Howard Ehmke
Born: 4/24/1894 in Silver Creek, NY, USA
Died: 3/17/1959 in Philadelphia, PA, USA
MLB Debut: 1915-04-12 | Final Game: 1930-05-22
Bats: R | Throws: R | Height: 6'3" | Weight: 190 lbs
Full name: Howard John Ehmke
Biography
Howard Ehmke, born in 1894, was a notable pitcher in Major League Baseball whose career spanned from 1915 until 1930. Ehmke played during an era that witnessed the transition from the deadball era to the more offensively driven decades that followed. Over the course of his career, he achieved a balanced win-loss record of 166-166, demonstrating his consistency on the mound. With a career earned run average (ERA) of 3.75, Ehmke showcased his ability to effectively navigate challenging lineups, earning a reputation as a reliable starter and occasional reliever.
Ehmke recorded a total of 1,030 strikeouts and secured 14 saves throughout his tenure in the league. His strikeout total highlights his capability as a power pitcher, able to dominate hitters with his repertoire. Ehmke's contributions to the game were particularly significant as he played during a transformative time in baseball history; his performances were part of a broader evolution in pitching strategies that would influence future generations of players. His legacy endures, reflecting the resilience and adaptability required to succeed in the rapidly changing landscape of early 20th-century baseball.
Negro Leagues Career Statistics
Batting
| PA | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | BB | SO | SB | BA | OBP | SLG | OPS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4.0 | 4.0 | 0 | 2.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.500 | 0.500 | 0.500 | 1.000 |
Pitching
| W | L | G | GS | CG | SHO | SV | IP | H | R | ER | HR | BB | SO | ERA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3.0 | 0 | 0 | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 12.0 | 11.0 | 0 | 3.0 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 |
Negro Leagues Season-by-Season Batting
| Season | PA | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | BB | SO | SB | BA | OBP | SLG | OPS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1929 | 4.0 | 4.0 | 0 | 2.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.500 | 0.500 | 0.500 | 1.000 |
Negro Leagues Season-by-Season Pitching
| Season | W | L | G | GS | CG | SHO | SV | IP | H | R | ER | HR | BB | SO | ERA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1929 | 3.0 | 0 | 0 | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 12.0 | 11.0 | 0 | 3.0 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 |
Career Pitching Statistics
| W | L | G | GS | CG | SHO | SV | IP | H | ER | HR | BB | SO | ERA | Pitcher PIV |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 166 | 166 | 427 | 339 | 199 | 20 | 14 | 2820.7 | 2873 | 1174 | 103 | 1042 | 1030 | 3.75 | 0 |
Season-by-Season Pitching
| Year | Team | Lg | W | L | G | GS | CG | SHO | SV | IP | H | ER | BB | SO | ERA | Pitcher PIV |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1915 | BUF | FL | 0 | 2 | 18 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 53.7 | 69 | 33 | 25 | 18 | 5.53 | -1356.5 |
| 1916 | DET | AL | 3 | 1 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 37.3 | 34 | 13 | 15 | 15 | 3.13 | 1.5 |
| 1917 | DET | AL | 10 | 15 | 35 | 25 | 13 | 4 | 2 | 206.0 | 174 | 68 | 88 | 90 | 2.97 | -1347.6 |
| 1919 | DET | AL | 17 | 10 | 33 | 31 | 20 | 2 | 0 | 248.7 | 255 | 88 | 107 | 79 | 3.18 | -2722.5 |
| 1920 | DET | AL | 15 | 18 | 38 | 33 | 23 | 2 | 3 | 268.3 | 250 | 97 | 124 | 98 | 3.25 | -3412.9 |
| 1921 | DET | AL | 13 | 14 | 30 | 22 | 13 | 1 | 0 | 196.3 | 220 | 99 | 81 | 68 | 4.54 | -4137.5 |
| 1922 | DET | AL | 17 | 17 | 45 | 30 | 16 | 1 | 1 | 279.7 | 299 | 131 | 101 | 108 | 4.22 | -452.0 |
| 1923 | BOS | AL | 20 | 17 | 43 | 39 | 28 | 2 | 3 | 316.7 | 318 | 133 | 119 | 121 | 3.78 | 83.1 |
| 1924 | BOS | AL | 19 | 17 | 45 | 36 | 26 | 4 | 4 | 315.0 | 324 | 121 | 81 | 119 | 3.46 | 4327.2 |
| 1925 | BOS | AL | 9 | 20 | 34 | 31 | 22 | 0 | 1 | 260.7 | 285 | 108 | 85 | 95 | 3.73 | 3059.0 |
| 1926 | BOS | AL | 3 | 10 | 14 | 14 | 7 | 1 | 0 | 97.3 | 115 | 59 | 45 | 38 | 5.46 | -307.4 |
| 1926 | PHA | AL | 12 | 4 | 20 | 18 | 10 | 1 | 0 | 147.3 | 125 | 46 | 50 | 55 | 2.81 | 2148.4 |
| 1927 | PHA | AL | 12 | 10 | 30 | 27 | 10 | 1 | 0 | 189.7 | 200 | 89 | 60 | 68 | 4.22 | -1710.0 |
| 1928 | PHA | AL | 9 | 8 | 23 | 18 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 139.3 | 135 | 56 | 44 | 34 | 3.62 | 8.6 |
| 1929 | PHA | AL | 7 | 2 | 11 | 8 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 54.7 | 48 | 20 | 15 | 20 | 3.29 | 956.2 |
| 1930 | PHA | AL | 0 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10.0 | 22 | 13 | 2 | 4 | 11.70 | -1150.2 |
Career Batting Statistics
| G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | SB | BB | SO | AVG | OBP | SLG | OPS | PIV |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 429 | 1009 | 71 | 210 | 38 | 6 | 0 | 73 | 5 | 26 | 111 | 0.208 | 0.228 | 0.258 | 0.486 | -4493.7 |
Season-by-Season Batting
| Year | Team | Lg | G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | SB | BB | SO | AVG | PIV |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1915 | BUF | FL | 18 | 12 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0.000 | 0.0 |
| 1916 | DET | AL | 5 | 14 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0.143 | 0.0 |
| 1917 | DET | AL | 35 | 69 | 3 | 17 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 13 | 0.246 | -119.8 |
| 1919 | DET | AL | 33 | 91 | 6 | 23 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 3 | 12 | 0.253 | -204.0 |
| 1920 | DET | AL | 38 | 105 | 4 | 25 | 7 | 2 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 10 | 0.238 | -365.8 |
| 1921 | DET | AL | 30 | 74 | 9 | 21 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 9 | 0 | 1 | 7 | 0.284 | -196.4 |
| 1922 | DET | AL | 45 | 102 | 6 | 16 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 8 | 0 | 2 | 10 | 0.157 | -902.7 |
| 1923 | BOS | AL | 43 | 112 | 4 | 25 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 2 | 11 | 0.223 | -680.7 |
| 1924 | BOS | AL | 46 | 126 | 14 | 28 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 14 | 4 | 5 | 9 | 0.222 | -757.0 |
| 1925 | BOS | AL | 34 | 88 | 6 | 13 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 4 | 11 | 0.148 | -847.9 |
| 1926 | BOS | AL | 14 | 34 | 4 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 0.147 | 0.0 |
| 1926 | PHA | AL | 21 | 46 | 2 | 7 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 1 | 2 | 6 | 0.152 | 0.0 |
| 1927 | PHA | AL | 30 | 68 | 5 | 14 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0.206 | -419.4 |
| 1928 | PHA | AL | 23 | 46 | 6 | 11 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 0.239 | 0.0 |
| 1929 | PHA | AL | 11 | 19 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0.105 | 0.0 |
| 1930 | PHA | AL | 3 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0.333 | 0.0 |
Postseason Statistics
Playoff Career Batting
| G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | BB | SO | AVG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.200 |
Playoff Batting by Year
| Year | Round | Team | G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | BB | SO | AVG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1929 | WS | PHA | 2 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.200 |
Playoff Career Pitching
| W | L | G | GS | SV | IP | H | ER | BB | SO | ERA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 12.7 | 14 | 2 | 3 | 13 | 1.42 |
Playoff Pitching by Year
| Year | Round | Team | W | L | G | GS | SV | IP | H | ER | BB | SO | ERA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1929 | WS | PHA | 1 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 12.7 | 14 | 2 | 3 | 13 | 1.42 |
Fielding Statistics
Career Fielding Totals by Position
| Position | G | GS | PO | A | E | DP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| P | 427 | 0 | 143 | 853 | 44 | 35 |
Season-by-Season Fielding
| Year | Team | Pos | G | GS | PO | A | E | DP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1915 | BUF | P | 18 | 0 | 2 | 25 | 3 | 2 |
| 1916 | DET | P | 5 | 0 | 3 | 13 | 0 | 0 |
| 1917 | DET | P | 35 | 0 | 14 | 68 | 4 | 1 |
| 1919 | DET | P | 33 | 0 | 9 | 86 | 3 | 3 |
| 1920 | DET | P | 38 | 0 | 20 | 93 | 4 | 2 |
| 1921 | DET | P | 30 | 0 | 9 | 55 | 2 | 3 |
| 1922 | DET | P | 45 | 0 | 11 | 75 | 2 | 2 |
| 1923 | BOS | P | 43 | 0 | 18 | 101 | 3 | 8 |
| 1924 | BOS | P | 45 | 0 | 15 | 78 | 3 | 1 |
| 1925 | BOS | P | 34 | 0 | 6 | 88 | 6 | 4 |
| 1926 | BOS | P | 14 | 0 | 3 | 29 | 4 | 3 |
| 1926 | PHA | P | 20 | 0 | 7 | 37 | 3 | 2 |
| 1927 | PHA | P | 30 | 0 | 13 | 57 | 4 | 1 |
| 1928 | PHA | P | 23 | 0 | 6 | 35 | 2 | 2 |
| 1929 | PHA | P | 11 | 0 | 7 | 10 | 1 | 0 |
| 1930 | PHA | P | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 1 |
Career Games by Position
| Position | Games |
|---|---|
| Pitcher | 427 |
Awards & Honors
| Year | Award | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 1923 | Baseball Magazine All-Star | P3 |
Award Voting History
| Year | Award | League | Finish | Points Won | Points Max | Votes First |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1925 | Most Valuable Player | AL | 24th | 2.0 | 64 | 0 |
| 1924 | Most Valuable Player | AL | 15th | 5.0 | 64 | 0 |
| 1923 | Most Valuable Player | AL | 11th | 7.0 | 64 | 0 |