Joe Boley

Shortstop · Career Stats, Bio & Records (1927-1932)

Joe Boley was a shortstop who played in Major League Baseball from 1927 to 1932 for the Philadelphia Athletics and the Cleveland Guardians, a span of 6 seasons. In 540 career games, he hit .269 with 478 hits, 7 home runs, and 227 RBI.

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 .269
HR 7
RBI 227
H 478
OPS .677
PIV -2,699
Position
Shortstop
Bats / Throws
R / R
Height / Weight
5'11" / 170 lb
Born
7/19/1896 in Mahanoy City, PA, USA
Died
12/30/1962 in Mahanoy City, PA, USA
MLB Debut
1927-04-12
Last Game
1932-06-29

Full name: John Peter Boley

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Career Batting Statistics

Joe Boley — Career Batting Statistics
G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB BB SO AVG OBP SLG OPS PIV
540 1,780 203 478 88 22 7 227 15 130 84 .269 .323 .354 .677 -2,699

Career AVG .269 vs. league average .283 across their career seasons — 5.1% below league average.

Career OBP .323 vs. league average .345 across their career seasons — 6.4% below league average.

Career SLG .354 vs. league average .402 across their career seasons — 11.9% below league average.

Career OPS .677 vs. league average .747 across their career seasons — 9.3% below league average.

Season-by-Season Batting

Career Arc

Click a stat to plot it across every season.

Joe Boley — 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
1927 PHA AL 118 370 49 115 18 8 1 52 8 26 14 .311 .282 (+10%) .344 (+5%) .392 (+5%) .736 (+5%) 319.1
1928 PHA AL 132 425 49 112 20 3 0 49 5 32 11 .264 .280 (-6%) .342 (-8%) .395 (-18%) .737 (-13%) -887.1
1929 PHA AL 91 303 36 76 17 6 2 47 1 24 16 .251 .289 (-13%) .353 (-12%) .415 (-12%) .769 (-12%) -663.9
1930 PHA AL 121 420 41 116 22 2 4 55 0 32 26 .276 .293 (-6%) .354 (-6%) .429 (-15%) .784 (-11%) -717.4
1931 PHA AL 67 224 26 51 9 3 0 20 1 15 13 .228 .276 (-18%) .338 (-17%) .388 (-24%) .726 (-21%) -749.5
1932 PHA AL 10 34 2 7 2 0 0 4 0 1 4 .206 — — — — 0.0
1932 CLE AL 1 4 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .250 — — — — 0.0
Career · 7 seasons 540 1,780 203 478 88 22 7 227 15 130 84 .269 — — — — -2,699

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

Joe Boley — Playoff Career Batting
G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO AVG
12 39 2 6 0 0 0 2 0 5 .154

Playoff Batting by Year

Joe Boley — Playoff Batting by Year
Year Round Team G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO AVG
1931 WS PHA 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 .000
1930 WS PHA 6 21 1 2 0 0 0 1 0 1 .095
1929 WS PHA 5 17 1 4 0 0 0 1 0 3 .235

Game Log & Splits

View full game log (540 games) →

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

Batting — Home / Away

Joe Boley — Batting — Home / Away
SplitGABRHHRRBIAVG
Home2799091062364115.260
Away261873972423112.277

Last 10 Games — Batting

Joe Boley — Last 10 Games — Batting
DateTmOppResABRH2B3BHRRBIBBSO
1932-06-29 CLEDETL 401000000
1932-05-03 PHABOSW 401000100
1932-05-02 PHABOSW 411000000
1932-04-30 PHAMINL 300000001
1932-04-29 PHAMINL 301000000
1932-04-28 PHAMINL 401000101
1932-04-26 PHABOSL 300000000
1932-04-18 PHAMINL 411000001
1932-04-17 PHAMINW 502200200
1932-04-16 PHAMINW 300000011

Fielding Statistics

Career Fielding Totals by Position

Joe Boley — Career Fielding Totals by Position
Position G GS PO A E DP
2B 1 0 0 1 0 0
3B 1 0 1 0 0 0
SS 527 0 918 1330 102 245

Season-by-Season Fielding

Joe Boley — Season-by-Season Fielding
Year Team Pos G GS PO A E DP
1927 PHA SS 114 0 182 318 26 49
1928 PHA SS 132 0 244 320 30 51
1929 PHA 3B 1 0 1 0 0 0
1929 PHA SS 88 0 161 229 15 50
1930 PHA SS 120 0 221 296 16 62
1931 PHA 2B 1 0 0 1 0 0
1931 PHA SS 62 0 102 149 12 31
1932 PHA SS 10 0 8 18 3 2
1932 CLE SS 1 0 0 0 0 0

Career Games by Position

Position Diamond

Circle size = games played at each position.

Joe Boley — Career Games by Position
Position Games
Second Base 2
Third Base 1
Shortstop 525

Most Similar Players

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

Career Spans

Joe Boley (highlighted) compared to peers across the same era.

  1. 98
    Felton Snow
    .266 avg, 12 HR
  2. 96
    Howard Freigau
    .272 avg, 15 HR
  3. 96
    Wally Gilbert
    .269 avg, 7 HR
  4. 95
    Mox McQuery
    .271 avg, 13 HR
  5. 91
    Stu Martin
    .268 avg, 16 HR
  6. 90
    David Fletcher
    .276 avg, 16 HR

Joe Boley: the record in brief

The profile opens with Joe Boley's first major league game on April 12, 1927; the last one listed came on June 29, 1932. Club by club, the record runs the Philadelphia Athletics (1927 to 1932) and the Cleveland Indians (1932). Born on July 19, 1896, in Mahanoy City, PA, USA, Boley is listed as a shortstop and threw and hit right-handed. The bio gives 5'11" and 170 pounds. Boley's death is recorded on December 30, 1962, in Mahanoy City, PA, USA. The given name on file is John Peter Boley.

The batting record for Boley: 540 games, 478 hits in 1,780 at bats, and a .269 average, plus 7 homers and 227 RBI. Reaching base at a .323 clip and slugging .354, Boley finished with a .677 OPS. Measured against the leagues Boley played in, the .269 career average compares with a .283 league average over the same seasons, 5.1% below the league. The highest hit total in a season was 116, in 1930. The Lg AVG column puts Boley's 1927 at .311 against .282, the widest margin among the busiest seasons at 10%.

Frequently Asked Questions about Joe Boley

What years did Joe Boley play?
Joe Boley played in Major League Baseball from 1927 to 1932.
Was Joe Boley a pitcher?
No. Joe Boley was a position player (Shortstop).
How many home runs did Joe Boley hit?
Joe Boley hit 7 career home runs with 478 hits.
What teams did Joe Boley play for?
Joe Boley played for 2 teams: the Philadelphia Athletics (1927–1932) and the Cleveland Indians (1932).
What were Joe Boley's career stats?
In 540 games, Joe Boley had 478 hits, 7 home runs, 227 RBI, 203 runs, and 15 stolen bases, with a .269 batting average.
What position did Joe Boley play?
Joe Boley played primarily as a shortstop, the position where he appeared in the most games.
How tall was Joe Boley and how much did he weigh?
Joe Boley was listed at 5 feet 11 inches and 170 pounds.
How many home runs did Joe Boley hit each season?
Joe Boley's home runs by season: 1 in 1927, 0 in 1928, 2 in 1929, 4 in 1930, 0 in 1931, and 0 in 1932. His most in one season was 4, in 1930.
What was Joe Boley's career batting average?
Joe Boley batted .269 over his career, with 478 hits in 1,780 at bats.
How many RBI did Joe Boley have?
Joe Boley drove in 227 runs in his career.
Is Joe Boley in the Hall of Fame?
No. Joe Boley has not been inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame.