Frank Bowerman

Catcher · Career Stats, Bio & Records (1895-1909)

Frank Bowerman was a catcher who played in Major League Baseball from 1895 to 1909 for 4 teams, including the Baltimore Orioles, a span of 15 seasons. In 1,037 career games, he hit .250 with 853 hits, 13 home runs, and 393 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 .250
HR 13
RBI 393
H 853
OPS .601
PIV -4,697
Position
Catcher
Bats / Throws
R / R
Height / Weight
6'2" / 190 lb
Born
12/5/1868 in Romeo, MI, USA
Died
11/30/1948 in Romeo, MI, USA
MLB Debut
1895-08-24
Last Game
1909-07-13

Full name: Frank Eugene Bowerman

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Career Batting Statistics

Frank Bowerman — Career Batting Statistics
G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB BB SO AVG OBP SLG OPS PIV
1,037 3,410 345 853 102 38 13 393 81 130 242 .250 .287 .314 .601 -4,697

Career AVG .250 vs. league average .263 across their career seasons — near league average.

Career OBP .287 vs. league average .322 across their career seasons — 10.7% below league average.

Career SLG .314 vs. league average .341 across their career seasons — 8.1% below league average.

Career OPS .601 vs. league average .663 across their career seasons — 9.3% below league average.

Season-by-Season Batting

Career Arc

Click a stat to plot it across every season.

Frank Bowerman 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
1895 BLN NL 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 — — — — 0.0
1896 BLN NL 4 16 0 2 0 0 0 4 0 1 0 .125 — — — — 0.0
1897 BLN NL 38 130 16 41 5 0 1 21 3 1 13 .315 .291 (+8%) .354 (-7%) .387 (-3%) .741 (-5%) -112.2
1898 BLN NL 5 16 5 7 1 0 0 1 1 2 1 .438 — — — — 0.0
1898 PIT NL 69 241 17 66 6 3 0 29 4 7 9 .274 .270 (+1%) .333 (-11%) .347 (-7%) .680 (-9%) 0.0
1899 PIT NL 110 427 51 111 16 10 3 53 10 12 16 .260 .282 (-8%) .343 (-16%) .366 (avg) .710 (-8%) -691.1
1900 NY1 NL 80 270 25 65 5 3 1 42 10 6 22 .241 .279 (-14%) .338 (-21%) .366 (-20%) .705 (-21%) -900.6
1901 NY1 NL 59 191 20 38 5 3 0 14 3 7 23 .199 .271 (-27%) .326 (-28%) .359 (-29%) .686 (-28%) -850.6
1902 NY1 NL 109 373 38 93 14 6 0 27 12 13 30 .249 .266 (-7%) .321 (-14%) .343 (-7%) .665 (-10%) -670.6
1903 NY1 NL 64 210 22 58 6 2 1 31 5 6 21 .276 .261 (+6%) .316 (-3%) .345 (-2%) .662 (-3%) -103.1
1904 NY1 NL 93 289 38 67 11 4 2 27 7 16 20 .232 .246 (-6%) .300 (-4%) .321 (-1%) .622 (-2%) -103.1
1905 NY1 NL 98 297 37 80 8 1 3 41 6 12 19 .269 .248 (+9%) .307 (+5%) .322 (+3%) .629 (+4%) 244.4
1906 NY1 NL 92 285 23 65 7 3 1 42 5 15 18 .228 .247 (-8%) .307 (-11%) .315 (-10%) .622 (-10%) -437.4
1907 NY1 NL 96 311 31 81 8 2 0 32 11 17 28 .260 .245 (+6%) .304 (+2%) .308 (-3%) .613 (-1%) -23.8
1908 BSN NL 86 254 16 58 8 1 1 25 4 13 15 .228 .240 (-5%) .298 (-8%) .306 (-9%) .605 (-8%) -301.8
1909 BSN NL 33 99 6 21 2 0 0 4 0 2 7 .212 .244 (-13%) .306 (-26%) .312 (-26%) .618 (-26%) -368.6
Career · 16 seasons 1,037 3,410 345 853 102 38 13 393 81 130 242 .250 — — — — -4,318

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

Frank Bowerman — Career Pitching Statistics
W L G GS CG SHO SV IP H ER HR BB SO ERA Pitcher PIV
0 0 1 0 0 0 0 1.0 3 1 0 1 0 9.00 0.0

Career ERA 9.00 vs. league average 2.66 across their career seasons — 238.8% worse than league average.

Season-by-Season Pitching

Pitching Career Arc

Click a stat to plot it across every season.

Frank Bowerman — Season-by-Season Pitching
Year Team Lg W L G GS CG SHO SV IP H ER BB SO ERA Lg ERA Pitcher PIV
1904 NY1 NL 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 1.0 3 1 1 0 9.00 — 0.0
Career · 1 season 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 1.0 3 1 1 0 9.00 — 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 (997 games) →

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

Batting — Home / Away

Frank Bowerman — Batting — Home / Away
SplitGABRHHRRBIAVG
Home50616101584187167.260
Away49016471713925191.238

Pitching — Home / Away

Frank Bowerman — Pitching — Home / Away
SplitGIPHERBBSOERA
Home11.030100.00

Last 10 Games — Batting

Frank Bowerman — Last 10 Games — Batting
DateTmOppResABRH2B3BHRRBIBBSO
1909-07-13 BSNCHCL 301000001
1909-07-13 BSNCHCL 100000000
1909-07-12 BSNSTLW 401000100
1909-07-09 BSNSTLW 401000001
1909-07-07 BSNBROL 100000000
1909-07-05 BSNBROL 402000000
1909-07-05 BSNBROW 401000100
1909-07-03 BSNPHIW 311100000
1909-07-02 BSNPHIW 301000100
1909-06-30 BSNPHIW 300000001

Last 1 Games — Pitching

Frank Bowerman — Last 1 Games — Pitching
DateTmOppDecIPHRERBBSOHR
1904-09-23 NY1PIT — 1.0340100

Fielding Statistics

Career Fielding Totals by Position

Frank Bowerman — Career Fielding Totals by Position
Position G GS PO A E DP
1B 132 73 1197 63 23 44
2B 6 2 13 18 3 0
3B 3 0 5 7 2 0
C 829 343 3673 1077 185 105
OF 1 0 0 0 0 0
P 1 0 0 0 0 0
SS 5 0 5 15 8 2

Season-by-Season Fielding

Frank Bowerman — Season-by-Season Fielding
Year Team Pos G GS PO A E DP
1895 BLN C 1 0 2 0 0 0
1896 BLN 1B 1 0 9 0 0 1
1896 BLN C 3 0 12 6 2 0
1897 BLN C 36 0 155 29 10 1
1898 BLN C 4 0 12 7 1 1
1898 PIT 1B 9 0 84 3 1 5
1898 PIT C 59 0 204 76 16 8
1899 PIT 1B 28 0 259 16 10 14
1899 PIT C 80 0 280 130 23 8
1900 NY1 C 75 0 232 136 28 15
1900 NY1 SS 2 0 3 8 5 2
1901 NY1 1B 1 0 10 0 0 0
1901 NY1 2B 3 0 8 14 2 0
1901 NY1 3B 3 0 5 7 2 0
1901 NY1 C 46 0 256 67 17 6
1901 NY1 SS 3 0 2 7 3 0
1902 NY1 1B 3 0 17 1 0 0
1902 NY1 C 100 0 438 146 28 11
1903 NY1 1B 4 0 32 1 0 0
1903 NY1 C 55 0 316 66 9 9
1903 NY1 OF 1 0 0 0 0 0
1904 NY1 1B 9 7 80 3 0 3
1904 NY1 2B 2 2 2 4 1 0
1904 NY1 C 79 72 413 96 12 11
1904 NY1 P 1 0 0 0 0 0
1905 NY1 1B 17 12 142 10 5 8
1905 NY1 2B 1 0 3 0 0 0
1905 NY1 C 72 67 383 66 8 4
1906 NY1 1B 20 18 177 12 2 2
1906 NY1 C 67 60 300 80 6 8
1907 NY1 1B 29 29 286 9 2 9
1907 NY1 C 62 58 320 70 4 5
1908 BSN 1B 11 7 101 8 3 2
1908 BSN C 63 59 228 69 9 12
1909 BSN C 27 27 122 33 12 6

Career Games by Position

Position Diamond

Circle size = games played at each position.

Frank Bowerman Stats, Bio & Career Records
Position Games
Pitcher 1
Catcher 836
First Base 136
Second Base 6
Third Base 3
Shortstop 5
Center Field 1

College History

Frank Bowerman — College History
School Name City State Years Attended
University of Michigan Ann Arbor MI 1892

Most Similar Players

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

Career Spans

Frank Bowerman (highlighted) compared to peers across the same era.

  1. 98
    Jack Warner
    .249 avg, 6 HR
  2. 83
    Charlie Ganzel
    .259 avg, 10 HR
  3. 79
    William Clarke
    .256 avg, 20 HR
  4. 79
    Jimmy Archer
    .249 avg, 16 HR
  5. 78
    Otto Miller
    .245 avg, 5 HR
  6. 75
    Pat Moran
    .235 avg, 18 HR

Frank Bowerman: the record in brief

Frank Bowerman played a first major league game on August 24, 1895 and a last one on July 13, 1909. By club, Bowerman's seasons break down as the Baltimore Orioles (1895 to 1898), the Pittsburgh Pirates (1898 through 1899), the New York Giants (1900 to 1907), and the Boston Doves (1908 through 1909). Born on December 5, 1868, in Romeo, MI, USA, Bowerman is listed as a catcher and threw and hit right-handed. The bio gives 6 feet, 2 inches and 190 pounds. Bowerman's death is recorded on November 30, 1948, in Romeo, MI, USA. Bowerman's full given name, per the bio, is Frank Eugene Bowerman.

Bowerman collected 853 hits in 3,410 at bats across 1,037 games, good for a .250 batting average, along with 13 homers, 393 runs batted in, and 81 stolen bases. On-base and slugging figures of .287 and .314 give Bowerman a career OPS of .601. Bowerman hit .250 while the league hit .263 over the same span, a figure close to average.

Frequently Asked Questions about Frank Bowerman

What years did Frank Bowerman play?
Frank Bowerman played in Major League Baseball from 1895 to 1909.
Was Frank Bowerman a pitcher?
No. Frank Bowerman was a position player (Catcher), though he did pitch in 1 career game.
How many home runs did Frank Bowerman hit?
Frank Bowerman hit 13 career home runs with 853 hits.
What teams did Frank Bowerman play for?
Frank Bowerman played for 4 teams: the Baltimore Orioles (1895–1898), the Pittsburgh Pirates (1898–1899), the New York Giants (1900–1907), and the Boston Doves (1908–1909).
What were Frank Bowerman's career stats?
In 1,037 games, Frank Bowerman had 853 hits, 13 home runs, 393 RBI, 345 runs, and 81 stolen bases, with a .250 batting average.
What position did Frank Bowerman play?
Frank Bowerman played primarily as a catcher, the position where he appeared in the most games.
How tall was Frank Bowerman and how much did he weigh?
Frank Bowerman was listed at 6 feet 2 inches and 190 pounds.
How many home runs did Frank Bowerman hit each season?
Frank Bowerman's home runs by season: 0 in 1895, 0 in 1896, 1 in 1897, 0 in 1898, 3 in 1899, 1 in 1900, 0 in 1901, 0 in 1902, 1 in 1903, 2 in 1904, 3 in 1905, 1 in 1906, 0 in 1907, 1 in 1908, and 0 in 1909. His most in one season was 3, in 1899 and 1905.
What was Frank Bowerman's career batting average?
Frank Bowerman batted .250 over his career, with 853 hits in 3,410 at bats.
How many RBI did Frank Bowerman have?
Frank Bowerman drove in 393 runs in his career.
What was Frank Bowerman's career ERA?
Frank Bowerman finished with a 9.00 career ERA, going 0-0 with 0 strikeouts.
Is Frank Bowerman in the Hall of Fame?
No. Frank Bowerman has not been inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame.