Walter Holke

First Baseman · Career Stats, Bio & Records (1914-1925)

Walter Holke was a first baseman who played in Major League Baseball from 1914 to 1925 for 4 teams, including the New York Giants, a span of 12 seasons. In 1,212 career games, he hit .287 with 1,278 hits, 24 home runs, and 487 RBI.

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

AVG .287
HR 24
RBI 487
H 1,278
OPS .682
PIV -2,752
Position
First Baseman
Bats / Throws
B / L
Height / Weight
6'1" / 185 lb
Born
12/25/1892 in St. Louis, MO, USA
Died
10/12/1954 in St. Louis, MO, USA
MLB Debut
1914-10-06
Last Game
1925-09-23

Full name: Walter Henry Holke

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Career Batting Statistics

Walter Holke — Career Batting Statistics
G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB BB SO AVG OBP SLG OPS PIV
1,212 4,456 464 1,278 153 58 24 487 81 191 304 .287 .318 .363 .682 -2,752

Career AVG .287 vs. league average .271 across their career seasons — +5.7% above league average.

Career OBP .318 vs. league average .333 across their career seasons — near league average.

Career SLG .363 vs. league average .367 across their career seasons — near league average.

Career OPS .682 vs. league average .701 across their career seasons — near league average.

Season-by-Season Batting

Career Arc

Click a stat to plot it across every season.

Walter Holke 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
1914 NY1 NL 2 6 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .333 — — — — 0.0
1916 NY1 NL 34 111 16 39 4 2 0 13 10 6 16 .351 .248 (+41%) .314 (+24%) .326 (+30%) .640 (+27%) 443.5
1917 NY1 NL 153 527 55 146 12 7 2 55 13 34 54 .277 .248 (+11%) .312 (+5%) .323 (+4%) .635 (+5%) 423.7
1918 NY1 NL 88 326 38 82 17 4 1 27 10 10 26 .252 .255 (-1%) .318 (-13%) .326 (+3%) .645 (-5%) -359.8
1919 BSN NL 137 518 48 151 14 6 0 48 19 21 25 .292 .262 (+11%) .322 (+1%) .347 (-2%) .670 (-1%) -77.3
1920 BSN NL 144 551 53 162 15 11 3 64 4 28 31 .294 .271 (+8%) .331 (-1%) .363 (+4%) .694 (+2%) 68.6
1921 BSN NL 150 579 60 151 15 10 3 63 8 17 41 .261 .286 (-9%) .344 (-17%) .395 (-15%) .739 (-16%) -1608.6
1922 BSN NL 105 395 35 115 9 4 0 46 6 14 23 .291 .285 (+2%) .345 (-8%) .397 (-16%) .743 (-12%) -810.7
1923 PHI NL 147 562 64 175 31 4 7 70 7 16 37 .311 .282 (+10%) .344 (-4%) .390 (+7%) .734 (+2%) 35.2
1924 PHI NL 148 563 60 169 23 6 6 64 3 25 33 .300 .283 (+6%) .345 (-4%) .389 (+1%) .734 (-1%) -226.7
1925 PHI NL 39 86 11 21 5 0 1 17 0 3 6 .244 .288 (-15%) .349 (-23%) .407 (-17%) .756 (-20%) -298.0
1925 CIN NL 65 232 24 65 8 4 1 20 1 17 12 .280 .288 (-3%) .349 (-6%) .407 (-11%) .756 (-9%) -298.0
Career · 12 seasons 1,212 4,456 464 1,278 153 58 24 487 81 191 304 .287 — — — — -2,708

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 Pitching Statistics

Walter Holke — Career Pitching Statistics
W L G GS CG SHO SV IP H ER HR BB SO ERA Pitcher PIV
0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0.1 1 0 0 0 0 0.00 0.0

Career ERA 0.00 vs. league average 4.03 across their career seasons — 100.0% better than league average.

Season-by-Season Pitching

Pitching Career Arc

Click a stat to plot it across every season.

Walter Holke — Season-by-Season Pitching
Year Team Lg W L G GS CG SHO SV IP H ER BB SO ERA Lg ERA Pitcher PIV
1923 PHI NL 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0.1 1 0 0 0 0.00 — 0.0
Career · 1 season 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0.1 1 0 0 0 0.00 — 0

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

Walter Holke — Playoff Career Batting
G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO AVG
6 21 2 6 2 0 0 1 0 6 .286

Playoff Batting by Year

Walter Holke — Playoff Batting by Year
Year Round Team G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO AVG
1917 WS NY1 6 21 2 6 2 0 0 1 0 6 .286

Game Log & Splits

View full game log (1213 games) →

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

Batting — Home / Away

Walter Holke — Batting — Home / Away
SplitGABRHHRRBIAVG
Home588211222962814256.297
Away624234323265210230.278

Pitching — Home / Away

Walter Holke — Pitching — Home / Away
SplitGIPHERBBSOERA
Home10.110000.00

Last 10 Games — Batting

Walter Holke — Last 10 Games — Batting
DateTmOppResABRH2B3BHRRBIBBSO
1925-09-23 CINBSNL 101100000
1925-09-21 CINBSNL 310000010
1925-09-18 CINPHIL 300000000
1925-09-17 CINPHIW 302100100
1925-09-16 CINNY1L 300000000
1925-09-15 CINNY1L 400000000
1925-09-13 CINCHCW 310000000
1925-09-12 CINCHCW 401000100
1925-09-10 CINCHCW 502000100
1925-09-08 CINSTLW 512000100

Last 1 Games — Pitching

Walter Holke — Last 1 Games — Pitching
DateTmOppDecIPHRERBBSOHR
1923-07-13 PHICIN — 0.1100000

Fielding Statistics

Career Fielding Totals by Position

Walter Holke — Career Fielding Totals by Position
Position G GS PO A E DP
1B 1193 0 12158 665 96 859
P 1 0 0 0 0 0

Season-by-Season Fielding

Walter Holke — Season-by-Season Fielding
Year Team Pos G GS PO A E DP
1914 NY1 1B 2 0 17 2 1 1
1916 NY1 1B 34 0 331 13 1 15
1917 NY1 1B 153 0 1635 70 19 104
1918 NY1 1B 88 0 938 68 10 50
1919 BSN 1B 136 0 1474 95 11 86
1920 BSN 1B 143 0 1528 81 14 92
1921 BSN 1B 150 0 1471 86 4 100
1922 BSN 1B 105 0 1017 44 8 65
1923 PHI 1B 146 0 1425 69 13 136
1923 PHI P 1 0 0 0 0 0
1924 PHI 1B 148 0 1516 90 12 134
1925 PHI 1B 23 0 164 12 1 16
1925 CIN 1B 65 0 642 35 2 60

Career Games by Position

Position Diamond

Circle size = games played at each position.

Walter Holke Stats, Bio & Career Records
Position Games
Pitcher 1
First Base 1193

Most Similar Players

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

Career Spans

Walter Holke (highlighted) compared to peers across the same era.

  1. 98
    Mark Koenig
    .279 avg, 28 HR
  2. 86
    Joe Start
    .299 avg, 15 HR
  3. 86
    Rennie Stennett
    .274 avg, 41 HR
  4. 84
    Frank LaPorte
    .281 avg, 15 HR
  5. 84
    Chick Gandil
    .277 avg, 11 HR
  6. 82
    Glenn Beckert
    .283 avg, 22 HR

Walter Holke: the record in brief

Walter Holke's major league career runs from a debut on October 6, 1914 to a final game on September 23, 1925. Club by club, the record runs the New York Giants (1914 through 1918), the Boston Braves (1919 through 1922), the Philadelphia Phillies (1923 to 1925), and the Cincinnati Reds (1925). Holke is listed as a first baseman at 6 feet, 1 inch and 185 pounds. Holke switch-hit and threw left-handed, per the bio block. The recorded birth is December 25, 1892, in St. Louis, MO, USA. Holke's death is recorded on October 12, 1954, in St. Louis, MO, USA. The bio lists the given name Walter Henry.

The batting record for Holke: 1,212 games, 1,278 hits in 4,456 at bats, and a .287 average, adding 24 home runs, 487 runs batted in, and 81 stolen bases. Holke got on base at a .318 rate and slugged .363 (.682 OPS). The league as a whole hit .271 across Holke's seasons, which puts the .287 career mark 5.7% above average.

Frequently Asked Questions about Walter Holke

What years did Walter Holke play?
Walter Holke played in Major League Baseball from 1914 to 1925.
Was Walter Holke a pitcher?
No. Walter Holke was a position player (First Baseman), though he did pitch in 1 career game.
How many home runs did Walter Holke hit?
Walter Holke hit 24 career home runs with 1,278 hits.
What teams did Walter Holke play for?
Walter Holke played for 4 teams: the New York Giants (1914, 1916–1918), the Boston Braves (1919–1922), the Philadelphia Phillies (1923–1925), and the Cincinnati Reds (1925).
What were Walter Holke's career stats?
In 1,212 games, Walter Holke had 1,278 hits, 24 home runs, 487 RBI, 464 runs, and 81 stolen bases, with a .287 batting average.
What position did Walter Holke play?
Walter Holke played primarily as a first baseman, the position where he appeared in the most games.
How tall was Walter Holke and how much did he weigh?
Walter Holke was listed at 6 feet 1 inch and 185 pounds.
How many home runs did Walter Holke hit each season?
Walter Holke's home runs by season: 0 in 1914, 0 in 1916, 2 in 1917, 1 in 1918, 0 in 1919, 3 in 1920, 3 in 1921, 0 in 1922, 7 in 1923, 6 in 1924, and 2 in 1925. His most in one season was 7, in 1923.
What was Walter Holke's career batting average?
Walter Holke batted .287 over his career, with 1,278 hits in 4,456 at bats.
How many RBI did Walter Holke have?
Walter Holke drove in 487 runs in his career.
What was Walter Holke's career ERA?
Walter Holke finished with a 0.00 career ERA, going 0-0 with 0 strikeouts.
Is Walter Holke in the Hall of Fame?
No. Walter Holke has not been inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame.