Jumbo Davis

Third Baseman · Career Stats, Bio & Records (1884-1891)

Jumbo Davis was a third baseman who played in Major League Baseball from 1884 to 1891 for 6 teams, including the Kansas City Cowboys, a span of 8 seasons. In 453 career games, he hit .272 with 468 hits, 14 home runs, and 270 RBI. His career PIV — Baseball Data Hub's era-adjusted measure of offensive impact — is 1,863.

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 .272
HR 14
RBI 270
H 468
OPS .701
PIV 1,863
Position
Third Baseman
Bats / Throws
L / R
Height / Weight
5'11" / 195 lb
Born
9/5/1861 in New York, NY, USA
Died
2/14/1921 in St. Louis, MO, USA
MLB Debut
1884-07-27
Last Game
1891-05-22

Full name: James Joseph Davis

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Career Batting Statistics

Jumbo Davis — Career Batting Statistics
G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB BB SO AVG OBP SLG OPS PIV
453 1,723 266 468 69 37 14 270 151 108 124 .272 .322 .379 .701 1,863

Career AVG .272 vs. league average .254 across their career seasons — +7.1% above league average.

Career OBP .322 vs. league average .315 across their career seasons — near league average.

Career SLG .379 vs. league average .343 across their career seasons — +10.5% above league average.

Career OPS .701 vs. league average .658 across their career seasons — +6.4% above league average.

Season-by-Season Batting

Career Arc

Click a stat to plot it across every season.

Jumbo Davis 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
1884 KCU UA 7 29 3 6 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .207 — — — — 0.0
1886 BL2 AA 60 216 23 42 5 2 1 20 12 11 0 .194 .246 (-21%) .302 (-21%) .331 (-25%) .634 (-23%) -696.6
1887 BL2 AA 130 485 81 150 23 19 8 109 49 28 27 .309 .270 (+14%) .331 (+7%) .373 (+30%) .705 (+19%) 1593.5
1888 KC2 AA 121 491 70 131 22 8 3 61 42 20 56 .267 .238 (+12%) .290 (+4%) .319 (+13%) .610 (+9%) 657.3
1889 KC2 AA 62 241 40 64 4 3 0 30 25 17 35 .266 .263 (+1%) .334 (-4%) .357 (-14%) .691 (-9%) -343.8
1889 SL4 AA 2 4 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 .000 — — — — -343.8
1890 SL4 AA 21 71 8 18 3 1 0 13 5 9 0 .254 .260 (-3%) .336 (avg) .351 (-8%) .687 (-4%) -35.5
1890 BR4 AA 38 142 33 43 9 2 2 28 10 15 0 .303 .260 (+16%) .336 (+14%) .351 (+24%) .687 (+19%) -35.5
1891 WS9 AA 12 44 7 14 3 2 0 9 8 7 5 .318 — — — — 216.2
Career · 9 seasons 453 1,723 266 468 69 37 14 270 151 108 124 .272 — — — — 1,012

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

Jumbo Davis — Playoff Career Batting
G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO AVG
1 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000

Playoff Batting by Year

Jumbo Davis — Playoff Batting by Year
Year Round Team G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO AVG
1889 WS BR3 1 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000

Fielding Statistics

Career Fielding Totals by Position

Jumbo Davis — Career Fielding Totals by Position
Position G GS PO A E DP
3B 400 0 517 963 317 67
OF 1 0 1 0 0 0
SS 52 0 70 159 46 5

Season-by-Season Fielding

Jumbo Davis — Season-by-Season Fielding
Year Team Pos G GS PO A E DP
1884 KCU 3B 7 0 5 14 11 0
1886 BL2 3B 60 0 82 114 35 6
1887 BL2 3B 87 0 91 199 61 7
1887 BL2 SS 43 0 57 132 37 5
1888 KC2 3B 113 0 155 334 91 27
1888 KC2 SS 8 0 12 27 9 0
1889 KC2 3B 62 0 93 140 57 14
1889 SL4 OF 1 0 1 0 0 0
1889 SL4 SS 1 0 1 0 0 0
1890 SL4 3B 21 0 23 53 28 2
1890 BR4 3B 38 0 49 87 25 9
1891 WS9 3B 12 0 19 22 9 2

Career Games by Position

Position Diamond

Circle size = games played at each position.

Jumbo Davis Stats, Bio & Career Records
Position Games
Third Base 400
Shortstop 52
Left Field 1

Most Similar Players

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

Career Spans

Jumbo Davis (highlighted) compared to peers across the same era.

  1. 98
    Fred Hartman
    .278 avg, 10 HR
  2. 90
    Maikel Garcia
    .264 avg, 30 HR
  3. 90
    James Stafford
    .274 avg, 21 HR
  4. 90
    Ollie Beard
    .270 avg, 4 HR
  5. 90
    George Decker
    .276 avg, 25 HR
  6. 90
    Kazuo Matsui
    .267 avg, 32 HR

Jumbo Davis: the record in brief

Between the debut on July 27, 1884 and the final game on May 22, 1891, Jumbo Davis built the record summarized on this page. Club by club, the record runs the Kansas City Cowboys (1884 to 1889), the Baltimore Orioles (1886 to 1887), the St. Louis Browns (1889 to 1890), the Brooklyn Gladiators (1890), and the Washington Statesmen (1891). Davis played primarily as a third baseman and hit left-handed while throwing right-handed. Born on September 5, 1861, in New York, NY, USA, Davis was listed at 5 feet, 11 inches and 195 pounds. Davis died on February 14, 1921, in St. Louis, MO, USA. Jumbo Davis was the playing name; the full given name is James Joseph.

Davis finished with 468 hits from 1,723 at bats in 453 games, which works out to .272, along with 14 homers, 270 RBI, and 151 stolen bases. Davis's career OPS of .701 combines a .322 on-base mark with .379 slugging.

Frequently Asked Questions about Jumbo Davis

What years did Jumbo Davis play?
Jumbo Davis played in Major League Baseball from 1884 to 1891.
Was Jumbo Davis a pitcher?
No. Jumbo Davis was a position player (Third Baseman).
How many home runs did Jumbo Davis hit?
Jumbo Davis hit 14 career home runs with 468 hits.
What teams did Jumbo Davis play for?
Jumbo Davis played for 6 teams: the Kansas City Cowboys (1884), the Baltimore Orioles (1886–1887), the Kansas City Cowboys (1888–1889), the St. Louis Browns (1889–1890), the Brooklyn Gladiators (1890), and the Washington Statesmen (1891).
What were Jumbo Davis's career stats?
In 453 games, Jumbo Davis had 468 hits, 14 home runs, 270 RBI, 266 runs, and 151 stolen bases, with a .272 batting average.
What position did Jumbo Davis play?
Jumbo Davis played primarily as a third baseman, the position where he appeared in the most games.
How tall was Jumbo Davis and how much did he weigh?
Jumbo Davis was listed at 5 feet 11 inches and 195 pounds.
How many home runs did Jumbo Davis hit each season?
Jumbo Davis's home runs by season: 0 in 1884, 1 in 1886, 8 in 1887, 3 in 1888, 0 in 1889, 2 in 1890, and 0 in 1891. His most in one season was 8, in 1887.
What was Jumbo Davis's career batting average?
Jumbo Davis batted .272 over his career, with 468 hits in 1,723 at bats.
How many RBI did Jumbo Davis have?
Jumbo Davis drove in 270 runs in his career.
Is Jumbo Davis in the Hall of Fame?
No. Jumbo Davis has not been inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame.