Luther Farrell

Pitcher · Career Stats, Bio & Records

Luther Farrell was a pitcher who played in Major League Baseball for 8 teams, including the St. Louis Giants. Across 143 career appearances, he went 50-55 with a 4.92 ERA and 483 strikeouts. He also batted .311 with 21 home runs. His totals include Negro Leagues seasons, which MLB recognized as major league in 2020. His career PIV — Baseball Data Hub's era-adjusted measure of offensive impact — is 2,047.

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

W–L 50–55
ERA 4.92
WHIP 1.51
SO 483
Pitcher PIV 3371.5
Position
Pitcher
Bats / Throws
L / L
Height / Weight
6'1" / 200 lb
Born
7/13/1896 in Bartow, FL, USA
Died
1956 in Miami, FL, USA

Full name: Luther Alaner Farrell

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Negro Leagues Career Statistics

Batting

Luther Farrell — Batting
PA AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO SB BA OBP SLG OPS
108.0 91.0 5.0 17.0 1.0 1.0 1.0 8.0 10.0 14.0 3.0 .187 .272 .253 .525

Pitching

Luther Farrell — Pitching
W L GS CG GF SV IP H R ER HR BB SO ERA WHIP
3 6 11 9 3 0 103.2 101 68 20 4 46 65 1.74 1.42

Career Pitching Statistics

Luther Farrell — Career Pitching Statistics
W L G GS CG SHO SV IP H ER HR BB SO ERA Pitcher PIV
50 55 143 106 71 3 4 879.0 1,003 481 49 320 483 4.92 3371.5

Career ERA 4.92 vs. league average 4.18 across their career seasons — 17.9% worse than league average.

Season-by-Season Pitching

Pitching Career Arc

Click a stat to plot it across every season.

Luther Farrell Stats, Bio & Career Records
Year Team Lg W L G GS CG SHO SV IP H ER BB SO ERA Lg ERA Pitcher PIV
1920 SLG NNL 1 5 7 6 2 0 0 34.1 39 26 17 19 6.82 3.45 (-98%) 9.6
1920 COG NNL 2 4 7 5 5 0 0 59.1 62 29 17 31 4.40 3.45 (-28%) 219.7
1921 COG NNL 4 7 19 13 9 0 0 120.1 145 72 44 34 5.39 4.02 (-34%) -804.8
1923 CAG NNL 2 0 4 2 1 0 1 19.0 17 9 6 6 4.26 4.03 (-6%) -150.5
1925 NLG ECL 0 5 6 4 2 0 0 30.2 57 33 10 14 9.68 4.55 (-113%) 682.6
1925 ACB ECL 5 3 10 7 7 1 0 70.0 69 25 22 51 3.21 4.55 (+29%) 2524.7
1926 ACB ECL 0 3 6 4 2 0 0 25.2 28 13 13 17 4.56 4.11 (-11%) 141.6
1927 ACB ECL 16 11 34 25 18 2 0 219.1 204 89 74 138 3.65 4.08 (+11%) 3997.6
1928 ACB ECL 9 7 20 15 12 0 1 124.0 132 53 47 87 3.85 4.13 (+7%) -901.8
1929 ACB ANL 0 3 4 3 2 0 0 22.1 39 23 13 9 9.27 4.60 (-102%) -623.7
1930 NLG IND 7 1 14 12 8 0 1 94.1 122 61 34 52 5.82 4.80 (-21%) 38.5
1932 NBY IND 2 3 6 5 1 0 0 28.1 46 28 11 14 8.89 4.13 (-116%) -1191.9
1933 NBY IND 1 0 1 1 0 0 0 5.0 9 2 1 4 3.60 — 0.0
1934 PBG NN2 1 3 5 4 2 0 1 26.1 34 18 11 7 6.15 4.29 (-43%) -570.0
Career · 14 seasons 50 55 143 106 71 3 4 879.0 1,003 481 320 483 4.92 — 3,372

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

Luther Farrell — Career Batting Statistics
G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB BB SO AVG OBP SLG OPS PIV
271 721 117 224 34 9 21 126 4 80 4 .311 .382 .470 .852 2,047

Career AVG .311 vs. league average .282 across their career seasons — +10.2% above league average.

Career OBP .382 vs. league average .343 across their career seasons — +11.2% above league average.

Career SLG .470 vs. league average .396 across their career seasons — +18.9% above league average.

Career OPS .852 vs. league average .739 across their career seasons — +15.3% above league average.

Season-by-Season Batting

Career Arc

Click a stat to plot it across every season.

Luther Farrell 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
1920 SLG NNL 12 24 2 9 2 0 0 2 0 1 0 .375 — — — — 0.0
1920 COG NNL 9 28 2 3 1 0 0 2 0 0 0 .107 — — — — 0.0
1921 COG NNL 38 119 13 37 1 2 2 18 2 7 0 .311 .286 (+9%) .344 (+4%) .395 (+2%) .739 (+3%) 76.3
1923 CAG NNL 5 10 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 — — — — 0.0
1925 NLG ECL 13 39 4 9 1 0 0 2 0 1 0 .231 — — — — 0.0
1925 HIL ECL 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 — — — — 0.0
1925 ACB ECL 19 42 6 16 2 1 1 9 0 3 0 .381 — — — — 0.0
1926 ACB ECL 42 129 23 38 6 2 5 28 2 22 2 .295 .279 (+5%) .345 (+15%) .390 (+25%) .735 (+20%) 499.6
1927 ACB ECL 57 157 35 51 13 1 6 31 0 19 0 .325 .282 (+15%) .344 (+16%) .392 (+36%) .736 (+27%) 774.5
1928 ACB ECL 32 77 16 30 1 2 4 16 0 14 1 .390 .280 (+39%) .342 (+41%) .395 (+54%) .737 (+48%) 696.1
1929 ACB ANL 8 21 5 6 2 0 0 4 0 7 0 .286 — — — — 0.0
1930 NLG IND 18 38 8 15 3 1 3 10 0 5 0 .395 — — — — 0.0
1932 NBY IND 7 15 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .067 — — — — 0.0
1933 NBY IND 3 7 1 3 1 0 0 2 0 0 0 .429 — — — — 0.0
1934 PBG NN2 7 15 2 6 1 0 0 2 0 1 1 .400 — — — — 0.0
Career · 15 seasons 271 721 117 224 34 9 21 126 4 80 4 .311 — — — — 2,047

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

Luther Farrell — Playoff Career Batting
G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO AVG
19 56 5 11 1 1 1 8 8 9 .196

Playoff Batting by Year

Luther Farrell — Playoff Batting by Year
Year Round Team G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO AVG
1927 NWS ACB 8 21 1 4 1 1 0 5 2 0 .190
1926 NWS ACB 11 35 4 7 0 0 1 3 6 9 .200

Playoff Career Pitching

Luther Farrell — Playoff Career Pitching
W L G GS SV IP H ER BB SO ERA
2 2 5 4 0 38.1 36 14 19 22 3.29

Playoff Pitching by Year

Luther Farrell — Playoff Pitching by Year
Year Round Team W L G GS SV IP H ER BB SO ERA
1927 NWS ACB 2 2 5 4 0 38.1 36 14 19 22 3.29

Game Log & Splits

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

Batting — Home / Away

Luther Farrell — Batting — Home / Away
SplitGABRHHRRBIAVG
Away4130300.231

Pitching — Home / Away

Luther Farrell — Pitching — Home / Away
SplitGIPHERBBSOERA
Away214.0180490.00

Last 4 Games — Batting

Luther Farrell — Last 4 Games — Batting
DateTmOppResABRH2B3BHRRBIBBSO
1921-06-20 CG1CAGL 402000000
1921-06-19 CG1CAGL 400000000
1921-05-22 CG1CNNL 200000000
1921-05-01 CG1CB1L 301000000

Last 2 Games — Pitching

Luther Farrell — Last 2 Games — Pitching
DateTmOppDecIPHRERBBSOHR
1921-05-22 CG1CNN — 3.0760210
1921-05-01 CG1CB1 — 11.01140280

Fielding Statistics

Career Fielding Totals by Position

Luther Farrell — Career Fielding Totals by Position
Position G GS PO A E DP
OF 107 85 119 8 8 3
P 143 108 34 173 19 9

Season-by-Season Fielding

Luther Farrell — Season-by-Season Fielding
Year Team Pos G GS PO A E DP
1920 SLG OF 3 3 3 0 1 0
1920 SLG P 7 6 1 10 2 1
1920 COG P 7 5 1 15 1 0
1921 COG OF 18 15 20 1 6 0
1921 COG P 19 13 5 39 3 2
1923 CAG P 4 2 2 4 1 0
1925 NLG OF 6 0 0 0 0 0
1925 NLG P 6 4 0 0 0 0
1925 ACB OF 4 0 0 0 0 0
1925 ACB P 10 9 0 0 0 0
1926 ACB OF 38 35 52 5 1 3
1926 ACB P 6 4 1 3 1 0
1927 ACB OF 21 17 26 0 0 0
1927 ACB P 34 25 12 28 5 2
1928 ACB OF 8 8 10 2 0 0
1928 ACB P 20 15 5 42 1 2
1929 ACB OF 5 5 4 0 0 0
1929 ACB P 4 3 1 7 2 1
1930 NLG OF 1 0 2 0 0 0
1930 NLG P 14 12 4 14 2 1
1932 NBY P 6 5 0 5 1 0
1933 NBY OF 1 1 2 0 0 0
1933 NBY P 1 1 0 1 0 0
1934 PBG OF 2 1 0 0 0 0
1934 PBG P 5 4 2 5 0 0

Career Games by Position

Position Diamond

Circle size = games played at each position.

Luther Farrell Stats, Bio & Career Records
Position Games
Pitcher 143
Left Field 21
Center Field 6
Right Field 80

Most Similar Players

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

  1. 98
    Chris Holt
    28-51, 4.76 ERA
  2. 96
    Chris Haney
    38-52, 5.07 ERA
  3. 96
    Scott Karl
    54-56, 4.81 ERA
  4. 95
    Steve Parris
    44-49, 4.75 ERA
  5. 93
    Joe Kennedy
    43-61, 4.79 ERA
  6. 89
    Willie Gisentaner
    40-49, 5.14 ERA

Luther Farrell: the record in brief

Luther Farrell's record on this page is drawn from the season tables, which run from 1920 to 1934. Farrell played for the St. Louis Giants (1920), the Chicago Giants (1920 to 1921), the Chicago American Giants (1923), the New York Lincoln Giants (1925 through 1930), the Hilldale Club (1925), the Atlantic City Bacharach Giants (1925 to 1929), the New York Black Yankees (1932 through 1933), and the Philadelphia Bacharach Giants (1934). Farrell, born on July 13, 1896, in Bartow, FL, USA, is listed as a pitcher and batted and threw left-handed. Size on record: 6 feet, 1 inch and 200 pounds. Farrell's death is recorded in 1956, in Miami, FL, USA. The given name on file is Luther Alaner Farrell.

Farrell pitched in 143 games, starting 106, and finished with a 50-55 record and 4.92 ERA. The same table counts 483 strikeouts and 71 complete games. The league ERA over Farrell's seasons was 4.18, so the 4.92 figure ran 17.9% worse than average.

Frequently Asked Questions about Luther Farrell

Was Luther Farrell a pitcher?
Yes. Luther Farrell pitched in the major leagues, recording 50 wins and 483 strikeouts.
How many home runs did Luther Farrell hit?
Luther Farrell hit 21 career home runs with 224 hits.
What teams did Luther Farrell play for?
Luther Farrell played for 8 teams: the St. Louis Giants (1920), the Chicago Giants (1920–1921), the Chicago American Giants (1923), the New York Lincoln Giants (1925, 1930), the Hilldale Club (1925), the Atlantic City Bacharach Giants (1925–1929), the New York Black Yankees (1932–1933), and the Philadelphia Bacharach Giants (1934).
What were Luther Farrell's career stats?
In 143 games, Luther Farrell went 50-55 with a 4.92 ERA, 483 strikeouts, 879.0 innings pitched, and 4 saves. At the plate he had 224 hits and 21 home runs.
What position did Luther Farrell play?
Luther Farrell played primarily as a pitcher, the position where he appeared in the most games.
How tall was Luther Farrell and how much did he weigh?
Luther Farrell was listed at 6 feet 1 inch and 200 pounds.
What was Luther Farrell's career ERA?
Luther Farrell finished with a 4.92 career ERA, going 50-55 with 483 strikeouts.
How many strikeouts did Luther Farrell have?
Luther Farrell recorded 483 career strikeouts.
Is Luther Farrell in the Hall of Fame?
No. Luther Farrell has not been inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame.