Philly Holmes
Shortstop · Career Stats, Bio & Records
Philly Holmes was a shortstop who played in Major League Baseball for 5 teams, including the Jacksonville Red Caps. In 50 career games, he hit .250 with 50 hits, 1 home runs, and 26 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
- Shortstop
- Bats / Throws
- L / R
- Height / Weight
- 5'10" / 169 lb
- Died
- 10/7/1985 in Atlanta, GA, USA
Full name: Leroy Holmes
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 50 | 200 | 24 | 50 | 3 | 5 | 1 | 26 | 9 | 16 | 1 | .250 | .306 | .330 | .636 | -254 |
Career AVG .250 vs. league average .269 across their career seasons — 7.2% below league average.
Career OBP .306 vs. league average .338 across their career seasons — 9.5% below league average.
Career SLG .330 vs. league average .380 across their career seasons — 13.2% below league average.
Career OPS .636 vs. league average .718 across their career seasons — 11.5% 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1938 | JRC | NAL | 15 | 69 | 9 | 17 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 12 | 5 | 6 | 1 | .246 | .272 (-10%) | .341 (-10%) | .392 (-8%) | .734 (-9%) | -111.2 |
| 1939 | CBR | NAL | 7 | 21 | 4 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 5 | 0 | .190 | — | — | — | — | 0.0 |
| 1939 | IAB | NAL | 4 | 14 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | .214 | — | — | — | — | 0.0 |
| 1945 | NBY | NN2 | 11 | 47 | 3 | 14 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 8 | 0 | 2 | 0 | .298 | — | — | — | — | 0.0 |
| 1945 | CIC | NAL | 13 | 49 | 6 | 12 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | .245 | — | — | — | — | 0.0 |
| Career · 5 seasons | 50 | 200 | 24 | 50 | 3 | 5 | 1 | 26 | 9 | 16 | 1 | .250 | — | — | — | — | -111 | ||
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 (49 games) →Per-game data from Retrosheet (regular season, through 2025).
Batting — Home / Away
| Split | G | AB | R | H | HR | RBI | AVG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Home | 21 | 58 | 7 | 18 | 0 | 11 | .310 |
| Away | 28 | 100 | 12 | 34 | 1 | 12 | .340 |
Last 10 Games — Batting
| Date | Tm | Opp | Res | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | BB | SO |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1945-09-10 | CIA | CAG | L | 6 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1945-09-01 | CIA | BIR | L | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1945-08-30 | CIA | BIR | W | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1945-08-25 | CIA | BIR | L | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 1945-08-19 | CIA | KCM | W | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| 1945-08-19 | CIA | KCM | W | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 1945-07-27 | CIA | MEM | W | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 1945-07-25 | CIA | CAG | L | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1945-07-22 | CIA | CVB | L | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1945-06-24 | NY5 | NW2 | L | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Fielding Statistics
Career Fielding Totals by Position
| Position | G | GS | PO | A | E | DP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2B | 23 | 22 | 49 | 68 | 10 | 11 |
| OF | 3 | 3 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| SS | 24 | 24 | 31 | 64 | 8 | 10 |
Season-by-Season Fielding
| Year | Team | Pos | G | GS | PO | A | E | DP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1938 | JRC | 2B | 3 | 2 | 5 | 9 | 0 | 2 |
| 1938 | JRC | SS | 13 | 13 | 17 | 36 | 6 | 5 |
| 1939 | CBR | SS | 6 | 6 | 10 | 20 | 1 | 4 |
| 1939 | IAB | 2B | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1939 | IAB | SS | 3 | 3 | 2 | 4 | 1 | 1 |
| 1945 | NBY | 2B | 8 | 8 | 21 | 25 | 2 | 5 |
| 1945 | NBY | OF | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1945 | NBY | SS | 2 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 0 |
| 1945 | CIC | 2B | 11 | 11 | 21 | 34 | 8 | 4 |
| 1945 | CIC | OF | 2 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
Career Games by Position
Circle size = games played at each position.
| Position | Games |
|---|---|
| Second Base | 23 |
| Shortstop | 24 |
| Left Field | 2 |
| Center Field | 1 |
Philly Holmes: the record in brief
The season rows for Philly Holmes begin in 1938. Club by club, the record runs the Jacksonville Red Caps (1938), the Cleveland Bears (1939), the Indianapolis ABCs/Atlanta Black Crackers (1939), the New York Black Yankees (1945), and the Cincinnati-Indianapolis Clowns (1945). The bio lists Holmes as a shortstop who threw right-handed and batted left-handed. Height and weight on file: 169 pounds on a 5-foot-10 frame. The birth record reads December 12, 1912, in Brunswick, GA, USA. The bio records the death on October 7, 1985, in Atlanta, GA, USA. Holmes's full given name, per the bio, is Leroy Holmes.
Holmes collected 50 hits in 200 at bats across 50 games, good for a .250 batting average, plus 1 home run and 26 runs batted in. Holmes got on base at a .306 rate and slugged .330 (.636 OPS). The league as a whole hit .269 across Holmes's seasons, which puts the .250 career mark 7.2% below average. The highest hit total in a season was 17, in 1938. The best average in the busiest seasons was .298, in 1945.
Frequently Asked Questions about Philly Holmes
- Was Philly Holmes a pitcher?
- No. Philly Holmes was a position player (Shortstop).
- How many home runs did Philly Holmes hit?
- Philly Holmes hit 1 career home runs with 50 hits.
- What was Philly Holmes's career batting average?
- Philly Holmes batted .250 over his career, with 50 hits in 200 at bats.
- How many RBI did Philly Holmes have?
- Philly Holmes drove in 26 runs in his career.
- Is Philly Holmes in the Hall of Fame?
- No. Philly Holmes has not been inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame.
- What teams did Philly Holmes play for?
- Philly Holmes played for the Jacksonville Red Caps, the Cleveland Bears, the Indianapolis ABCs/Atlanta Black Crackers, the New York Black Yankees, and the Cincinnati-Indianapolis Clowns.