Rube Foster

Pitcher · Career Stats, Hall of Fame Bio & Records

Rube Foster was a pitcher who played in Major League Baseball for 4 teams, including the Cuban X Giants. Across 82 career appearances, he went 49-17 with a 2.24 ERA and 354 strikeouts. He also batted .298 with 4 home runs. Rube Foster was inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1981. 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 264.

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

⭐ Hall of Fame 1981
W–L 49–17
ERA 2.24
WHIP 1.09
SO 354
Pitcher PIV 6203.9
Position
Pitcher
Bats / Throws
R / R
Height / Weight
5'9" / 230 lb
Born
9/17/1879 in La Grange, TX, USA
Died
12/9/1930 in Kankakee, IL, USA
Hall of Fame
Inducted 1981 (Veterans)

Full name: Andrew Bishop Foster

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Negro Leagues Career Statistics

Batting

Rube Foster — Batting
PA AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO SB BA OBP SLG OPS
29.0 29.0 5.0 10.0 1.0 2.0 0 2.0 0 0 0 .345 .345 .517 .862

Pitching

Rube Foster — Pitching
W L GS CG GF SV IP H R ER HR BB SO ERA WHIP
6 0 6 6 1 0 56.0 28 12 3 3 16 44 0.48 0.79

Career Pitching Statistics

Rube Foster — Career Pitching Statistics
W L G GS CG SHO SV IP H ER HR BB SO ERA Pitcher PIV
49 17 82 73 62 7 1 662.1 546 165 11 176 354 2.24 6203.9

Career ERA 2.24 vs. league average 2.84 across their career seasons — 21.1% better than league average.

Season-by-Season Pitching

Pitching Career Arc

Click a stat to plot it across every season.

Rube Foster (b. 1879) Stats, Bio & Career Records
Year Team Lg W L G GS CG SHO SV IP H ER BB SO ERA Lg ERA Pitcher PIV
1903 CXG EAS 4 0 4 4 4 1 0 36.0 19 3 7 19 0.75 3.10 (+76%) 749.9
1904 PG IND 4 0 4 4 4 0 0 36.0 21 6 9 41 1.50 2.66 (+44%) 168.2
1905 PG EAS 2 0 3 3 3 0 0 32.0 21 4 3 21 1.12 2.82 (+60%) 514.4
1906 PG EAS 4 2 10 8 7 1 1 72.0 62 16 21 39 2.00 2.68 (+25%) 625.2
1907 LEL WES 1 0 1 1 1 0 0 9.0 7 0 1 4 0.00 2.50 (+100%) 0.0
1908 LEL WES 5 1 6 6 6 0 0 54.0 46 12 18 26 2.00 2.40 (+17%) -11.4
1909 LEL WES 2 0 2 2 2 2 0 18.0 11 0 4 11 0.00 2.55 (+100%) 389.0
1910 LEL WES 3 0 4 4 4 0 0 40.0 29 5 5 20 1.12 2.79 (+60%) 592.1
1911 CAG WES 4 1 8 5 3 0 0 56.2 46 13 12 33 2.06 3.37 (+39%) 1176.6
1912 CAG WES 6 2 10 8 7 0 0 74.1 66 17 17 31 2.06 3.36 (+39%) 1214.8
1913 CAG WES 4 3 8 8 5 1 0 63.1 75 33 21 38 4.69 3.07 (-53%) 358.3
1914 CAG WES 5 4 10 9 7 2 0 72.2 57 20 25 32 2.48 2.93 (+15%) -78.0
1915 CAG WES 2 2 7 6 4 0 0 53.1 48 24 13 20 4.05 2.90 (-40%) 596.5
1916 CAG WES 1 1 2 2 2 0 0 18.0 17 2 9 8 1.00 2.78 (+64%) -92.6
1917 CAG WES 2 1 3 3 3 0 0 27.0 21 10 11 11 3.33 2.69 (-24%) 1.0
Career · 15 seasons 49 17 82 73 62 7 1 662.1 546 165 176 354 2.24 — 6,204

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
139 440 52 131 18 6 4 61 10 20 0 .298 .331 .393 .724 264

Career AVG .298 vs. league average .252 across their career seasons — +18.0% above league average.

Career OBP .331 vs. league average .315 across their career seasons — near league average.

Career SLG .393 vs. league average .330 across their career seasons — +19.1% above league average.

Career OPS .724 vs. league average .645 across their career seasons — +12.2% above league average.

Season-by-Season Batting

Career Arc

Click a stat to plot it across every season.

Rube Foster (b. 1879) 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
1903 CXG EAS 5 17 3 6 1 1 0 3 0 0 0 .353 — — — — 0.0
1904 PG IND 7 24 6 9 2 1 0 4 2 1 0 .375 — — — — 0.0
1905 PG EAS 10 43 2 15 1 1 0 10 3 1 0 .349 — — — — 0.0
1906 PG EAS 19 72 10 23 5 2 0 9 2 3 0 .319 .247 (+29%) .307 (+16%) .315 (+41%) .622 (+28%) 263.6
1907 LEL WES 2 7 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .143 — — — — 0.0
1908 LEL WES 13 41 8 14 2 0 1 10 0 1 0 .341 — — — — 0.0
1909 LEL WES 5 14 1 5 2 0 0 4 0 1 0 .357 — — — — 0.0
1910 LEL WES 7 18 2 2 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 .111 — — — — 0.0
1911 CAG WES 9 21 2 6 0 0 0 1 1 2 0 .286 — — — — 0.0
1912 CAG WES 18 47 2 13 2 1 0 7 0 2 0 .277 — — — — 0.0
1913 CAG WES 12 36 2 8 0 0 0 0 0 3 0 .222 — — — — 0.0
1914 CAG WES 13 45 9 19 2 0 3 11 1 1 0 .422 — — — — 0.0
1915 CAG WES 12 34 4 9 1 0 0 1 1 2 0 .265 — — — — 0.0
1916 CAG WES 3 7 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 0 .000 — — — — 0.0
1917 CAG WES 4 14 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .071 — — — — 0.0
Career · 15 seasons 139 440 52 131 18 6 4 61 10 20 0 .298 — — — — 264

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.

Fielding Statistics

Career Fielding Totals by Position

Rube Foster — Career Fielding Totals by Position
Position G GS PO A E DP
1B 27 8 227 22 17 10
3B 1 0 1 1 1 0
OF 22 16 16 6 3 0
P 82 26 26 178 18 5

Season-by-Season Fielding

Rube Foster — Season-by-Season Fielding
Year Team Pos G GS PO A E DP
1903 CXG P 4 4 1 12 1 0
1904 PG OF 2 2 6 6 1 0
1904 PG P 4 4 2 5 0 1
1905 PG OF 7 7 7 0 1 0
1905 PG P 3 3 2 7 0 1
1906 PG 1B 5 5 43 4 4 1
1906 PG OF 8 6 2 0 1 0
1906 PG P 10 8 4 26 3 2
1907 LEL OF 1 1 1 0 0 0
1907 LEL P 1 1 0 3 0 0
1908 LEL 1B 3 3 34 2 1 2
1908 LEL OF 2 0 0 0 0 0
1908 LEL P 6 6 4 14 2 0
1909 LEL 1B 2 0 12 1 1 2
1909 LEL OF 1 0 0 0 0 0
1909 LEL P 2 0 0 7 0 0
1910 LEL 1B 1 0 4 1 0 1
1910 LEL OF 1 0 0 0 0 0
1910 LEL P 4 0 3 12 0 0
1911 CAG P 8 0 1 15 2 0
1912 CAG 1B 6 0 41 1 3 2
1912 CAG P 10 0 2 18 0 0
1913 CAG 1B 3 0 18 6 2 1
1913 CAG 3B 1 0 1 1 1 0
1913 CAG P 8 0 2 19 2 0
1914 CAG 1B 3 0 28 4 0 0
1914 CAG P 10 0 2 16 7 0
1915 CAG 1B 3 0 36 2 6 1
1915 CAG P 7 0 2 13 1 1
1916 CAG P 2 0 1 5 0 0
1917 CAG 1B 1 0 11 1 0 0
1917 CAG P 3 0 0 6 0 0

Career Games by Position

Position Diamond

Circle size = games played at each position.

Rube Foster (b. 1879) Stats, Bio & Career Records
Position Games
Pitcher 82
First Base 27
Third Base 1
Left Field 3
Center Field 1
Right Field 18

Most Similar Players

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

  1. 98
    Harry Krause
    36-26, 2.50 ERA
  2. 88
    Heinie Berger
    32-29, 2.60 ERA
  3. 85
    Dave Brown
    61-23, 2.40 ERA
  4. 81
    Nick Maddox
    43-20, 2.29 ERA
  5. 80
    José Leblanc
    28-21, 2.64 ERA
  6. 80
    Jack Pfiester
    71-44, 2.02 ERA

Rube Foster: the record in brief

The season rows for Rube Foster begin in 1903. By club, Foster's seasons break down as the Cuban X Giants (1903), the Philadelphia Giants (1904 through 1906), the Chicago Leland Giants (1907 to 1910), and the Chicago American Giants (1911 through 1917). Foster, a pitcher by primary position, threw and hit right-handed. The recorded size is 5'9" and 230 pounds. The birth record reads September 17, 1879, in La Grange, TX, USA. The bio records the death on December 9, 1930, in Kankakee, IL, USA. Rube Foster was the playing name; the full given name is Andrew Bishop.

The pitching table credits Foster with a 49-17 record and a 2.24 ERA in 82 games. Also on Foster's record: 354 strikeouts, 62 complete games, and 7 shutouts. The leagues Foster pitched in allowed 2.84 earned runs per nine over those seasons, so the career ERA was 21.1% better than average. Foster won 6 games in 1912, the most of any season listed.

Frequently Asked Questions about Rube Foster

Was Rube Foster a pitcher?
Yes. Rube Foster pitched in the major leagues, recording 49 wins and 354 strikeouts.
How many home runs did Rube Foster hit?
Rube Foster hit 4 career home runs with 131 hits.
Is Rube Foster in the Hall of Fame?
Yes. Rube Foster was inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1981.
What teams did Rube Foster play for?
Rube Foster played for 4 teams: the Cuban X Giants (1903), the Philadelphia Giants (1904–1906), the Chicago Leland Giants (1907–1910), and the Chicago American Giants (1911–1917).
What were Rube Foster's career stats?
In 82 games, Rube Foster went 49-17 with a 2.24 ERA, 354 strikeouts, 662.1 innings pitched, and 1 saves. At the plate he had 131 hits and 4 home runs.
What position did Rube Foster play?
Rube Foster played primarily as a pitcher, the position where he appeared in the most games.
How tall was Rube Foster and how much did he weigh?
Rube Foster was listed at 5 feet 9 inches and 230 pounds.
What was Rube Foster's career ERA?
Rube Foster finished with a 2.24 career ERA, going 49-17 with 354 strikeouts.
How many strikeouts did Rube Foster have?
Rube Foster recorded 354 career strikeouts.