | CIN | P | 23 | 0 | 2 | 18 | 0 | 1 |
| 1952 | NYA | P | 5 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| 1953 | NYA | P | 8 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 0 |
| 1955 | KC1 | P | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Career Games by Position
| Position | Games |
|---|---|
| Pitcher | 236 |
Awards & Honors
| Year | Award | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 1947 | Baseball Magazine All-Star | P1 |
| 1947 | Baseball Magazine All-Star | P2 |
| 1947 | TSN All-Star | P |
College History
| School Name | City | State | Years Attended |
|---|---|---|---|
| University of La Verne | La Verne | CA | 1941 |
Award Voting History
| Year | Award | League | Finish | Points Won | Points Max | Votes First |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1951 | Most Valuable Player | NL | 19th | 6.0 | 336 | 0 |
| 1950 | Most Valuable Player | NL | 11th | 41.0 | 336 | 0 |
| 1947 | Most Valuable Player | NL | 2nd | 175.0 | 336 | 2 |