Johnnie Cowan

Second Baseman · Career Stats, Bio & Records

Johnnie Cowan was a second baseman who played in Major League Baseball for 4 teams, including the Birmingham Black Barons. In 89 career games, he hit .255 with 83 hits, 1 home runs, and 37 RBI. Johnnie Cowan was an All-Star. His totals include Negro Leagues seasons, which MLB recognized as major league in 2020.

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 .255
HR 1
RBI 37
H 83
OPS .582
PIV -553
Position
Second Baseman
Bats / Throws
R / R
Height / Weight
5'10" / 160 lb
Born
5/31/1913 in Pleasant Hill, AL, USA
Died
10/24/1993 in Birmingham, AL, USA
Awards
All-Star

Full name: Johnnie Wart Cowan

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Negro Leagues Career Statistics

Batting

Johnnie Cowan — Batting
PA AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO SB BA OBP SLG OPS
521.0 484.0 61.0 132.0 10.0 5.0 8.0 59.0 25.0 2.0 2.0 .273 .309 .364 .673

Negro Leagues (season totals). Additive Retrosheet-digitized totals for seasons not already in the logs above; they are not summed into the career line. No team/league breakdown is available, and coverage may be partial.

Negro Leagues Season-by-Season Batting

Johnnie Cowan — Negro Leagues Season-by-Season Batting
Season PA AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO SB BA OBP SLG OPS
1949 69.0 64.0 6.0 16.0 2.0 1.0 2.0 11.0 4.0 0 1.0 .250 .294 .406 .700
Listed seasons · 1 69 64 6 16 2 1 2 11 4 0 1 .250 — — —

Career Batting Statistics

Johnnie Cowan — Career Batting Statistics
G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB BB SO AVG OBP SLG OPS PIV
89 325 36 83 8 1 1 37 2 12 0 .255 .286 .295 .582 -553

Career AVG .255 vs. league average .261 across their career seasons — near league average.

Career OBP .286 vs. league average .331 across their career seasons — 13.6% below league average.

Career SLG .295 vs. league average .366 across their career seasons — 19.4% below league average.

Career OPS .582 vs. league average .698 across their career seasons — 16.6% below league average.

Season-by-Season Batting

Career Arc

Click a stat to plot it across every season.

Johnnie Cowan — 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
1940 BBB NAL 3 11 0 1 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 .091 — — — — 0.0
1942 CCB NAL 2 4 0 2 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 .500 — — — — 0.0
1944 CBE NAL 17 58 6 14 2 0 0 4 1 4 0 .241 .261 (-8%) .325 (-11%) .357 (-23%) .683 (-17%) -148.6
1945 CBE NAL 20 77 5 18 0 0 0 7 0 2 0 .234 .260 (-10%) .328 (-23%) .354 (-34%) .683 (-29%) -338.1
1946 CBE NAL 17 64 11 20 2 0 0 9 0 2 0 .312 .256 (+22%) .328 (+1%) .358 (-4%) .687 (-2%) -22.6
1947 CBE NAL 19 71 11 21 3 0 1 13 1 1 0 .296 .262 (+13%) .336 (-6%) .376 (+1%) .712 (-2%) -43.4
1948 MRS NAL 11 40 3 7 1 1 0 2 0 3 0 .175 — — — — 0.0
Career · 7 seasons 89 325 36 83 8 1 1 37 2 12 0 .255 — — — — -553

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

Johnnie Cowan — Playoff Career Batting
G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO AVG
9 31 2 5 0 0 1 6 2 0 .161

Playoff Batting by Year

Johnnie Cowan — Playoff Batting by Year
Year Round Team G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO AVG
1947 NWS CBE 5 17 1 3 0 0 1 4 1 0 .176
1945 NWS CBE 4 14 1 2 0 0 0 2 1 0 .143

Game Log & Splits

View full game log (110 games) →

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

Batting — Home / Away

Johnnie Cowan — Batting — Home / Away
SplitGABRHHRRBIAVG
Home501462248319.329
Away601912452123.272

Last 10 Games — Batting

Johnnie Cowan — Last 10 Games — Batting
DateTmOppResABRH2B3BHRRBIBBSO
1949-08-24 MEMNY6L 401000100
1949-08-23 MEMBLGW 412010210
1949-08-21 MEMBLGL 211100110
1949-08-21 MEMBLGL 300000000
1949-08-05 MEMKCML 412000000
1949-08-04 MEMKCMW 400000000
1949-07-31 MEMKCML 300000000
1949-07-31 MEMKCML 300000000
1949-07-27 MEMBIRL 300000000
1949-07-09 MEMBIRL 212001210

Fielding Statistics

Career Fielding Totals by Position

Johnnie Cowan — Career Fielding Totals by Position
Position G GS PO A E DP
2B 80 79 187 223 17 33
3B 4 4 2 7 1 1
SS 5 5 7 12 5 3

Season-by-Season Fielding

Johnnie Cowan — Season-by-Season Fielding
Year Team Pos G GS PO A E DP
1940 BBB 2B 2 2 9 6 0 1
1940 BBB 3B 1 1 0 0 0 0
1942 CCB 2B 1 1 1 1 0 0
1942 CCB 3B 1 1 0 0 0 0
1944 CBE 2B 17 17 39 50 4 8
1945 CBE 2B 19 19 48 53 2 8
1945 CBE 3B 1 1 1 3 0 1
1946 CBE 2B 12 12 22 42 3 5
1946 CBE 3B 1 1 1 4 1 0
1946 CBE SS 4 4 5 9 3 3
1947 CBE 2B 18 17 40 52 6 8
1947 CBE SS 1 1 2 3 2 0
1948 MRS 2B 11 11 28 19 2 3

Career Games by Position

Position Diamond

Circle size = games played at each position.

Johnnie Cowan — Career Games by Position
Position Games
Second Base 80
Third Base 4
Shortstop 5

Johnnie Cowan: the record in brief

The season rows for Johnnie Cowan begin in 1940. The season rows list, in order, the Birmingham Black Barons (1940), the Cincinnati-Cleveland Buckeyes (1942), the Cleveland Buckeyes (1944 through 1947), and the Memphis Red Sox (1948). Cowan is listed as a second baseman at 5'10" and 160 pounds. Cowan both batted and threw right-handed, per the bio block. The recorded birth is May 31, 1913, in Pleasant Hill, AL, USA. The bio records the death on October 24, 1993, in Birmingham, AL, USA. The given name on file is Johnnie Wart Cowan.

In 89 games and 325 at bats, Cowan batted .255 with 83 hits; the totals also include 1 home run and 37 runs batted in. Cowan's career OPS of .582 combines a .286 on-base mark with .295 slugging. Against a .261 league average for those years, Cowan's .255 average was near the norm. By OPS the gap is 16.6% below league average (.582 against .698). 1947 produced Cowan's most hits, 21 of them for the Cleveland Buckeyes.

Frequently Asked Questions about Johnnie Cowan

Was Johnnie Cowan a pitcher?
No. Johnnie Cowan was a position player (Second Baseman).
How many home runs did Johnnie Cowan hit?
Johnnie Cowan hit 1 career home run with 83 hits.
What teams did Johnnie Cowan play for?
Johnnie Cowan played for 3 teams: the Birmingham Black Barons (1940), the Cleveland Buckeyes (1942, 1944–1947), and the Memphis Red Sox (1948).
Did Johnnie Cowan win an MVP award?
No. Johnnie Cowan did not win the MVP award.
What awards did Johnnie Cowan win?
Johnnie Cowan was selected to 1 All-Star Game.
What were Johnnie Cowan's career stats?
In 89 games, Johnnie Cowan had 83 hits, 1 home runs, 37 RBI, 36 runs, and 2 stolen bases, with a .255 batting average.
What position did Johnnie Cowan play?
Johnnie Cowan played primarily as a second baseman, the position where he appeared in the most games.
How tall was Johnnie Cowan and how much did he weigh?
Johnnie Cowan was listed at 5 feet 10 inches and 160 pounds.
How many home runs did Johnnie Cowan hit each season?
Johnnie Cowan's home runs by season: 0 in 1940, 0 in 1942, 0 in 1944, 0 in 1945, 0 in 1946, 1 in 1947, and 0 in 1948. His most in one season was 1, in 1947.
What was Johnnie Cowan's career batting average?
Johnnie Cowan batted .255 over his career, with 83 hits in 325 at bats.
How many RBI did Johnnie Cowan have?
Johnnie Cowan drove in 37 runs in his career.
Is Johnnie Cowan in the Hall of Fame?
No. Johnnie Cowan has not been inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame.
How many All-Star Games did Johnnie Cowan make?
Johnnie Cowan was selected to 1 All-Star Game.