What years did Joe Dobson play?

Joe Dobson played in Major League Baseball from 1939 to 1954.

Was Joe Dobson a pitcher?

Yes. Joe Dobson pitched in the major leagues, recording 137 wins and 992 strikeouts.

How many home runs did Joe Dobson hit?

Joe Dobson hit 2 career home runs with 106 hits.

What teams did Joe Dobson play for?

Joe Dobson played for 3 teams: the Cleveland Indians (1939–1940), the Boston Red Sox (1941–1943, 1946–1950, 1954), and the Chicago White Sox (1951–1953).

What awards did Joe Dobson win?

Joe Dobson was selected to 1 All-Star Game.

What were Joe Dobson's career stats?

In 414 games, Joe Dobson went 137-103 with a 3.62 ERA, 992 strikeouts, 2,170.0 innings pitched, and 18 saves. At the plate he had 106 hits and 2 home runs.

What position did Joe Dobson play?

Joe Dobson played primarily as a pitcher, the position where he appeared in the most games.

How tall was Joe Dobson and how much did he weigh?

Joe Dobson was listed at 6 feet 2 inches and 197 pounds.

What was Joe Dobson's career ERA?

Joe Dobson finished with a 3.62 career ERA, going 137-103 with 992 strikeouts.

How many strikeouts did Joe Dobson have?

Joe Dobson recorded 992 career strikeouts.

Is Joe Dobson in the Hall of Fame?

No. Joe Dobson has not been inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame.

How many All-Star Games did Joe Dobson make?

Joe Dobson was selected to 1 All-Star Game.

Joe Dobson

Pitcher · Career Stats, Bio & Records (1939-1954)

Joe Dobson was a pitcher who played in Major League Baseball from 1939 to 1954 for the Cleveland Guardians, the Boston Red Sox, and the Chicago White Sox, a span of 16 seasons. Across 414 career appearances, he went 137-103 with a 3.62 ERA and 992 strikeouts. He also batted .152 with 2 home runs. Joe Dobson was an All-Star. His career Pitcher PIV — Baseball Data Hub's era-adjusted measure of pitching impact — is 11907.6.

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 October 15, 2026

W–L 137–103

ERA 3.62

WHIP 1.34

SO 992

Pitcher PIV 11907.6

Position: Pitcher
Bats / Throws: R / R
Height / Weight: 6'2" / 197 lb
Born: 1/20/1917 in Durant, OK, USA
Died: 6/23/1994 in Jacksonville, FL, USA
MLB Debut: 1939-04-26
Last Game: 1954-04-30
Awards: All-Star

Full name: Joseph Gordon Dobson

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Career Pitching Statistics

Joe Dobson — Career Pitching Statistics
W	L	G	GS	CG	SHO	SV	IP	H	ER	HR	BB	SO	ERA	Pitcher PIV
137	103	414	273	112	22	18	2170.0	2,048	874	137	851	992	3.62	11907.6

Career ERA 3.62 vs. league average 3.95 across their career seasons — 8.2% better than league average.

Season-by-Season Pitching

Pitching Career Arc

Click a stat to plot it across every season.

Joe Dobson Stats, Bio & Career Records
Year	Team	Lg	W	L	G	GS	CG	SHO	SV	IP	H	ER	BB	SO	ERA	Lg ERA	Pitcher PIV
1939	CLE	AL	2	3	35	3	0	0	1	78.0	87	51	51	27	5.88	4.28 (-37%)	-1154.6
1940	CLE	AL	3	7	40	7	2	1	3	100.0	101	55	48	57	4.95	4.21 (-18%)	-325.2
1941	BOS	AL	12	5	27	18	7	1	0	134.1	136	67	67	69	4.49	3.94 (-14%)	-525.2
1942	BOS	AL	11	9	30	23	10	3	0	182.2	155	67	68	72	3.30	3.57 (+7%)	-47.1
1943	BOS	AL	7	11	25	20	9	3	0	164.1	144	57	57	63	3.12	3.50 (+11%)	1111.2
1946	BOS	AL	13	7	32	24	9	1	0	166.2	148	60	68	91	3.24	3.59 (+10%)	-14.5
1947	BOS	AL	18	8	33	31	15	1	1	228.2	203	75	73	110	2.95	3.97 (+26%)	2484.3
1948	BOS	AL	16	10	38	32	16	5	2	245.1	237	97	92	116	3.56	4.10 (+13%)	2559.6
1949	BOS	AL	14	12	33	27	12	2	2	212.2	219	91	97	87	3.85	4.12 (+6%)	1640.6
1950	BOS	AL	15	10	39	27	12	1	4	206.2	217	96	81	81	4.18	4.36 (+4%)	2370.8
1951	CHA	AL	7	6	28	21	6	0	3	146.2	136	59	51	67	3.62	4.04 (+10%)	-277.9
1952	CHA	AL	14	10	29	25	11	3	1	200.2	164	56	60	101	2.51	3.70 (+32%)	3711.5
1953	CHA	AL	5	5	23	15	3	1	1	100.2	96	41	37	50	3.67	4.14 (+11%)	374.1
1954	BOS	AL	0	0	2	0	0	0	0	2.2	5	2	1	1	6.75	—	0.0
Career · 14 seasons			137	103	414	273	112	22	18	2,170.0	2,048	874	851	992	3.62	—	11,908

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

Joe Dobson — Career Batting Statistics
G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	SB	BB	SO	AVG	OBP	SLG	OPS	PIV
414	697	46	106	7	1	2	35	1	54	244	.152	.220	.174	.394	-3,510

Career AVG .152 vs. league average .262 across their career seasons — 41.9% below league average.

Career OBP .220 vs. league average .335 across their career seasons — 34.1% below league average.

Career SLG .174 vs. league average .377 across their career seasons — 54.0% below league average.

Career OPS .394 vs. league average .712 across their career seasons — 44.7% below league average.

Season-by-Season Batting

Career Arc

Click a stat to plot it across every season.

Joe Dobson 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
1939	CLE	AL	35	18	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	1	5	.056	—	—	—	—	0.0
1940	CLE	AL	40	24	0	3	0	0	0	0	0	3	14	.125	—	—	—	—	0.0
1941	BOS	AL	27	47	3	7	0	0	1	6	0	4	14	.149	—	—	—	—	-289.6
1942	BOS	AL	30	69	6	10	1	0	0	3	0	3	17	.145	.253 (-43%)	.323 (-41%)	.349 (-54%)	.672 (-48%)	-494.6
1943	BOS	AL	25	52	3	5	0	0	0	0	0	2	21	.096	.255 (-62%)	.324 (-51%)	.346 (-72%)	.671 (-62%)	-475.3
1946	BOS	AL	32	50	5	5	0	0	0	2	0	4	28	.100	.256 (-61%)	.328 (-49%)	.358 (-72%)	.687 (-61%)	-466.4
1947	BOS	AL	33	77	4	16	0	1	0	3	0	7	22	.208	.262 (-21%)	.336 (-19%)	.376 (-38%)	.712 (-29%)	-346.0
1948	BOS	AL	38	84	9	17	2	0	1	4	0	6	27	.202	.263 (-23%)	.340 (-18%)	.379 (-31%)	.719 (-25%)	-321.7
1949	BOS	AL	33	68	5	10	0	0	0	2	1	10	22	.147	.262 (-44%)	.343 (-25%)	.384 (-62%)	.727 (-45%)	-472.3
1950	BOS	AL	39	70	6	15	2	0	0	9	0	9	23	.214	.265 (-19%)	.346 (-10%)	.401 (-40%)	.747 (-26%)	-276.6
1951	CHA	AL	28	46	2	3	1	0	0	1	0	0	20	.065	—	—	—	—	0.0
1952	CHA	AL	29	63	3	12	0	0	0	3	0	4	20	.190	.252 (-25%)	.326 (-27%)	.369 (-48%)	.696 (-38%)	-367.9
1953	CHA	AL	23	29	0	2	1	0	0	2	0	1	11	.069	—	—	—	—	0.0
1954	BOS	AL	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.000	—	—	—	—	0.0
Career · 14 seasons			414	697	46	106	7	1	2	35	1	54	244	.152	—	—	—	—	-3,510

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

Joe Dobson — Playoff Career Batting
G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	SO	AVG
3	3	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	2	.000

Playoff Batting by Year

Joe Dobson — Playoff Batting by Year
Year	Round	Team	G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	SO	AVG
1946	WS	BOS	3	3	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	2	.000

Playoff Career Pitching

Joe Dobson — Playoff Career Pitching
W	L	G	GS	SV	IP	H	ER	BB	SO	ERA
1	0	3	1	0	12.2	4	0	3	10	0.00

Playoff Pitching by Year

Joe Dobson — Playoff Pitching by Year
Year	Round	Team	W	L	G	GS	SV	IP	H	ER	BB	SO	ERA
1946	WS	BOS	1	0	3	1	0	12.2	4	0	3	10	0.00

Game Log & Splits

View full game log (828 games) →

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

Batting — Home / Away

Joe Dobson — Batting — Home / Away
Split	G	AB	R	H	HR	RBI	AVG
Home	206	337	23	49	0	15	.145
Away	208	360	23	57	2	20	.158

Pitching — Home / Away

Joe Dobson — Pitching — Home / Away
Split	G	IP	H	ER	BB	SO	ERA
Home	206	1118.0	1029	409	434	512	3.29
Away	208	1052.0	1019	466	418	479	3.99

Last 10 Games — Batting

Joe Dobson — Last 10 Games — Batting
Date	Tm	Opp	Res	AB	BB	SO
1954-04-30	BOS	CHW	L	0	0	0
1954-04-13	BOS	PHA	L	0	0	0
1953-08-15	CHW	DET	L	0	0	0
1953-08-12	CHW	CLE	L	0	0	0
1953-08-05	CHW	PHA	W	0	0	0
1953-07-19	CHW	NYY	L	0	0	0
1953-07-11	CHW	CLE	W	1	0	1
1953-07-09	CHW	DET	W	1	0	1
1953-07-04	CHW	SLA	W	1	1	1
1953-06-30	CHW	SLA	L	0	0	0

Last 10 Games — Pitching

Joe Dobson — Last 10 Games — Pitching
Date	Tm	Opp	Dec	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO	HR
1954-04-30	BOS	CHW	—	2.0	3	1	1	0	1	0
1954-04-13	BOS	PHA	—	0.2	2	1	1	1	0	0
1953-08-15	CHW	DET	—	1.2	3	1	1	0	1	0
1953-08-12	CHW	CLE	—	0.1	1	0	0	0	1	0
1953-08-05	CHW	PHA	—	3.0	4	4	3	3	2	2
1953-07-19	CHW	NYY	—	0.1	0	0	0	1	0	0
1953-07-11	CHW	CLE	—	4.0	1	3	2	3	1	0
1953-07-09	CHW	DET	—	3.2	7	2	2	2	3	0
1953-07-04	CHW	SLA	W	5.0	6	2	2	0	1	1
1953-06-30	CHW	SLA	—	1.0	1	0	0	0	0	0

Fielding Statistics

Career Fielding Totals by Position

Joe Dobson — Career Fielding Totals by Position
Position	G	GS	PO	A	E	DP
P	414	0	126	341	11	24

Season-by-Season Fielding

Joe Dobson — Season-by-Season Fielding
Year	Team	Pos	G	PO	A	E	DP
1939	CLE	P	35	3	16	0	0
1940	CLE	P	40	6	15	0	1
1941	BOS	P	27	10	13	0	0
1942	BOS	P	30	17	42	0	2
1943	BOS	P	25	9	22	1	2
1946	BOS	P	32	18	33	1	1
1947	BOS	P	33	13	25	0	1
1948	BOS	P	38	10	36	2	3
1949	BOS	P	33	12	30	0	3
1950	BOS	P	39	8	44	3	4
1951	CHA	P	28	6	25	1	5
1952	CHA	P	29	7	26	1	2
1953	CHA	P	23	6	14	2	0
1954	BOS	P	2	1	0	0	0

Career Games by Position

Position Diamond

Circle size = games played at each position.

Joe Dobson Stats, Bio & Career Records
Position	Games
Pitcher	414

Award Voting History

Joe Dobson — Award Voting History
Year	Award	League	Finish	Points Won	Points Max	Votes First
1948	Most Valuable Player	AL	24th	5.0	336	0
1947	Most Valuable Player	AL	29th	3.0	336	0

Most Similar Players

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

Career Spans

Joe Dobson (highlighted) compared to peers across the same era.

Joe Dobson: the record in brief

Joe Dobson's major league career runs from a debut on April 26, 1939 to a final game on April 30, 1954. Club by club, the record runs the Cleveland Indians (1939 through 1940), the Boston Red Sox (1941 through 1954), and the Chicago White Sox (1951 through 1953). Dobson played primarily as a pitcher and both batted and threw right-handed. Born on January 20, 1917, in Durant, OK, USA, Dobson was listed at 6 feet, 2 inches and 197 pounds. The bio records the death on June 23, 1994, in Jacksonville, FL, USA. Joe Dobson was the playing name; the full given name is Joseph Gordon.

Dobson pitched in 414 games, starting 273, and finished with a 137-103 record and 3.62 ERA. The totals include 992 strikeouts, 112 complete games, 22 shutouts, and 18 saves. The leagues Dobson pitched in allowed 3.95 earned runs per nine over those seasons, so the career ERA was 8.2% better than average. 1947 brought Dobson a season-high 18 wins.

Frequently Asked Questions about Joe Dobson

What years did Joe Dobson play?: Joe Dobson played in Major League Baseball from 1939 to 1954.
Was Joe Dobson a pitcher?: Yes. Joe Dobson pitched in the major leagues, recording 137 wins and 992 strikeouts.
How many home runs did Joe Dobson hit?: Joe Dobson hit 2 career home runs with 106 hits.
What teams did Joe Dobson play for?: Joe Dobson played for 3 teams: the Cleveland Indians (1939–1940), the Boston Red Sox (1941–1943, 1946–1950, 1954), and the Chicago White Sox (1951–1953).
What awards did Joe Dobson win?: Joe Dobson was selected to 1 All-Star Game.
What were Joe Dobson's career stats?: In 414 games, Joe Dobson went 137-103 with a 3.62 ERA, 992 strikeouts, 2,170.0 innings pitched, and 18 saves. At the plate he had 106 hits and 2 home runs.
What position did Joe Dobson play?: Joe Dobson played primarily as a pitcher, the position where he appeared in the most games.
How tall was Joe Dobson and how much did he weigh?: Joe Dobson was listed at 6 feet 2 inches and 197 pounds.
What was Joe Dobson's career ERA?: Joe Dobson finished with a 3.62 career ERA, going 137-103 with 992 strikeouts.
How many strikeouts did Joe Dobson have?: Joe Dobson recorded 992 career strikeouts.
Is Joe Dobson in the Hall of Fame?: No. Joe Dobson has not been inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame.
How many All-Star Games did Joe Dobson make?: Joe Dobson was selected to 1 All-Star Game.