Rube Foster

Pitcher · Career Stats, Bio & Records (1913-1917)

Rube Foster was a pitcher who played in Major League Baseball from 1913 to 1917 for the Boston Red Sox, a span of 5 seasons. Across 138 career appearances, he went 58-33 with a 2.36 ERA and 294 strikeouts. He also batted .215 with 1 home runs.

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 58–33
ERA 2.36
WHIP 1.22
SO 294
Pitcher PIV -2746.6
Position
Pitcher
Bats / Throws
R / R
Height / Weight
5'7" / 170 lb
Born
1/5/1888 in Lehigh, OK, USA
Died
3/1/1976 in Bokoshe, OK, USA
MLB Debut
1913-04-10
Last Game
1917-09-29

Full name: George Foster

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Career Pitching Statistics

Rube Foster — Career Pitching Statistics
W L G GS CG SHO SV IP H ER HR BB SO ERA Pitcher PIV
58 33 138 103 60 15 3 842.1 726 221 6 305 294 2.36 -2746.6

Career ERA 2.36 vs. league average 2.88 across their career seasons — 17.9% better than league average.

Season-by-Season Pitching

Pitching Career Arc

Click a stat to plot it across every season.

Rube Foster — Season-by-Season Pitching
Year Team Lg W L G GS CG SHO SV IP H ER BB SO ERA Lg ERA Pitcher PIV
1913 BOS AL 3 3 19 8 4 1 0 68.1 64 24 28 36 3.16 3.07 (-3%) -112.6
1914 BOS AL 14 8 32 27 17 5 0 211.2 164 40 52 89 1.70 2.93 (+42%) 1934.9
1915 BOS AL 19 8 37 33 21 5 1 255.1 217 60 86 82 2.11 2.90 (+27%) -1015.8
1916 BOS AL 14 7 33 19 9 3 2 182.1 173 62 86 53 3.06 2.78 (-10%) -2252.3
1917 BOS AL 8 7 17 16 9 1 0 124.2 108 35 53 34 2.53 2.69 (+6%) -1300.8
Career · 5 seasons 58 33 138 103 60 15 3 842.1 726 221 305 294 2.36 — -2,747

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

Rube Foster — Career Batting Statistics
G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB BB SO AVG OBP SLG OPS PIV
150 270 19 58 13 0 1 19 1 16 59 .215 .259 .274 .533 -510

Career AVG .215 vs. league average .253 across their career seasons — 14.9% below league average.

Career OBP .259 vs. league average .319 across their career seasons — 18.8% below league average.

Career SLG .274 vs. league average .334 across their career seasons — 17.9% below league average.

Career OPS .533 vs. league average .652 across their career seasons — 18.3% below league average.

Season-by-Season Batting

Career Arc

Click a stat to plot it across every season.

Rube Foster — Season-by-Season Batting
Year Team Lg G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB BB SO AVG Lg AVG Lg OBP Lg SLG Lg OPS PIV
1913 BOS AL 20 21 0 2 0 0 0 3 0 1 7 .095 — — — — 0.0
1914 BOS AL 35 63 4 11 1 0 0 1 1 4 14 .175 .255 (-32%) .322 (-31%) .339 (-44%) .661 (-37%) -346.1
1915 BOS AL 40 83 10 23 7 0 1 9 0 6 18 .277 .250 (+11%) .318 (+2%) .332 (+20%) .651 (+11%) 123.3
1916 BOS AL 38 62 3 11 3 0 0 2 0 3 10 .177 .248 (-29%) .314 (-31%) .326 (-31%) .640 (-31%) -287.0
1917 BOS AL 17 41 2 11 2 0 0 4 0 2 10 .268 — — — — 0.0
Career · 5 seasons 150 270 19 58 13 0 1 19 1 16 59 .215 — — — — -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

Rube Foster — Playoff Career Batting
G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO AVG
3 9 0 4 1 0 0 1 0 3 .444

Playoff Batting by Year

Rube Foster — Playoff Batting by Year
Year Round Team G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO AVG
1916 WS BOS 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 .000
1915 WS BOS 2 8 0 4 1 0 0 1 0 2 .500

Playoff Career Pitching

Rube Foster — Playoff Career Pitching
W L G GS SV IP H ER BB SO ERA
2 0 3 2 0 21.0 15 4 2 14 1.71

Playoff Pitching by Year

Rube Foster — Playoff Pitching by Year
Year Round Team W L G GS SV IP H ER BB SO ERA
1916 WS BOS 0 0 1 0 0 3.0 3 0 0 1 0.00
1915 WS BOS 2 0 2 2 0 18.0 12 4 2 13 2.00

Game Log & Splits

View full game log (288 games) →

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

Batting — Home / Away

Rube Foster — Batting — Home / Away
SplitGABRHHRRBIAVG
Home82132132909.220
Away68136730110.221

Pitching — Home / Away

Rube Foster — Pitching — Home / Away
SplitGIPHERBBSOERA
Home73455.0345931581641.84
Away65386.13841241461312.89

Last 10 Games — Batting

Rube Foster — Last 10 Games — Batting
DateTmOppResABRH2B3BHRRBIBBSO
1917-09-29 BOSSLAW 301000101
1917-09-13 BOSNYYL 000000000
1917-09-07 BOSPHAW 403100100
1917-09-03 BOSNYYL 301000000
1917-08-25 BOSSLAW 300000011
1917-08-20 BOSCHWL 200000001
1917-08-15 BOSPHAW 401000000
1917-08-10 BOSDETW 300000001
1917-08-06 BOSCLEL 300000001
1917-07-26 BOSSLAW 413000000

Last 10 Games — Pitching

Rube Foster — Last 10 Games — Pitching
DateTmOppDecIPHRERBBSOHR
1917-09-29 BOSSLA W 9.0755630
1917-09-13 BOSNYY — 0.2544000
1917-09-07 BOSPHA W 9.0400320
1917-09-03 BOSNYY L 9.0711400
1917-08-25 BOSSLA W 8.0622740
1917-08-20 BOSCHW L 7.01055310
1917-08-15 BOSPHA W 9.0621230
1917-08-10 BOSDET W 9.0811250
1917-08-06 BOSCLE L 9.0122240
1917-07-26 BOSSLA W 9.0833220

Fielding Statistics

Career Fielding Totals by Position

Rube Foster — Career Fielding Totals by Position
Position G GS PO A E DP
OF 1 0 0 0 0 0
P 138 0 71 244 10 7

Season-by-Season Fielding

Rube Foster — Season-by-Season Fielding
Year Team Pos G GS PO A E DP
1913 BOS P 19 0 5 16 1 0
1914 BOS P 32 0 18 56 4 1
1915 BOS P 37 0 18 77 2 0
1916 BOS OF 1 0 0 0 0 0
1916 BOS P 33 0 16 57 1 5
1917 BOS P 17 0 14 38 2 1

Career Games by Position

Position Diamond

Circle size = games played at each position.

Rube Foster — Career Games by Position
Position Games
Pitcher 138
Left 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

Rube Foster (highlighted) compared to peers across the same era.

  1. 98
    Bill James
    37-21, 2.28 ERA
  2. 96
    Andy Coakley
    58-59, 2.35 ERA
  3. 95
    Bugs Raymond
    45-57, 2.49 ERA
  4. 94
    Ernie Shore
    65-43, 2.47 ERA
  5. 89
    Carl Lundgren
    91-55, 2.42 ERA
  6. 88
    Glenn Liebhardt
    36-35, 2.17 ERA

Rube Foster: the record in brief

April 10, 1913 and September 29, 1917 bracket Rube Foster's time in the majors: the debut and the last game on record. Foster's only club in the season tables is the Boston Red Sox. Foster, a pitcher by primary position, batted and threw right-handed. Foster is listed at 5'7" and 170 pounds. Foster was born on January 5, 1888, in Lehigh, OK, USA. Foster's death is recorded on March 1, 1976, in Bokoshe, OK, USA. On the record, Rube Foster was born George Foster.

Foster pitched in 138 games, starting 103, and finished with a 58-33 record and 2.36 ERA. Foster had 294 strikeouts, 60 complete games, and 15 shutouts. Against a 2.88 league ERA for the same years, Foster was 17.9% better. Foster won 19 games in 1915, the most of any season listed. Foster struck out 89 batters in 1914, a career high. Among the heaviest workloads, the lowest ERA was 1.70 in 1914, when the league's was 2.93.

Frequently Asked Questions about Rube Foster

What years did Rube Foster play?
Rube Foster played in Major League Baseball from 1913 to 1917.
Was Rube Foster a pitcher?
Yes. Rube Foster pitched in the major leagues, recording 58 wins and 294 strikeouts.
How many home runs did Rube Foster hit?
Rube Foster hit 1 career home runs with 58 hits.
What was Rube Foster's career batting average?
Rube Foster batted .215 over his career, with 58 hits in 270 at bats.
How many RBI did Rube Foster have?
Rube Foster drove in 19 runs in his career.
What was Rube Foster's career ERA?
Rube Foster finished with a 2.36 career ERA, going 58-33 with 294 strikeouts.