Willie Cornelius

Pitcher · Career Stats, Bio & Records

W–L 54–65
ERA 4.54
WHIP 1.43
SO 537
Pitcher PIV 11748.5
Position
Pitcher
Bats / Throws
R / R
Height / Weight
5'8" / 180 lb
Born
9/3/1906 in Atlanta, GA, USA
Died
10/30/1989 in Chicago, IL, USA
Awards
3× All-Star

Full name: William McKinley Cornelius

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Negro Leagues Career Statistics

Batting

PA AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO SB BA OBP SLG OPS
321.0 277.0 36.0 72.0 10.0 5.0 4.0 32.0 33.0 9.0 2.0 .260 .341 .375 .716

Pitching

W L GS CG GF SV IP H R ER HR BB SO ERA WHIP
68 57 142 73 47 4 1021.2 889 554 186 25 222 284 1.64 1.09

Career Pitching Statistics

W L G GS CG SHO SV IP H ER HR BB SO ERA Pitcher PIV
54 65 177 125 65 5 4 1003.3 1,053 506 37 379 537 4.54 11748.5

Career ERA 4.54 vs. league average 4.13 across their career seasons — 9.8% worse than league average.

Season-by-Season Pitching

Pitching Career Arc

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
1929 MRS NNL 3 3 6 4 4 0 0 41.0 49 19 10 30 4.17 4.60 (+9%) 1500.7
1930 MRS NNL 4 6 16 10 2 1 0 64.3 64 47 34 40 6.58 4.80 (-37%) -731.8
1930 BBB NNL 3 4 11 7 5 1 0 65.7 63 30 29 33 4.11 4.80 (+14%) 464.4
1933 CAG NN2 6 6 15 13 9 0 0 98.7 109 55 40 49 5.02 3.86 (-30%) 261.3
1934 CAG NN2 4 7 14 11 7 0 0 84.0 103 54 34 40 5.79 4.29 (-35%) 329.7
1935 CAG NN2 4 5 11 8 2 0 0 59.0 78 36 34 39 5.49 4.35 (-26%) -193.7
1936 CAG IND 3 3 8 7 4 1 0 52.7 63 33 18 36 5.64 4.59 (-23%) 1611.5
1937 CAG NAL 5 4 17 12 6 1 1 103.0 82 33 35 66 2.88 4.34 (+34%) 2121.2
1938 CAG NAL 9 1 20 8 8 0 3 102.0 84 24 30 77 2.12 4.35 (+51%) 3857.7
1939 CAG NAL 3 8 15 10 4 0 0 99.3 95 50 28 47 4.53 4.28 (-6%) 2598.4
1940 CAG NAL 1 0 1 1 1 1 0 7.0 4 0 1 7 0.00 — 0.0
1941 CAG NAL 0 7 10 9 3 0 0 61.7 57 24 23 21 3.50 3.94 (+11%) 120.9
1942 CAG NAL 2 3 7 6 1 0 0 23.3 34 15 10 10 5.79 3.57 (-62%) 3.4
1942 CCB NAL 0 2 3 2 0 0 0 11.7 17 10 9 5 7.71 3.57 (-116%) -460.8
1943 CAG NAL 4 4 10 10 6 0 0 62.0 65 27 22 11 3.92 3.50 (-12%) -330.2
1945 CAG NAL 3 2 10 7 3 0 0 50.7 71 44 13 17 7.82 3.67 (-113%) 685.4
1946 CAG NAL 0 0 3 0 0 0 0 17.3 15 5 9 9 2.60 3.59 (+28%) -89.7
Career · 17 seasons 54 65 177 125 65 5 4 1,003.1 1,053 506 379 537 4.54 — 11,748

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
211 412 57 89 13 7 3 39 2 50 8 .216 .307 .303 .610 -69

Career AVG .216 vs. league average .272 across their career seasons — 20.6% below league average.

Career OBP .307 vs. league average .338 across their career seasons — 9.3% below league average.

Career SLG .303 vs. league average .385 across their career seasons — 21.3% below league average.

Career OPS .610 vs. league average .724 across their career seasons — 15.7% below league average.

Season-by-Season Batting

Career Arc

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
1929 MRS NNL 9 25 4 7 0 0 0 3 1 4 0 .280 — — — — 0.0
1930 MRS NNL 17 24 2 3 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 .125 — — — — 0.0
1930 BBB NNL 12 21 2 3 0 3 0 1 0 1 0 .143 — — — — 0.0
1933 CAG NN2 15 39 7 6 4 0 0 1 0 7 0 .154 — — — — 0.0
1934 CAG NN2 16 36 5 6 0 1 0 3 0 2 1 .167 — — — — 0.0
1935 CAG NN2 12 23 6 4 0 0 1 3 0 5 0 .174 — — — — 0.0
1936 CAG IND 8 17 2 4 1 0 0 1 0 5 0 .235 — — — — 0.0
1937 CAG NAL 20 40 4 3 0 0 1 4 0 2 3 .075 — — — — 0.0
1938 CAG NAL 20 30 3 5 1 1 0 3 0 5 2 .167 — — — — 0.0
1939 CAG NAL 18 34 4 9 0 0 0 0 1 4 1 .265 — — — — 0.0
1940 CAG NAL 1 2 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .500 — — — — 0.0
1941 CAG NAL 10 20 2 7 0 0 0 3 0 2 1 .350 — — — — 0.0
1942 CAG NAL 10 11 1 4 2 0 0 1 0 1 0 .364 — — — — 0.0
1942 CCB NAL 3 4 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .250 — — — — 0.0
1942 JRC NAL 3 5 1 2 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 .400 — — — — 0.0
1943 CAG NAL 17 48 9 10 2 1 1 9 0 4 0 .208 — — — — -68.6
1945 CAG NAL 16 25 5 11 2 1 0 6 0 5 0 .440 — — — — 0.0
1946 CAG NAL 4 8 0 3 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 .375 — — — — 0.0
Career · 18 seasons 211 412 57 89 13 7 3 39 2 50 8 .216 — — — — -69

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

G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO AVG
6 17 1 2 0 0 0 0 1 0 .118

Playoff Batting by Year

Year Round Team G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO AVG
1943 ALC CAG 1 2 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .500
1937 ALC CAG 3 11 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .091
1934 NLC CAG 2 4 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 .000

Playoff Career Pitching

W L G GS SV IP H ER BB SO ERA
1 2 6 4 0 43.7 31 11 11 22 2.27

Playoff Pitching by Year

Year Round Team W L G GS SV IP H ER BB SO ERA
1943 ALC CAG 0 0 1 0 0 3.0 4 2 0 0 6.00
1937 ALC CAG 1 1 3 2 0 28.7 18 6 7 16 1.88
1934 NLC CAG 0 1 2 2 0 12.0 9 3 4 6 2.25

Game Log & Splits

View full game log (297 games) →

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

Batting — Home / Away

SplitGABRHHRRBIAVG
Home90861019113.221
Away711082030316.278

Pitching — Home / Away

SplitGIPHERBBSOERA
Home82444.235575891561.52
Away54281.02694858671.54

Last 10 Games — Batting

DateTmOppResABRH2B3BHRRBIBBSO
1946-05-19 CAGKCML 100000000
1946-05-15 CAGIN9L 201000010
1946-05-07 CAGKCML 301000000
1945-09-10 CAGCIAW 000000000
1945-09-02 CAGCVBL 000000000
1945-08-29 CAGKCML 110000000
1945-08-27 CAGKCML 000000000
1945-08-26 CAGKCMW 101000100
1945-08-18 CAGMEML 000000010
1945-07-30 CAGKCML 100000000

Last 10 Games — Pitching

DateTmOppDecIPHRERBBSOHR
1946-05-15 CAGIN9 — 6.1411240
1946-05-07 CAGKCM — 4.2770310
1945-09-10 CAGCIA — 1.0560300
1945-09-02 CAGCVB L 0.0000000
1945-08-27 CAGKCM — 0.0000000
1945-07-27 CAGKCM — 0.2440100
1945-07-23 CAGBIR W 8.0080001
1945-07-15 CAGMEM W 6.0710000
1945-07-01 CAGCIA W 7.0840000
1945-06-24 CAGCVB — 3.11099100

Fielding Statistics

Career Fielding Totals by Position

Position G GS PO A E DP
1B 1 0 1 0 0 0
2B 1 1 1 3 0 0
3B 1 1 0 1 0 0
OF 18 10 14 0 1 0
P 177 126 32 278 22 11

Season-by-Season Fielding

Year Team Pos G GS PO A E DP
1929 MRS 2B 1 1 1 3 0 0
1929 MRS OF 3 2 2 0 0 0
1929 MRS P 6 4 0 6 2 0
1930 MRS 1B 1 0 1 0 0 0
1930 MRS OF 1 0 0 0 0 0
1930 MRS P 16 11 2 18 2 0
1930 BBB P 11 7 2 13 3 0
1933 CAG P 15 13 0 26 2 2
1934 CAG OF 2 1 1 0 0 0
1934 CAG P 14 11 1 29 1 2
1935 CAG P 11 8 1 14 4 3
1936 CAG P 8 7 3 9 0 0
1937 CAG OF 3 0 2 0 0 0
1937 CAG P 17 12 7 33 0 0
1938 CAG P 20 8 3 27 2 0
1939 CAG P 15 10 2 41 2 1
1940 CAG P 1 1 1 3 0 0
1941 CAG P 10 9 2 12 0 0
1942 CAG P 7 6 1 3 0 2
1942 CCB P 3 2 0 3 0 0
1942 JRC OF 2 1 3 0 0 0
1943 CAG 3B 1 1 0 1 0 0
1943 CAG OF 6 5 5 0 1 0
1943 CAG P 10 10 5 20 3 0
1945 CAG OF 1 1 1 0 0 0
1945 CAG P 10 7 0 12 1 1
1946 CAG P 3 0 2 9 0 0

Career Games by Position

Position Diamond

Circle size = games played at each position.

Position Games
Pitcher 177
First Base 1
Second Base 1
Third Base 1
Left Field 11
Right Field 7

Most Similar Players

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

  1. 98
    Laymon Yokely
    56-68, 4.56 ERA
  2. 92
    Al Nipper
    46-50, 4.52 ERA
  3. 92
    Bennie Daniels
    45-76, 4.44 ERA
  4. 88
    Pete Smith
    47-71, 4.55 ERA
  5. 84
    Bob Milacki
    39-47, 4.38 ERA
  6. 83
    Armando Reynoso
    68-62, 4.74 ERA

Frequently Asked Questions about Willie Cornelius

Was Willie Cornelius a pitcher?
Yes. Willie Cornelius pitched in the major leagues, recording 54 wins and 537 strikeouts.
How many home runs did Willie Cornelius hit?
Willie Cornelius hit 3 career home runs with 89 hits.