What years did Whitey Ford play?

Whitey Ford played in Major League Baseball from 1950 to 1967.

Was Whitey Ford a pitcher?

Yes. Whitey Ford pitched in the major leagues, recording 236 wins and 1956 strikeouts.

How many home runs did Whitey Ford hit?

Whitey Ford hit 3 career home runs with 177 hits.

What teams did Whitey Ford play for?

Whitey Ford played for one team, the New York Yankees (1950, 1953–1967).

How many Cy Young Awards did Whitey Ford win?

Whitey Ford won 1 Cy Young Award, in 1961.

What awards did Whitey Ford win?

Whitey Ford won the Cy Young Award (1961) and the World Series MVP award (1961). He was selected to 8 All-Star Games.

What were Whitey Ford's career stats?

In 498 games, Whitey Ford went 236-106 with a 2.75 ERA, 1,956 strikeouts, 3,170.1 innings pitched, and 10 saves. At the plate he had 177 hits and 3 home runs.

What position did Whitey Ford play?

Whitey Ford played primarily as a pitcher, the position where he appeared in the most games.

How tall was Whitey Ford and how much did he weigh?

Whitey Ford was listed at 5 feet 10 inches and 178 pounds.

What was Whitey Ford's career ERA?

Whitey Ford finished with a 2.75 career ERA, going 236-106 with 1,956 strikeouts.

How many strikeouts did Whitey Ford have?

Whitey Ford recorded 1,956 career strikeouts.

How many All-Star Games did Whitey Ford make?

Whitey Ford was selected to 8 All-Star Games.

Whitey Ford

Pitcher · Career Stats, Hall of Fame Bio & Records (1950-1967)

Whitey Ford was a pitcher who played in Major League Baseball from 1950 to 1967 for the New York Yankees, a span of 18 seasons. Across 498 career appearances, he went 236-106 with a 2.75 ERA and 1,956 strikeouts. He also batted .173 with 3 home runs. Whitey Ford was inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1974 and was a 8-time All-Star, a Cy Young, a World Series MVP, and a Babe Ruth Award. His career Pitcher PIV — Baseball Data Hub's era-adjusted measure of pitching impact — is 47870.3.

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

⭐ Hall of Fame 1974

W–L 236–106

ERA 2.75

WHIP 1.22

SO 1,956

Pitcher PIV 47870.3

Position: Pitcher
Bats / Throws: L / L
Height / Weight: 5'10" / 178 lb
Born: 10/21/1928 in New York, NY, USA
Died: 10/8/2020 in Lake Success, NY, USA
MLB Debut: 1950-07-01
Last Game: 1967-05-21
Hall of Fame: Inducted 1974 (BBWAA)
Awards: 8× All-Star · Cy Young · World Series MVP · Babe Ruth Award

Full name: Edward Charles Ford

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Career Pitching Statistics

Whitey Ford — Career Pitching Statistics
W	L	G	GS	CG	SHO	SV	IP	H	ER	HR	BB	SO	ERA	Pitcher PIV
236	106	498	438	156	45	10	3170.1	2,766	967	228	1,086	1,956	2.75	47870.3

Career ERA 2.75 vs. league average 3.79 across their career seasons — 27.6% better than league average.

Season-by-Season Pitching

Pitching Career Arc

Click a stat to plot it across every season.

Whitey Ford Stats, Bio & Career Records
Year	Team	Lg	W	L	G	GS	CG	SHO	SV	IP	H	ER	BB	SO	ERA	Lg ERA	Pitcher PIV
1950	NYA	AL	9	1	20	12	7	2	1	112.0	87	35	52	59	2.81	4.36 (+35%)	1632.8
1953	NYA	AL	18	6	32	30	11	3	0	207.0	187	69	110	110	3.00	4.14 (+27%)	758.9
1954	NYA	AL	16	8	34	28	11	3	1	210.2	170	66	101	125	2.82	3.90 (+28%)	3394.0
1955	NYA	AL	18	7	39	33	18	5	2	253.2	188	74	113	137	2.63	4.00 (+34%)	2257.0
1956	NYA	AL	19	6	31	30	18	2	1	225.2	187	62	84	141	2.47	3.96 (+38%)	5479.5
1957	NYA	AL	11	5	24	17	5	0	0	129.1	114	37	53	84	2.57	3.83 (+33%)	1388.3
1958	NYA	AL	14	7	30	29	15	7	1	219.1	174	49	62	145	2.01	3.86 (+48%)	5677.5
1959	NYA	AL	16	10	35	29	9	2	1	204.0	194	69	89	114	3.04	3.90 (+22%)	1739.5
1960	NYA	AL	12	9	33	29	8	4	0	192.2	168	66	65	85	3.08	3.82 (+19%)	666.0
1961	NYA	AL	25	4	39	39	11	3	0	283.0	242	101	92	209	3.21	4.03 (+20%)	6641.0
1962	NYA	AL	17	8	38	37	7	0	0	257.2	243	83	69	160	2.90	3.96 (+27%)	4206.2
1963	NYA	AL	24	7	38	37	13	3	1	269.1	240	82	56	189	2.74	3.46 (+21%)	3428.2
1964	NYA	AL	17	6	39	36	12	8	1	244.2	212	58	57	172	2.13	3.58 (+40%)	7239.3
1965	NYA	AL	16	13	37	36	9	2	1	244.1	241	88	50	162	3.24	3.50 (+7%)	3278.0
1966	NYA	AL	2	5	22	9	0	0	0	73.0	79	20	24	43	2.47	3.52 (+30%)	-487.1
1967	NYA	AL	2	4	7	7	2	1	0	44.0	40	8	9	21	1.64	3.30 (+50%)	571.0
Career · 16 seasons			236	106	498	438	156	45	10	3,170.1	2,766	967	1,086	1,956	2.75	—	47,870

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

Whitey Ford — Career Batting Statistics
G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	SB	BB	SO	AVG	OBP	SLG	OPS	PIV
500	1,023	91	177	19	0	3	69	3	113	224	.173	.256	.200	.457	-4,691

Career AVG .173 vs. league average .255 across their career seasons — 32.0% below league average.

Career OBP .256 vs. league average .323 across their career seasons — 20.5% below league average.

Career SLG .200 vs. league average .386 across their career seasons — 48.1% below league average.

Career OPS .457 vs. league average .709 across their career seasons — 35.5% below league average.

Season-by-Season Batting

Career Arc

Click a stat to plot it across every season.

Whitey Ford Stats, Bio & Career Records
Year	Team	Lg	G	AB	R	H	2B	HR	RBI	SB	BB	SO	AVG	Lg AVG	Lg OBP	Lg SLG	Lg OPS	PIV
1950	NYA	AL	20	36	2	7	0	0	3	0	4	4	.194	—	—	—	—	0.0
1953	NYA	AL	33	75	10	20	2	0	10	0	9	13	.267	.264 (+1%)	.335 (+3%)	.397 (-26%)	.733 (-13%)	-129.2
1954	NYA	AL	34	62	7	10	1	0	7	0	9	15	.161	.261 (-38%)	.333 (-21%)	.390 (-55%)	.723 (-39%)	-375.4
1955	NYA	AL	39	86	9	14	0	1	7	0	11	16	.163	.258 (-37%)	.332 (-22%)	.393 (-50%)	.726 (-37%)	-491.8
1956	NYA	AL	31	78	9	17	2	0	4	0	9	14	.218	.258 (-16%)	.331 (-10%)	.397 (-39%)	.728 (-26%)	-296.8
1957	NYA	AL	24	42	4	6	0	0	2	0	3	7	.143	—	—	—	—	0.0
1958	NYA	AL	30	73	10	15	1	0	2	0	5	10	.205	.257 (-20%)	.324 (-18%)	.394 (-44%)	.719 (-33%)	-358.7
1959	NYA	AL	35	65	6	15	4	1	6	0	12	11	.231	.256 (-10%)	.323 (+8%)	.392 (-14%)	.715 (-4%)	-3.3
1960	NYA	AL	33	53	4	8	2	0	3	0	9	14	.151	.255 (-41%)	.323 (-15%)	.387 (-51%)	.711 (-35%)	-270.1
1961	NYA	AL	39	96	11	17	1	0	10	0	12	17	.177	.258 (-31%)	.328 (-19%)	.399 (-53%)	.727 (-38%)	-557.7
1962	NYA	AL	38	85	5	10	2	0	5	1	8	22	.118	.257 (-54%)	.326 (-39%)	.393 (-64%)	.719 (-53%)	-727.4
1963	NYA	AL	38	92	5	13	2	1	4	2	6	22	.141	.246 (-43%)	.308 (-37%)	.371 (-47%)	.680 (-43%)	-591.8
1964	NYA	AL	39	67	5	8	1	0	2	0	10	23	.119	.250 (-52%)	.312 (-22%)	.377 (-64%)	.690 (-45%)	-431.8
1965	NYA	AL	38	82	4	15	1	0	4	0	5	26	.183	.245 (-26%)	.310 (-26%)	.371 (-48%)	.682 (-38%)	-456.5
1966	NYA	AL	22	18	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	6	.000	—	—	—	—	0.0
1967	NYA	AL	7	13	0	2	0	0	0	0	0	4	.154	—	—	—	—	0.0
Career · 16 seasons			500	1,023	91	177	19	3	69	3	113	224	.173	—	—	—	—	-4,691

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

Whitey Ford — Playoff Career Batting
G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	SO	AVG
22	49	4	4	0	0	0	3	7	14	.082

Playoff Batting by Year

Whitey Ford — Playoff Batting by Year
Year	Round	Team	G	AB	R	H	RBI	BB	SO	AVG
1964	WS	NYA	1	1	0	1	1	2	0	1.000
1963	WS	NYA	2	3	0	0	0	0	0	.000
1962	WS	NYA	3	7	0	0	0	1	3	.000
1961	WS	NYA	2	5	1	0	0	1	0	.000
1960	WS	NYA	2	8	1	2	2	0	2	.250
1958	WS	NYA	3	4	1	0	0	2	2	.000
1957	WS	NYA	2	5	0	0	0	0	1	.000
1956	WS	NYA	2	4	0	0	0	0	3	.000
1955	WS	NYA	2	6	1	0	0	1	1	.000
1953	WS	NYA	2	3	0	1	0	0	0	.333
1950	WS	NYA	1	3	0	0	0	0	2	.000

Playoff Career Pitching

Whitey Ford — Playoff Career Pitching
W	L	G	GS	SV	IP	H	ER	BB	SO	ERA
10	8	22	22	0	146.0	132	44	34	94	2.71

Playoff Pitching by Year

Whitey Ford — Playoff Pitching by Year
Year	Round	Team	W	L	G	GS	IP	H	ER	BB	SO	ERA
1964	WS	NYA	0	1	1	1	5.1	8	5	1	4	8.44
1963	WS	NYA	0	2	2	2	12.0	10	6	3	8	4.50
1962	WS	NYA	1	1	3	3	19.2	24	9	4	12	4.12
1961	WS	NYA	2	0	2	2	14.0	6	0	1	7	0.00
1960	WS	NYA	2	0	2	2	18.0	11	0	2	8	0.00
1958	WS	NYA	0	1	3	3	15.1	19	7	5	16	4.11
1957	WS	NYA	1	1	2	2	16.0	11	2	5	7	1.12
1956	WS	NYA	1	1	2	2	12.0	14	7	2	8	5.25
1955	WS	NYA	2	0	2	2	17.0	13	4	8	10	2.12
1953	WS	NYA	0	1	2	2	8.0	9	4	2	7	4.50
1950	WS	NYA	1	0	1	1	8.2	7	0	1	7	0.00

Game Log & Splits

View full game log (998 games) →

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

Batting — Home / Away

Whitey Ford — Batting — Home / Away
Split	G	AB	R	H	HR	RBI	AVG
Home	257	515	50	89	2	37	.173
Away	243	508	41	88	1	32	.173

Pitching — Home / Away

Whitey Ford — Pitching — Home / Away
Split	G	IP	H	ER	BB	SO	ERA
Home	255	1696.0	1474	486	540	1063	2.58
Away	243	1474.1	1292	482	546	896	2.94

Last 10 Games — Batting

Whitey Ford — Last 10 Games — Batting
Date	Tm	Opp	Res	AB	H	SO
1967-05-21	NYY	DET	L	0	0	0
1967-05-12	NYY	BAL	L	0	0	0
1967-05-07	NYY	KC1	L	2	0	2
1967-04-30	NYY	LAA	W	2	0	0
1967-04-25	NYY	CHW	W	4	2	2
1967-04-19	NYY	CHW	W	3	0	0
1967-04-14	NYY	BOS	L	2	0	0
1966-08-17	NYY	DET	L	0	0	0
1966-08-12	NYY	CLE	L	0	0	0
1966-08-10	NYY	BAL	L	0	0	0

Last 10 Games — Pitching

Whitey Ford — Last 10 Games — Pitching
Date	Tm	Opp	Dec	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO	HR
1967-05-21	NYY	DET	L	1.0	1	1	1	1	0	0
1967-05-12	NYY	BAL	L	3.0	3	1	1	1	2	0
1967-05-07	NYY	KC1	L	7.0	6	3	1	0	5	0
1967-04-30	NYY	LAA	—	7.0	8	1	0	3	5	0
1967-04-25	NYY	CHW	W	9.0	8	2	2	1	2	0
1967-04-19	NYY	CHW	W	9.0	7	0	0	2	2	0
1967-04-14	NYY	BOS	L	8.0	7	3	3	1	5	2
1966-08-17	NYY	DET	—	0.2	1	0	0	0	0	0
1966-08-12	NYY	CLE	—	1.0	1	0	0	0	1	0
1966-08-10	NYY	BAL	—	1.0	0	0	0	3	1	0

Fielding Statistics

Career Fielding Totals by Position

Whitey Ford — Career Fielding Totals by Position
Position	G	GS	PO	A	E	DP
P	498	396	173	630	33	49

Season-by-Season Fielding

Whitey Ford — Season-by-Season Fielding
Year	Team	Pos	G	GS	PO	A	E	DP
1950	NYA	P	20	0	7	17	0	1
1953	NYA	P	32	0	8	35	1	3
1954	NYA	P	34	28	7	39	2	3
1955	NYA	P	39	33	10	41	1	1
1956	NYA	P	31	30	9	57	1	6
1957	NYA	P	24	17	6	28	2	5
1958	NYA	P	30	29	7	44	6	2
1959	NYA	P	35	29	15	49	1	5
1960	NYA	P	33	29	12	38	1	2
1961	NYA	P	39	39	12	45	5	5
1962	NYA	P	38	37	25	58	3	4
1963	NYA	P	38	37	20	38	5	3
1964	NYA	P	39	36	18	47	1	2
1965	NYA	P	37	36	7	53	0	4
1966	NYA	P	22	9	7	26	4	2
1967	NYA	P	7	7	3	15	0	1

Career Games by Position

Position Diamond

Circle size = games played at each position.

Whitey Ford Stats, Bio & Career Records
Position	Games
Pitcher	498

Awards & Honors

Whitey Ford — Awards & Honors
Year	Award	Notes
1963	TSN All-Star	P
1963	TSN Pitcher of the Year
1961	Babe Ruth Award	P
1961	Cy Young Award
1961	TSN All-Star	P
1961	TSN Pitcher of the Year
1961	World Series MVP
1956	TSN All-Star	P
1955	TSN All-Star	P
1955	TSN Pitcher of the Year
1950	TSN Rookie of the Year

Award Voting History

Whitey Ford — Award Voting History
Year	Award	League	Finish	Points Won	Points Max	Votes First
1964	Most Valuable Player	AL	21th	7.0	280	0
1963	Most Valuable Player	AL	3rd	125.0	280	3
1962	Most Valuable Player	AL	26th	6.0	280	0
1961	Cy Young Award	ML	1st	9.0	18	9
1961	Most Valuable Player	AL	5th	102.0	280	0
1957	Most Valuable Player	AL	19th	4.0	336	0
1956	Cy Young Award	ML	3rd	1.0	16	1
1956	Most Valuable Player	AL	12th	33.0	336	0
1955	Most Valuable Player	AL	15th	21.0	336	0
1953	Most Valuable Player	AL	20th	8.0	336	0
1950	Most Valuable Player	AL	21th	7.0	336	0
1950	Rookie of the Year	AL	2nd	6.0	24	6

Most Similar Players

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

Career Spans

Whitey Ford (highlighted) compared to peers across the same era.

Compare Whitey Ford

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See Whitey Ford in Another Era

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Whitey Ford: the record in brief

The profile opens with Whitey Ford's first major league game on July 1, 1950; the last one listed came on May 21, 1967. The team column never changes: it is the New York Yankees from 1950 to 1967. Listed as a pitcher, Ford batted and threw left-handed. The recorded size is 5 feet, 10 inches and 178 pounds. The birth record reads October 21, 1928, in New York, NY, USA. Ford died on October 8, 2020, in Lake Success, NY, USA. Whitey Ford was the playing name; the full given name is Edward Charles.

The pitching table credits Ford with a 236-106 record and a 2.75 ERA in 498 games. The same table counts 1,956 strikeouts, 156 complete games, 45 shutouts, and 10 saves. That 2.75 ERA compares with a 3.79 league average across the same seasons, 27.6% better. Ford won 25 games in 1961, the most of any season listed. Among the heaviest workloads, the lowest ERA was 2.01 in 1958, when the league's was 3.86.

Frequently Asked Questions about Whitey Ford

What years did Whitey Ford play?: Whitey Ford played in Major League Baseball from 1950 to 1967.
Was Whitey Ford a pitcher?: Yes. Whitey Ford pitched in the major leagues, recording 236 wins and 1956 strikeouts.
How many home runs did Whitey Ford hit?: Whitey Ford hit 3 career home runs with 177 hits.
Is Whitey Ford in the Hall of Fame?: Yes. Whitey Ford was inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1974.
What teams did Whitey Ford play for?: Whitey Ford played for one team, the New York Yankees (1950, 1953–1967).
How many Cy Young Awards did Whitey Ford win?: Whitey Ford won 1 Cy Young Award, in 1961.
What awards did Whitey Ford win?: Whitey Ford won the Cy Young Award (1961) and the World Series MVP award (1961). He was selected to 8 All-Star Games.
What were Whitey Ford's career stats?: In 498 games, Whitey Ford went 236-106 with a 2.75 ERA, 1,956 strikeouts, 3,170.1 innings pitched, and 10 saves. At the plate he had 177 hits and 3 home runs.
What position did Whitey Ford play?: Whitey Ford played primarily as a pitcher, the position where he appeared in the most games.
How tall was Whitey Ford and how much did he weigh?: Whitey Ford was listed at 5 feet 10 inches and 178 pounds.
What was Whitey Ford's career ERA?: Whitey Ford finished with a 2.75 career ERA, going 236-106 with 1,956 strikeouts.
How many strikeouts did Whitey Ford have?: Whitey Ford recorded 1,956 career strikeouts.
How many All-Star Games did Whitey Ford make?: Whitey Ford was selected to 8 All-Star Games.