Bill Cissell

Second Baseman · Career Stats, Bio & Records (1928-1938)

Bill Cissell was a second baseman who played in Major League Baseball from 1928 to 1938 for 5 teams, including the Chicago White Sox, a span of 11 seasons. In 956 career games, he hit .267 with 990 hits, 29 home runs, and 423 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 .267
HR 29
RBI 423
H 990
OPS .669
PIV -6,202
Position
Second Baseman
Bats / Throws
R / R
Height / Weight
5'11" / 170 lb
Born
1/3/1904 in Perryville, MO, USA
Died
3/15/1949 in Chicago, IL, USA
MLB Debut
1928-04-11
Last Game
1938-09-25

Full name: Chalmer William Cissell

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Career Batting Statistics

Bill Cissell — Career Batting Statistics
G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB BB SO AVG OBP SLG OPS PIV
956 3,707 516 990 173 43 29 423 113 212 250 .267 .308 .360 .669 -6,202

Career AVG .267 vs. league average .280 across their career seasons — near league average.

Career OBP .308 vs. league average .342 across their career seasons — 9.9% below league average.

Career SLG .360 vs. league average .399 across their career seasons — 9.6% below league average.

Career OPS .669 vs. league average .741 across their career seasons — 9.7% below league average.

Season-by-Season Batting

Career Arc

Click a stat to plot it across every season.

Bill Cissell 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
1928 CHA AL 125 443 66 115 22 3 1 60 18 29 41 .260 .280 (-8%) .342 (-10%) .395 (-17%) .737 (-14%) -1005.5
1929 CHA AL 152 618 83 173 27 12 5 62 25 28 53 .280 .289 (-3%) .353 (-12%) .415 (-7%) .769 (-9%) -1082.7
1930 CHA AL 141 562 82 152 28 9 2 48 16 28 32 .270 .293 (-8%) .354 (-13%) .429 (-16%) .784 (-14%) -1460.3
1931 CHA AL 109 409 42 90 13 5 1 46 18 16 26 .220 .276 (-20%) .338 (-24%) .388 (-27%) .726 (-26%) -1727.9
1932 CHA AL 12 43 7 11 1 1 1 5 0 1 0 .256 — — — — 0.0
1932 CLE AL 131 541 78 173 35 6 6 93 18 28 25 .320 .275 (+16%) .335 (+6%) .391 (+12%) .726 (+9%) 0.0
1933 CLE AL 112 409 53 94 21 3 6 33 6 31 29 .230 .270 (-15%) .329 (-14%) .377 (-10%) .707 (-12%) -801.3
1934 BOS AL 102 416 71 111 13 4 4 44 11 28 23 .267 .278 (-4%) .340 (-8%) .392 (-12%) .733 (-10%) -674.3
1937 PHA AL 34 117 15 31 7 0 1 14 0 17 10 .265 .276 (-4%) .342 (+5%) .398 (-12%) .740 (-4%) -42.8
1938 NY1 NL 38 149 19 40 6 0 2 18 1 6 11 .268 .272 (-2%) .341 (-13%) .392 (-11%) .734 (-12%) -310.3
Career · 10 seasons 956 3,707 516 990 173 43 29 423 113 212 250 .267 — — — — -7,105

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 (956 games) →

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

Batting — Home / Away

Bill Cissell — Batting — Home / Away
SplitGABRHHRRBIAVG
Home490185425548815201.263
Away466185626250214217.270

Last 10 Games — Batting

Bill Cissell — Last 10 Games — Batting
DateTmOppResABRH2B3BHRRBIBBSO
1938-09-25 NY1BSNL 100000000
1938-09-11 NY1BROL 401000000
1938-09-10 NY1BROW 421000100
1938-09-06 NY1BSNW 500000001
1938-09-05 NY1PHIL 422000000
1938-09-04 NY1BROW 400000000
1938-09-04 NY1BROL 400000001
1938-09-03 NY1BROL 411100000
1938-09-01 NY1PITL 301000000
1938-08-31 NY1PITL 401100000

Fielding Statistics

Career Fielding Totals by Position

Bill Cissell — Career Fielding Totals by Position
Position G GS PO A E DP
2B 483 0 1242 1608 124 276
3B 34 0 28 75 5 7
SS 439 0 931 1265 143 252

Season-by-Season Fielding

Bill Cissell — Season-by-Season Fielding
Year Team Pos G GS PO A E DP
1928 CHA SS 123 0 255 360 41 77
1929 CHA SS 152 0 357 459 55 90
1930 CHA 2B 107 0 251 336 32 60
1930 CHA 3B 24 0 24 62 3 7
1930 CHA SS 10 0 15 24 6 2
1931 CHA 2B 23 0 57 69 5 11
1931 CHA 3B 1 0 0 0 0 0
1931 CHA SS 83 0 168 233 24 47
1932 CHA SS 12 0 40 24 5 9
1932 CLE 2B 129 0 329 475 30 82
1932 CLE SS 6 0 3 10 1 1
1933 CLE 2B 62 0 151 205 20 24
1933 CLE 3B 1 0 0 0 0 0
1933 CLE SS 46 0 87 146 8 23
1934 BOS 2B 96 0 280 281 24 62
1934 BOS 3B 2 0 1 2 0 0
1934 BOS SS 7 0 6 9 3 3
1937 PHA 2B 33 0 87 115 8 17
1938 NY1 2B 33 0 87 127 5 20
1938 NY1 3B 6 0 3 11 2 0

Career Games by Position

Position Diamond

Circle size = games played at each position.

Bill Cissell Stats, Bio & Career Records
Position Games
Second Base 487
Third Base 37
Shortstop 437

Award Voting History

Bill Cissell — Award Voting History
Year Award League Finish Points Won Points Max Votes First
1932 Most Valuable Player AL 11th 10.0 80 0
1928 Most Valuable Player AL 15th 4.0 64 0

Most Similar Players

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

Career Spans

Bill Cissell (highlighted) compared to peers across the same era.

  1. 98
    Don Kolloway
    .271 avg, 29 HR
  2. 89
    Chick Galloway
    .264 avg, 17 HR
  3. 84
    Rennie Stennett
    .274 avg, 41 HR
  4. 82
    Doc Johnston
    .263 avg, 14 HR
  5. 76
    Lee Handley
    .269 avg, 15 HR
  6. 76
    Sid Farrar
    .253 avg, 18 HR

Bill Cissell: the record in brief

The profile opens with Bill Cissell's first major league game on April 11, 1928; the last one listed came on September 25, 1938. Cissell played for the Chicago White Sox (1928 to 1932), the Cleveland Indians (1932 through 1933), the Boston Red Sox (1934), the Philadelphia Athletics (1937), and the New York Giants (1938). The bio lists Cissell as a second baseman who both batted and threw right-handed. Height and weight on file: 170 pounds on a 5-foot-11 frame. Cissell was born on January 3, 1904, in Perryville, MO, USA. Cissell died on March 15, 1949, in Chicago, IL, USA. Cissell's full given name, per the bio, is Chalmer William Cissell.

Cissell collected 990 hits in 3,707 at bats across 956 games, good for a .267 batting average, plus 29 home runs, 423 RBI, and 113 stolen bases. On-base and slugging figures of .308 and .360 give Cissell a career OPS of .669. The .267 career average is close to the .280 the league hit across the same seasons. No season topped the 173 hits of 1929. 1929 brought a season-best 25 stolen bases.

Frequently Asked Questions about Bill Cissell

What years did Bill Cissell play?
Bill Cissell played in Major League Baseball from 1928 to 1938.
Was Bill Cissell a pitcher?
No. Bill Cissell was a position player (Second Baseman).
How many home runs did Bill Cissell hit?
Bill Cissell hit 29 career home runs with 990 hits.
What teams did Bill Cissell play for?
Bill Cissell played for 5 teams: the Chicago White Sox (1928–1932), the Cleveland Indians (1932–1933), the Boston Red Sox (1934), the Philadelphia Athletics (1937), and the New York Giants (1938).
What were Bill Cissell's career stats?
In 956 games, Bill Cissell had 990 hits, 29 home runs, 423 RBI, 516 runs, and 113 stolen bases, with a .267 batting average.
What position did Bill Cissell play?
Bill Cissell played primarily as a second baseman, the position where he appeared in the most games.
How tall was Bill Cissell and how much did he weigh?
Bill Cissell was listed at 5 feet 11 inches and 170 pounds.
How many home runs did Bill Cissell hit each season?
Bill Cissell's home runs by season: 1 in 1928, 5 in 1929, 2 in 1930, 1 in 1931, 7 in 1932, 6 in 1933, 4 in 1934, 1 in 1937, and 2 in 1938. His most in one season was 7, in 1932.
What was Bill Cissell's career batting average?
Bill Cissell batted .267 over his career, with 990 hits in 3,707 at bats.
How many RBI did Bill Cissell have?
Bill Cissell drove in 423 runs in his career.
Is Bill Cissell in the Hall of Fame?
No. Bill Cissell has not been inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame.