Earl Bumpus
Pitcher · Career Stats, Bio & Records
Earl Bumpus was a pitcher who played in Major League Baseball for the Kansas City Monarchs, the Birmingham Black Barons, and the Chicago American Giants. Across 19 career appearances, he went 3-7 with a 5.56 ERA and 44 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 317.3.
- 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
- Position
- Pitcher
- Bats / Throws
- L / L
- Height / Weight
- 6'2" / 200 lb
- Died
- 5/14/1985 in Uniontown, KY, USA
Full name: Earnest Earl Bumpus
Negro Leagues Career Statistics
Season-by-Season Pitching
Click a stat to plot it across every season.
| Year | Team | Lg | W | L | G | GS | CG | SHO | SV | IP | H | ER | BB | SO | ERA | Lg ERA | Pitcher PIV |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1944 | KCM | NAL | 1 | 1 | 4 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 18.0 | 17 | 13 | 14 | 10 | 6.50 | 3.57 (-82%) | -146.6 |
| 1944 | BBB | NAL | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 9.0 | 8 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 2.00 | 3.57 (+44%) | 0.0 |
| 1945 | BBB | NAL | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 10.0 | 12 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 2.70 | 3.67 (+26%) | 137.7 |
| 1947 | CAG | NAL | 0 | 5 | 10 | 4 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 41.1 | 57 | 28 | 25 | 22 | 6.10 | 3.97 (-53%) | 396.6 |
| 1948 | CAG | NAL | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10.2 | 17 | 9 | 6 | 7 | 7.59 | 4.10 (-85%) | -70.4 |
| Career · 5 seasons | 3 | 7 | 19 | 10 | 6 | 0 | 2 | 89.0 | 111 | 55 | 50 | 44 | 5.56 | — | 317 | ||
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
| G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | SB | BB | SO | AVG | OBP | SLG | OPS | PIV |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 63 | 166 | 16 | 37 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 26 | 2 | 16 | 1 | .223 | .299 | .289 | .588 | -348 |
Career AVG .223 vs. league average .262 across their career seasons — 15.0% below league average.
Career OBP .299 vs. league average .333 across their career seasons — 10.2% below league average.
Career SLG .289 vs. league average .367 across their career seasons — 21.2% below league average.
Career OPS .588 vs. league average .700 across their career seasons — 16.0% below league average.
Season-by-Season Batting
Click a stat to plot it across every season.
| Year | Team | Lg | G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | SB | BB | SO | AVG | Lg AVG | Lg OBP | Lg SLG | Lg OPS | PIV |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1944 | KCM | NAL | 20 | 52 | 4 | 11 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | .212 | .261 (-19%) | .325 (-22%) | .357 (-35%) | .683 (-29%) | -225.7 |
| 1944 | BBB | NAL | 1 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | — | — | — | — | -225.7 |
| 1945 | BBB | NAL | 13 | 30 | 2 | 11 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 7 | 1 | 1 | 1 | .367 | — | — | — | — | 0.0 |
| 1947 | CAG | NAL | 24 | 66 | 8 | 14 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 15 | 0 | 10 | 0 | .212 | .262 (-19%) | .336 (-4%) | .376 (-23%) | .712 (-14%) | -122.0 |
| 1948 | CAG | NAL | 5 | 14 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0 | .071 | — | — | — | — | 0.0 |
| Career · 5 seasons | 63 | 166 | 16 | 37 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 26 | 2 | 16 | 1 | .223 | — | — | — | — | -573 | ||
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 (134 games) →Per-game data from Retrosheet (regular season, through 2025).
Batting — Home / Away
| Split | G | AB | R | H | HR | RBI | AVG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Home | 41 | 49 | 7 | 20 | 1 | 11 | .408 |
| Away | 46 | 76 | 8 | 16 | 2 | 15 | .211 |
Pitching — Home / Away
| Split | G | IP | H | ER | BB | SO | ERA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Home | 18 | 90.1 | 73 | 10 | 23 | 20 | 1.00 |
| Away | 29 | 122.1 | 112 | 9 | 26 | 20 | 0.66 |
Last 10 Games — Batting
| Date | Tm | Opp | Res | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | BB | SO |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1948-08-29 | CAG | BIR | L | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1948-08-25 | CAG | CVB | W | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 1948-08-19 | CAG | IN9 | L | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1948-07-13 | CAG | KCM | L | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1948-07-04 | CAG | KCM | L | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1948-06-21 | CAG | BIR | L | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| 1948-06-20 | CAG | BIR | L | 6 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 1948-06-13 | CAG | BIR | L | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1948-06-08 | CAG | IN9 | L | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1948-06-01 | CAG | CVB | L | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Last 10 Games — Pitching
| Date | Tm | Opp | Dec | IP | H | R | ER | BB | SO | HR |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1948-08-29 | CAG | BIR | L | 5.0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1948-08-25 | CAG | CVB | W | 7.2 | 7 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 6 | 0 |
| 1948-08-19 | CAG | IN9 | — | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1948-07-13 | CAG | KCM | — | 9.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1948-07-04 | CAG | KCM | L | 3.0 | 10 | 7 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 1 |
| 1948-06-08 | CAG | IN9 | — | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1948-06-01 | CAG | CVB | — | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1948-05-31 | CAG | CVB | L | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1948-05-16 | CAG | MEM | L | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1948-05-05 | CAG | IN9 | — | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Fielding Statistics
Career Fielding Totals by Position
| Position | G | GS | PO | A | E | DP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1B | 9 | 9 | 83 | 6 | 4 | 6 |
| OF | 25 | 22 | 25 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| P | 19 | 10 | 4 | 19 | 3 | 0 |
Season-by-Season Fielding
| Year | Team | Pos | G | GS | PO | A | E | DP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1944 | KCM | OF | 13 | 11 | 12 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 1944 | KCM | P | 4 | 3 | 2 | 6 | 1 | 0 |
| 1944 | BBB | P | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 |
| 1945 | BBB | 1B | 1 | 1 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1945 | BBB | OF | 4 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1945 | BBB | P | 2 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 0 |
| 1947 | CAG | 1B | 6 | 6 | 58 | 3 | 3 | 3 |
| 1947 | CAG | OF | 8 | 7 | 9 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 1947 | CAG | P | 10 | 4 | 2 | 8 | 0 | 0 |
| 1948 | CAG | 1B | 2 | 2 | 17 | 3 | 1 | 3 |
| 1948 | CAG | P | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Career Games by Position
Circle size = games played at each position.
| Position | Games |
|---|---|
| Pitcher | 19 |
| First Base | 9 |
| Left Field | 11 |
| Center Field | 3 |
| Right Field | 11 |
Earl Bumpus: the record in brief
The season rows for Earl Bumpus begin in 1944. The team column moves through the Kansas City Monarchs (1944), the Birmingham Black Barons (1944 to 1945), and the Chicago American Giants (1947 through 1948). Bumpus, a pitcher by primary position, threw and hit left-handed. The recorded size is 6-foot-2 and 200 pounds. The birth record reads February 15, 1914, in Evansville, IN, USA. Bumpus died on May 14, 1985, in Uniontown, KY, USA. Earl Bumpus was the playing name; the full given name is Earnest Earl.
Bumpus's career pitching line is 3 wins, 7 losses and a 5.56 ERA over 19 appearances. The totals include 44 strikeouts. Against a 3.83 league ERA for the same seasons, the 5.56 mark was 45.3% worse. In 1947, one of the busiest seasons, Bumpus posted a 6.10 ERA; the league figure that year was 3.97. Bumpus's career Pitcher PIV, which scores run prevention against each season's league, is 317.3.
Frequently Asked Questions about Earl Bumpus
- Was Earl Bumpus a pitcher?
- Yes. Earl Bumpus pitched in the major leagues, recording 3 wins and 44 strikeouts.
- How many home runs did Earl Bumpus hit?
- Earl Bumpus hit 1 career home run with 37 hits.
- What teams did Earl Bumpus play for?
- Earl Bumpus played for 3 teams: the Kansas City Monarchs (1944), the Birmingham Black Barons (1944–1945), and the Chicago American Giants (1947–1948).
- What were Earl Bumpus's career stats?
- In 19 games, Earl Bumpus went 3-7 with a 5.56 ERA, 44 strikeouts, 89.0 innings pitched, and 2 saves.
- What position did Earl Bumpus play?
- Earl Bumpus played primarily as a pitcher, the position where he appeared in the most games.
- How tall was Earl Bumpus and how much did he weigh?
- Earl Bumpus was listed at 6 feet 2 inches and 200 pounds.
- What was Earl Bumpus's career ERA?
- Earl Bumpus finished with a 5.56 career ERA, going 3-7 with 44 strikeouts.
- How many strikeouts did Earl Bumpus have?
- Earl Bumpus recorded 44 career strikeouts.
- Is Earl Bumpus in the Hall of Fame?
- No. Earl Bumpus has not been inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame.