Luther Gilyard
First Baseman · Career Stats, Bio & Records
Luther Gilyard was a first baseman who played in Major League Baseball for the St. Louis Stars, the Chicago American Giants, and the Birmingham Black Barons. In 78 career games, he hit .259 with 68 hits, 1 home runs, and 28 RBI. His totals include Negro Leagues seasons, which MLB recognized as major league in 2020.
- 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
- Position
- First Baseman
- Bats / Throws
- — / L
- Height / Weight
- 5'6" / 171 lb
- Died
- 9/20/1976 in Detroit, MI, USA
Negro Leagues (season totals). Additive Retrosheet-digitized totals for seasons not already in the logs above; they are not summed into the career line. No team/league breakdown is available, and coverage may be partial.
Career Batting Statistics
| G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | SB | BB | SO | AVG | OBP | SLG | OPS | PIV |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 78 | 263 | 35 | 68 | 13 | 4 | 1 | 28 | 1 | 16 | 11 | .259 | .309 | .350 | .658 | -244 |
Career AVG .259 vs. league average .269 across their career seasons — near league average.
Career OBP .309 vs. league average .337 across their career seasons — 8.6% below league average.
Career SLG .350 vs. league average .383 across their career seasons — 8.7% below league average.
Career OPS .658 vs. league average .721 across their career seasons — 8.7% below league average.
Season-by-Season Batting
Click a stat to plot it across every season.
| Year | Team | Lg | G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | SB | BB | SO | AVG | Lg AVG | Lg OBP | Lg SLG | Lg OPS | PIV |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1937 | SL2 | NAL | 15 | 61 | 17 | 26 | 5 | 3 | 1 | 11 | 1 | 3 | 0 | .426 | .276 (+54%) | .342 (+35%) | .398 (+65%) | .740 (+51%) | 492.4 |
| 1937 | CAG | NAL | 29 | 101 | 7 | 20 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 9 | 0 | 6 | 7 | .198 | .276 (-28%) | .342 (-25%) | .398 (-43%) | .740 (-35%) | 492.4 |
| 1938 | CAG | NAL | 18 | 52 | 8 | 11 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 6 | 4 | .212 | .272 (-22%) | .341 (-14%) | .392 (-27%) | .734 (-21%) | -176.5 |
| 1939 | CAG | NAL | 4 | 15 | 2 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .267 | — | — | — | — | 0.0 |
| 1942 | BBB | NAL | 12 | 34 | 1 | 7 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | .206 | — | — | — | — | 0.0 |
| Career · 5 seasons | 78 | 263 | 35 | 68 | 13 | 4 | 1 | 28 | 1 | 16 | 11 | .259 | — | — | — | — | 808 | ||
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 (20 games) →Per-game data from Retrosheet (regular season, through 2025).
Batting — Home / Away
| Split | G | AB | R | H | HR | RBI | AVG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Home | 9 | 19 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 2 | .105 |
| Away | 7 | 15 | 4 | 5 | 0 | 1 | .333 |
Pitching — Home / Away
| Split | G | IP | H | ER | BB | SO | ERA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Home | 1 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| Away | 3 | 7.2 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1.17 |
Last 10 Games — Batting
| Date | Tm | Opp | Res | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | BB | SO |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1938-06-13 | CAG | MEM | L | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1938-06-12 | CAG | MEM | L | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1938-06-12 | CAG | MEM | L | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 1938-06-04 | CAG | JAX | W | 5 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| 1938-05-29 | CAG | KCM | L | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 1938-05-29 | CAG | KCM | L | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1938-05-28 | CAG | KCM | L | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1938-05-15 | KCM | CAG | W | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1937-06-11 | MEM | DT2 | W | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1937-06-07 | MEM | IN6 | W | 4 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
Last 4 Games — Pitching
| Date | Tm | Opp | Dec | IP | H | R | ER | BB | SO | HR |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1938-06-13 | CAG | MEM | — | 0.1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 1938-06-12 | CAG | MEM | — | 1.1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1937-06-11 | MEM | DT2 | W | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1937-05-30 | MEM | CAG | L | 6.0 | 2 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
Career Games by Position
Circle size = games played at each position.
| Position | Games |
|---|---|
| First Base | 76 |
| Third Base | 1 |
| Right Field | 1 |
Frequently Asked Questions about Luther Gilyard
- Was Luther Gilyard a pitcher?
- No. Luther Gilyard was a position player (First Baseman).
- How many home runs did Luther Gilyard hit?
- Luther Gilyard hit 1 career home runs with 68 hits.
- What was Luther Gilyard's career batting average?
- Luther Gilyard batted .259 over his career, with 68 hits in 263 at bats.
- How many RBI did Luther Gilyard have?
- Luther Gilyard drove in 28 runs in his career.
- Is Luther Gilyard in the Hall of Fame?
- No. Luther Gilyard has not been inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame.
- What teams did Luther Gilyard play for?
- Luther Gilyard played for the St. Louis Stars, the Chicago American Giants, and the Birmingham Black Barons.