Bones Ely

Shortstop · Career Stats, Bio & Records (1884-1902)

Bones Ely was a shortstop who played in Major League Baseball from 1884 to 1902 for 8 teams, including the Buffalo Bisons, a span of 19 seasons. In 1,343 career games, he hit .258 with 1,333 hits, 24 home runs, and 657 RBI. He also pitched in 9 games, going 0-5 with a 6.75 ERA.

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 .258
HR 24
RBI 657
H 1,333
OPS .622
PIV -11,892
Position
Shortstop
Bats / Throws
R / R
Height / Weight
6'1" / 155 lb
Born
6/7/1863 in North Girard, PA, USA
Died
1/10/1952 in Imola, CA, USA
MLB Debut
1884-06-19
Last Game
1902-09-24

Full name: William Frederick Ely

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Career Batting Statistics

Bones Ely — Career Batting Statistics
G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB BB SO AVG OBP SLG OPS PIV
1,343 5,167 656 1,333 149 68 24 657 165 257 292 .258 .295 .327 .622 -11,892

Career AVG .258 vs. league average .271 across their career seasons — near league average.

Career OBP .295 vs. league average .333 across their career seasons — 11.6% below league average.

Career SLG .327 vs. league average .361 across their career seasons — 9.5% below league average.

Career OPS .622 vs. league average .695 across their career seasons — 10.5% below league average.

Season-by-Season Batting

Career Arc

Click a stat to plot it across every season.

Bones Ely 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 BFN NL 1 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 .000 — — — — 0.0
1886 LS2 AA 10 32 5 5 0 0 0 6 1 2 0 .156 — — — — 0.0
1890 SR2 AA 119 496 72 130 16 6 0 64 44 31 0 .262 .260 (+1%) .336 (-9%) .351 (-9%) .687 (-9%) -753.2
1891 BRO NL 31 111 9 17 0 1 0 11 4 7 9 .153 .254 (-40%) .331 (-39%) .343 (-50%) .675 (-45%) -755.0
1893 SLN NL 44 178 25 45 1 6 0 16 2 17 13 .253 .279 (-10%) .356 (-11%) .379 (-14%) .735 (-12%) -389.6
1894 SLN NL 127 510 85 156 20 12 12 89 23 30 34 .306 .309 (-1%) .379 (-9%) .435 (+6%) .814 (-1%) -220.4
1895 SLN NL 118 471 68 122 16 2 1 47 29 19 18 .259 .296 (-13%) .361 (-20%) .399 (-23%) .761 (-22%) -1764.5
1896 PIT NL 128 537 85 153 15 9 3 77 18 33 33 .285 .290 (-2%) .354 (-8%) .387 (-6%) .741 (-7%) -688.8
1897 PIT NL 133 516 63 146 20 8 2 74 10 25 24 .283 .291 (-3%) .354 (-10%) .387 (-6%) .741 (-8%) -779.5
1898 PIT NL 148 519 49 110 14 5 2 44 6 24 34 .212 .270 (-22%) .333 (-26%) .347 (-22%) .680 (-24%) -2010.8
1899 PIT NL 139 526 67 146 18 6 3 72 8 22 31 .278 .282 (-2%) .343 (-9%) .366 (-4%) .710 (-6%) -618.9
1900 PIT NL 130 475 60 116 6 6 0 51 6 17 29 .244 .279 (-12%) .338 (-20%) .366 (-23%) .705 (-21%) -1644.6
1901 PIT NL 65 240 18 50 6 3 0 28 5 6 28 .208 .271 (-23%) .326 (-28%) .359 (-28%) .686 (-28%) -1065.9
1901 PHA AL 45 171 11 37 6 2 0 16 6 3 14 .216 .271 (-20%) .326 (-30%) .359 (-24%) .686 (-26%) -1065.9
1902 WS1 AL 105 381 39 100 11 2 1 62 3 21 23 .262 .266 (-2%) .321 (-6%) .343 (-10%) .665 (-8%) -473.6
Career · 15 seasons 1,343 5,167 656 1,333 149 68 24 657 165 257 292 .258 — — — — -12,231

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 Pitching Statistics

Bones Ely — Career Pitching Statistics
W L G GS CG SHO SV IP H ER HR BB SO ERA Pitcher PIV
0 5 9 5 4 0 1 52.0 77 39 1 34 32 6.75 -254.2

Career ERA 6.75 vs. league average 3.76 across their career seasons — 79.3% worse than league average.

Season-by-Season Pitching

Pitching Career Arc

Click a stat to plot it across every season.

Bones Ely — Season-by-Season Pitching
Year Team Lg W L G GS CG SHO SV IP H ER BB SO ERA Lg ERA Pitcher PIV
1884 BFN NL 0 1 1 1 0 0 0 5.0 17 8 5 4 14.40 — 0.0
1886 LS2 AA 0 4 6 4 4 0 1 44.0 53 26 26 28 5.32 3.37 (-58%) -254.2
1890 SR2 AA 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 2.0 7 5 0 0 22.50 — 0.0
1894 SLN NL 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 1.0 0 0 3 0 0.00 — 0.0
Career · 4 seasons 0 5 9 5 4 0 1 52.0 77 39 34 32 6.75 — -254

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.

Game Log & Splits

View full game log (632 games) →

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

Batting — Home / Away

Bones Ely — Batting — Home / Away
SplitGABRHHRRBIAVG
Home31411281332943142.261
Away31811841122653130.224

Last 10 Games — Batting

Bones Ely — Last 10 Games — Batting
DateTmOppResABRH2B3BHRRBIBBSO
1902-09-24 MINBOSW 421000000
1902-09-23 MINBOSL 401000000
1902-09-22 MINBLAW 311000010
1902-09-22 MINBLAL 401000000
1902-09-20 MINBLAL 500000000
1902-09-20 MINBLAL 412000200
1902-09-18 MINPHAL 400000000
1902-09-17 MINPHAL 411000001
1902-09-16 MINPHAL 402000100
1902-09-15 MINBLAL 200000000

Fielding Statistics

Career Fielding Totals by Position

Bones Ely — Career Fielding Totals by Position
Position G GS PO A E DP
1B 4 0 34 0 2 5
2B 10 0 21 38 4 2
3B 4 0 5 12 2 0
OF 84 0 186 13 20 1
P 9 0 2 10 0 0
SS 1238 0 2585 4328 578 474

Season-by-Season Fielding

Bones Ely — Season-by-Season Fielding
Year Team Pos G GS PO A E DP
1884 BFN OF 1 0 0 0 1 0
1884 BFN P 1 0 0 1 0 0
1886 LS2 OF 5 0 7 0 1 0
1886 LS2 P 6 0 2 8 0 0
1890 SR2 1B 4 0 34 0 2 5
1890 SR2 2B 2 0 2 2 1 0
1890 SR2 3B 1 0 2 4 0 0
1890 SR2 OF 78 0 179 13 18 1
1890 SR2 P 1 0 0 1 0 0
1890 SR2 SS 36 0 81 123 12 14
1891 BRO 2B 1 0 1 4 0 0
1891 BRO 3B 2 0 3 7 2 0
1891 BRO SS 28 0 54 106 24 9
1893 SLN SS 44 0 98 139 25 16
1894 SLN 2B 1 0 3 4 2 0
1894 SLN P 1 0 0 0 0 0
1894 SLN SS 126 0 273 442 79 51
1895 SLN SS 118 0 248 408 53 52
1896 PIT SS 128 0 258 432 62 52
1897 PIT SS 133 0 308 451 60 41
1898 PIT SS 148 0 311 527 51 58
1899 PIT 2B 6 0 15 28 1 2
1899 PIT SS 133 0 277 476 58 46
1900 PIT SS 130 0 242 503 52 62
1901 PIT 3B 1 0 0 1 0 0
1901 PIT SS 64 0 112 215 30 23
1901 PHA SS 45 0 85 156 23 19
1902 WS1 SS 105 0 238 350 49 31

Career Games by Position

Position Diamond

Circle size = games played at each position.

Bones Ely Stats, Bio & Career Records
Position Games
Pitcher 9
First Base 4
Second Base 10
Third Base 4
Shortstop 1238
Left Field 74
Center Field 9
Right 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

Bones Ely (highlighted) compared to peers across the same era.

  1. 98
    George Stovall
    .265 avg, 15 HR
  2. 96
    Danny Richardson
    .254 avg, 32 HR
  3. 95
    Ivy Olson
    .258 avg, 13 HR
  4. 91
    Hick Carpenter
    .259 avg, 18 HR
  5. 87
    Oscar Melillo
    .260 avg, 22 HR
  6. 85
    Joe Mulvey
    .261 avg, 28 HR

Bones Ely: the record in brief

The profile opens with Bones Ely's first major league game on June 19, 1884; the last one listed came on September 24, 1902. The season rows list, in order, the Buffalo Bisons (1884), the Louisville Colonels (1886), the Syracuse Stars (1890), the Brooklyn Grooms (1891), the St. Louis Browns (1893 to 1895), the Pittsburgh Pirates (1896 to 1901), the Philadelphia Athletics (1901), and the Washington Senators (1902). At 6'1" and 155 pounds, Ely is listed as a shortstop. Ely both batted and threw right-handed, per the bio block. Ely was born on June 7, 1863, in North Girard, PA, USA. Ely died on January 10, 1952, in Imola, CA, USA. The given name on file is William Frederick Ely.

Across 1,343 games at the plate, Ely's career line reads 1,333 hits in 5,167 at bats for a .258 average, along with 24 homers, 657 runs batted in, and 165 stolen bases. Ely got on base at a .295 rate and slugged .327 (.622 OPS).

Frequently Asked Questions about Bones Ely

What years did Bones Ely play?
Bones Ely played in Major League Baseball from 1884 to 1902.
Was Bones Ely a pitcher?
Both. Bones Ely pitched in 9 games, going 0-5 with a 6.75 ERA, but spent most of his career as a Shortstop.
How many home runs did Bones Ely hit?
Bones Ely hit 24 career home runs with 1333 hits.
What was Bones Ely's career batting average?
Bones Ely batted .258 over his career, with 1,333 hits in 5,167 at bats.
How many RBI did Bones Ely have?
Bones Ely drove in 657 runs in his career.
What was Bones Ely's career ERA?
Bones Ely finished with a 6.75 career ERA, going 0-5 with 32 strikeouts.