Jack Harper

Pitcher · Career Stats, Bio & Records (1899-1906)

Jack Harper was a pitcher who played in Major League Baseball from 1899 to 1906 for 5 teams, including the Cleveland Spiders, a span of 8 seasons. Across 158 career appearances, he went 80-64 with a 3.55 ERA and 466 strikeouts. He also batted .186 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 80–64
ERA 3.55
WHIP 1.34
SO 466
Pitcher PIV -9178.2
Position
Pitcher
Bats / Throws
R / R
Height / Weight
6'0" / 178 lb
Born
4/2/1878 in Galloway, PA, USA
Died
9/30/1950 in Jamestown, NY, USA
MLB Debut
1899-09-18
Last Game
1906-06-06

Full name: Charles William Harper

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Career Pitching Statistics

Jack Harper — Career Pitching Statistics
W L G GS CG SHO SV IP H ER HR BB SO ERA Pitcher PIV
80 64 158 148 115 10 1 1216.2 1,198 480 25 438 466 3.55 -9178.2

Career ERA 3.55 vs. league average 3.11 across their career seasons — 14.3% worse than league average.

Season-by-Season Pitching

Pitching Career Arc

Click a stat to plot it across every season.

Jack Harper (b. 1878) Stats, Bio & Career Records
Year Team Lg W L G GS CG SHO SV IP H ER BB SO ERA Lg ERA Pitcher PIV
1899 CL4 NL 1 4 5 5 5 0 0 37.0 44 16 12 14 3.89 3.85 (-1%) -557.6
1900 SLN NL 0 1 1 1 0 0 0 3.0 4 4 2 0 12.00 — 0.0
1901 SLN NL 23 13 39 37 28 1 0 308.2 294 124 99 128 3.62 3.49 (-4%) -174.0
1902 SLA AL 15 11 29 26 20 2 0 222.1 224 102 81 74 4.13 3.17 (-30%) -2776.3
1903 CIN NL 8 9 17 15 13 0 0 135.0 143 65 70 45 4.33 3.10 (-40%) -3205.6
1904 CIN NL 23 9 35 35 31 6 0 293.2 262 75 85 125 2.30 2.66 (+13%) 340.4
1905 CIN NL 9 13 26 23 15 1 1 179.1 189 77 69 70 3.86 2.82 (-37%) -1605.1
1906 CIN NL 1 4 5 5 3 0 0 36.2 38 17 20 10 4.17 2.68 (-56%) -1200.2
1906 CHN NL 0 0 1 1 0 0 0 1.0 0 0 0 0 0.00 — 0.0
Career · 9 seasons 80 64 158 148 115 10 1 1,216.2 1,198 480 438 466 3.55 — -9,178

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

Jack Harper — Career Batting Statistics
G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB BB SO AVG OBP SLG OPS PIV
160 451 51 84 9 7 1 41 5 34 115 .186 .246 .244 .490 -1,686

Career AVG .186 vs. league average .261 across their career seasons — 28.6% below league average.

Career OBP .246 vs. league average .318 across their career seasons — 22.6% below league average.

Career SLG .244 vs. league average .340 across their career seasons — 28.2% below league average.

Career OPS .490 vs. league average .658 across their career seasons — 25.5% below league average.

Season-by-Season Batting

Career Arc

Click a stat to plot it across every season.

Jack Harper (b. 1878) 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
1899 CL4 NL 5 11 2 2 0 0 0 1 0 4 1 .182 — — — — 0.0
1900 SLN NL 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 .000 — — — — 0.0
1901 SLN NL 39 116 13 20 1 1 1 10 1 10 31 .172 .271 (-37%) .326 (-23%) .359 (-38%) .686 (-31%) -529.0
1902 SLA AL 29 83 9 17 2 0 0 6 0 5 18 .205 .266 (-23%) .321 (-22%) .343 (-33%) .665 (-28%) -340.3
1903 CIN NL 19 56 7 14 2 2 0 9 1 2 12 .250 .261 (-4%) .316 (-13%) .345 (+3%) .662 (-4%) -60.1
1904 CIN NL 35 113 14 18 4 2 0 11 3 3 28 .159 .246 (-35%) .300 (-40%) .321 (-28%) .622 (-34%) -566.6
1905 CIN NL 26 60 5 10 0 2 0 2 0 7 22 .167 .248 (-33%) .307 (-17%) .322 (-28%) .629 (-23%) -189.8
1906 CIN NL 5 11 1 3 0 0 0 2 0 3 2 .273 — — — — 0.0
1906 CHN NL 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 — — — — 0.0
Career · 9 seasons 160 451 51 84 9 7 1 41 5 34 115 .186 — — — — -1,686

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 (318 games) →

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

Batting — Home / Away

Jack Harper — Batting — Home / Away
SplitGABRHHRRBIAVG
Home732182541018.188
Away872352643122.183

Pitching — Home / Away

Jack Harper — Pitching — Home / Away
SplitGIPHERBBSOERA
Home72603.25611032122161.54
Away86611.26341522242472.24

Last 10 Games — Batting

Jack Harper — Last 10 Games — Batting
DateTmOppResABRH2B3BHRRBIBBSO
1906-06-06 CHCNY1W 000000000
1906-05-04 CINSTLL 000000000
1906-04-27 CINCHCL 311000020
1906-04-20 CINPITL 301000101
1906-04-16 CINCHCW 300000011
1906-04-13 CINCHCL 201000100
1905-08-18 CINBSNL 100000000
1905-08-11 CINBSNL 300000001
1905-08-07 CINPHIW 513010002
1905-08-05 CINBROW 411000011

Last 10 Games — Pitching

Jack Harper — Last 10 Games — Pitching
DateTmOppDecIPHRERBBSOHR
1906-06-06 CHCNY1 — 1.0000000
1906-05-04 CINSTL L 1.2530300
1906-04-27 CINCHC L 11.11570540
1906-04-20 CINPIT L 6.0460320
1906-04-16 CINCHC W 9.0920530
1906-04-13 CINCHC L 8.0550311
1905-08-18 CINBSN — 3.0650111
1905-08-11 CINBSN L 9.0840220
1905-08-07 CINPHI W 9.01070760
1905-08-05 CINBRO W 9.0960140

Fielding Statistics

Career Fielding Totals by Position

Jack Harper — Career Fielding Totals by Position
Position G GS PO A E DP
P 158 64 49 317 24 10

Season-by-Season Fielding

Jack Harper — Season-by-Season Fielding
Year Team Pos G GS PO A E DP
1899 CL4 P 5 0 1 7 0 0
1900 SLN P 1 0 0 1 0 0
1901 SLN P 39 0 13 82 4 3
1902 SLA P 29 0 8 70 6 3
1903 CIN P 17 0 7 43 4 2
1904 CIN P 35 35 12 58 5 1
1905 CIN P 26 23 6 49 4 1
1906 CIN P 5 5 1 7 1 0
1906 CHN P 1 1 1 0 0 0

Career Games by Position

Position Diamond

Circle size = games played at each position.

Jack Harper (b. 1878) Stats, Bio & Career Records
Position Games
Pitcher 158

Most Similar Players

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

Career Spans

Jack Harper (highlighted) compared to peers across the same era.

  1. 98
    Ed Figueroa
    80-67, 3.51 ERA
  2. 76
    Bill Drake
    79-70, 3.69 ERA
  3. 74
    Atley Donald
    65-33, 3.52 ERA
  4. 71
    Al Fitzmorris
    77-59, 3.65 ERA
  5. 70
    Johnny Rigney
    63-64, 3.59 ERA
  6. 69
    Alan Foster
    48-63, 3.74 ERA

Jack Harper: the record in brief

Jack Harper's major league career runs from a debut on September 18, 1899 to a final game on June 6, 1906. Harper played for the Cleveland Spiders (1899), the St. Louis Cardinals (1900 through 1901), the St. Louis Browns (1902), the Cincinnati Reds (1903 to 1906), and the Chicago Cubs (1906). Harper played primarily as a pitcher and batted and threw right-handed. The bio adds a birth date on April 2, 1878, in Galloway, PA, USA and a listed size of 6-foot-0 and 178 pounds. Harper died on September 30, 1950, in Jamestown, NY, USA. The given name on file is Charles William Harper.

Harper went 80-64 with a 3.55 ERA in 158 games, 148 of them starts. The totals include 466 strikeouts, 115 complete games, and 10 shutouts. Against a 3.11 league ERA for the same seasons, the 3.55 mark was 14.3% worse. 1901 brought Harper a season-high 23 wins. In 1904, one of the busiest seasons, Harper posted a 2.30 ERA; the league figure that year was 2.66.

Frequently Asked Questions about Jack Harper

What years did Jack Harper play?
Jack Harper played in Major League Baseball from 1899 to 1906.
Was Jack Harper a pitcher?
Yes. Jack Harper pitched in the major leagues, recording 80 wins and 466 strikeouts.
How many home runs did Jack Harper hit?
Jack Harper hit 1 career home runs with 84 hits.
What was Jack Harper's career batting average?
Jack Harper batted .186 over his career, with 84 hits in 451 at bats.
How many RBI did Jack Harper have?
Jack Harper drove in 41 runs in his career.
What was Jack Harper's career ERA?
Jack Harper finished with a 3.55 career ERA, going 80-64 with 466 strikeouts.