Bill Howard
Pitcher · Career Stats, Bio & Records
Bill Howard was a pitcher who played in Major League Baseball for the Little Rock Grays, the Memphis Red Sox, and the Indianapolis Athletics. Across 8 career appearances, he went 2-3 with a 3.49 ERA and 24 strikeouts. His totals include Negro Leagues seasons, which MLB recognized as major league in 2020. His career Pitcher PIV — Baseball Data Hub's era-adjusted measure of pitching impact — is 734.2.
- 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
- Position
- Pitcher
- Bats / Throws
- — / L
Full name: William M. Howard
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.
Negro Leagues Season-by-Season Batting
Season-by-Season Pitching
Click a stat to plot it across every season.
| Year | Team | Lg | W | L | G | GS | CG | SHO | SV | IP | H | ER | BB | SO | ERA | Lg ERA | Pitcher PIV |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1932 | LRG | NSL | 1 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 23.0 | 25 | 13 | 8 | 12 | 5.09 | 4.13 (-23%) | 577.6 |
| 1937 | MRS | NAL | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4.2 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 0.00 | — | 0.0 |
| 1937 | IA | NAL | 1 | 1 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 21.1 | 20 | 6 | 8 | 11 | 2.53 | 4.34 (+42%) | 156.5 |
| Career · 3 seasons | 2 | 3 | 8 | 5 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 49.0 | 46 | 19 | 19 | 24 | 3.49 | — | 734 | ||
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
| G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | SB | BB | SO | AVG | OBP | SLG | OPS | PIV |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 11 | 30 | 7 | 13 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .433 | .433 | .467 | .900 | 0 |
Career AVG .433 vs. league average .276 across their career seasons — +57.1% above league average.
Career OBP .433 vs. league average .339 across their career seasons — +27.9% above league average.
Career SLG .467 vs. league average .395 across their career seasons — +18.3% above league average.
Career OPS .900 vs. league average .733 across their career seasons — +22.7% above 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1932 | LRG | NSL | 3 | 11 | 3 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .364 | — | — | — | — | 0.0 |
| 1937 | MRS | NAL | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | — | — | — | — | 0.0 |
| 1937 | IA | NAL | 7 | 18 | 4 | 9 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .500 | — | — | — | — | 0.0 |
| Career · 3 seasons | 11 | 30 | 7 | 13 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .433 | — | — | — | — | 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.
Career Games by Position
Circle size = games played at each position.
| Position | Games |
|---|---|
| Pitcher | 8 |
| Left Field | 1 |
| Right Field | 1 |
Bill Howard: the record in brief
Bill Howard's record on this page is drawn from the season tables, which run from 1932 to 1937. Howard played for the Little Rock Grays (1932), the Memphis Red Sox (1937), and the Indianapolis Athletics (1937). Howard is listed as a pitcher. The given name on file is William M. Howard.
The pitching table credits Howard with a 2-3 record and a 3.49 ERA in 8 games. The same table counts 24 strikeouts. The leagues Howard pitched in allowed 4.23 earned runs per nine over those seasons, so the career ERA was 17.5% better than average. Among the heaviest workloads, the lowest ERA was 2.53 in 1937, when the league's was 4.34. Pitcher PIV, the site's era-adjusted run-prevention measure, totals 734.2 for Howard's career.
Frequently Asked Questions about Bill Howard
- Was Bill Howard a pitcher?
- Yes. Bill Howard pitched in the major leagues, recording 2 wins and 24 strikeouts.
- How many home runs did Bill Howard hit?
- Bill Howard hit 0 career home runs with 13 hits.
- What teams did Bill Howard play for?
- Bill Howard played for 3 teams: the Little Rock Grays (1932), the Memphis Red Sox (1937), and the Indianapolis Athletics (1937).
- What were Bill Howard's career stats?
- In 8 games, Bill Howard went 2-3 with a 3.49 ERA, 24 strikeouts, 49.0 innings pitched, and 2 saves.
- What position did Bill Howard play?
- Bill Howard played primarily as a pitcher, the position where he appeared in the most games.
- What was Bill Howard's career ERA?
- Bill Howard finished with a 3.49 career ERA, going 2-3 with 24 strikeouts.
- How many strikeouts did Bill Howard have?
- Bill Howard recorded 24 career strikeouts.
- Is Bill Howard in the Hall of Fame?
- No. Bill Howard has not been inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame.