Was Big Train Jackson a pitcher?

Yes. Big Train Jackson pitched in the major leagues, recording 4 wins and 43 strikeouts.

How many home runs did Big Train Jackson hit?

Big Train Jackson hit 0 career home runs with 1 hits.

What was Big Train Jackson's career batting average?

Big Train Jackson batted .042 over his career, with 1 hits in 24 at bats.

How many RBI did Big Train Jackson have?

Big Train Jackson drove in 1 runs in his career.

What was Big Train Jackson's career ERA?

Big Train Jackson finished with a 6.30 career ERA, going 4-8 with 43 strikeouts.

How many strikeouts did Big Train Jackson have?

Big Train Jackson recorded 43 career strikeouts.

Big Train Jackson

Pitcher · Career Stats, Bio & Records

Big Train Jackson was a pitcher who played in Major League Baseball for the Kansas City Monarchs and the Memphis Red Sox. Across 19 career appearances, he went 4-8 with a 6.30 ERA and 43 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 542.6.

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 October 12, 2026

W–L 4–8

ERA 6.30

WHIP 1.91

SO 43

Pitcher PIV 542.6

Position: Pitcher
Bats / Throws: L / L
Height / Weight: 6'2" / 190 lb
Born: 1917 in LA, USA

Full name: John William Jackson

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Negro Leagues Career Statistics

Batting

Big Train Jackson — Batting
PA	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	SO	SB	BA	OBP	SLG	OPS
19.0	17.0	0	0	0	0	0	0	2.0	0	0	.000	.105	.000	.105

Pitching

Big Train Jackson — Pitching
W	L	GS	CG	GF	SV	IP	H	R	ER	HR	BB	SO	ERA	WHIP
6	7	13	2	3	0	73.1	95	61	14	2	24	47	1.72	1.62

Career Pitching Statistics

Big Train Jackson — Career Pitching Statistics
W	L	G	GS	CG	SHO	SV	IP	H	ER	HR	BB	SO	ERA	Pitcher PIV
4	8	19	12	2	0	0	70.0	100	49	2	34	43	6.30	542.6

Career ERA 6.30 vs. league average 4.28 across their career seasons — 47.2% worse than league average.

Season-by-Season Pitching

Pitching Career Arc

Click a stat to plot it across every season.

Big Train Jackson — Season-by-Season Pitching
Year	Team	Lg	W	L	G	GS	CG	IP	H	ER	BB	SO	ERA	Lg ERA	Pitcher PIV
1938	KCM	NAL	0	3	5	3	0	9.1	19	10	5	8	9.64	4.35 (-122%)	0.0
1939	KCM	NAL	1	3	8	5	1	27.1	37	16	15	18	5.27	4.28 (-23%)	131.4
1940	MRS	NAL	3	2	6	4	1	33.1	44	23	14	17	6.21	4.21 (-47%)	411.2
Career · 3 seasons			4	8	19	12	2	70.0	100	49	34	43	6.30	—	543

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

Big Train Jackson — Career Batting Statistics
G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	SB	BB	SO	AVG	OBP	SLG	OPS	PIV
19	24	1	1	0	0	0	1	0	2	0	.042	.115	.042	.157	0

Career AVG .042 vs. league average .271 across their career seasons — 84.6% below league average.

Career OBP .115 vs. league average .340 across their career seasons — 66.0% below league average.

Career SLG .042 vs. league average .391 across their career seasons — 89.3% below league average.

Career OPS .157 vs. league average .731 across their career seasons — 78.5% below league average.

Season-by-Season Batting

Career Arc

Click a stat to plot it across every season.

Big Train Jackson — Season-by-Season Batting
Year	Team	Lg	G	AB	R	H	RBI	BB	AVG	Lg AVG	Lg OBP	Lg SLG	Lg OPS	PIV
1938	KCM	NAL	5	3	0	0	0	0	.000	—	—	—	—	0.0
1939	KCM	NAL	8	11	1	1	1	1	.091	—	—	—	—	0.0
1940	MRS	NAL	6	10	0	0	0	1	.000	—	—	—	—	0.0
Career · 3 seasons			19	24	1	1	1	2	.042	—	—	—	—	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.

Game Log & Splits

View full game log (36 games) →

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

Batting — Home / Away

Big Train Jackson — Batting — Home / Away
Split	G	AB	R	H	HR	RBI	AVG
Home	11	7	0	0	0	0	.000
Away	7	8	0	0	0	0	.000

Pitching — Home / Away

Big Train Jackson — Pitching — Home / Away
Split	G	IP	H	ER	BB	SO	ERA
Home	11	25.1	53	6	12	20	2.13
Away	7	31.1	22	3	7	14	0.86

Last 10 Games — Batting

Big Train Jackson — Last 10 Games — Batting
Date	Tm	Opp	Res	AB	BB
1940-07-04	MEM	CV9	L	0	1
1940-06-30	MEM	CAG	W	0	0
1940-06-09	MEM	BIR	L	1	0
1940-06-02	MEM	BIR	W	5	0
1940-05-19	MEM	KCM	L	0	0
1940-05-17	MEM	KCM	L	0	0
1940-05-12	MEM	SNO	W	3	1
1939-08-02	KCM	TLC	L	1	0
1939-07-07	KCM	SSA	L	1	0
1939-07-04	KCM	CAG	L	0	0

Last 10 Games — Pitching

Big Train Jackson — Last 10 Games — Pitching
Date	Tm	Opp	Dec	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO	HR
1940-07-04	MEM	CV9	—	2.1	2	3	0	1	1	0
1940-06-30	MEM	CAG	W	6.0	2	1	0	0	0	0
1940-06-09	MEM	BIR	L	2.2	6	7	0	1	1	1
1940-06-02	MEM	BIR	W	14.0	8	2	0	2	10	0
1940-05-19	MEM	KCM	L	1.1	8	6	0	2	0	0
1940-05-17	MEM	KCM	—	0.0	0	0	0	0	0	0
1940-05-12	MEM	SNO	W	8.0	16	6	0	3	2	0
1939-08-02	KCM	TLC	—	3.2	5	3	3	1	2	0
1939-07-07	KCM	SSA	—	2.2	3	2	1	0	2	0
1939-07-04	KCM	CAG	—	3.0	0	1	0	0	0	0

Fielding Statistics

Career Fielding Totals by Position

Big Train Jackson — Career Fielding Totals by Position
Position	G	GS	PO	A	E	DP
P	19	12	2	18	5	1

Season-by-Season Fielding

Big Train Jackson — Season-by-Season Fielding
Year	Team	Pos	G	GS	PO	A	E	DP
1938	KCM	P	5	3	0	3	1	0
1939	KCM	P	8	5	0	10	3	1
1940	MRS	P	6	4	2	5	1	0

Career Games by Position

Position Diamond

Circle size = games played at each position.

Big Train Jackson — Career Games by Position
Position	Games
Pitcher	19

Big Train Jackson: the record in brief

Big Train Jackson's record on this page is drawn from the season tables, which run from 1938 to 1940. Jackson played for the Kansas City Monarchs (1938 to 1939) and the Memphis Red Sox (1940). At 6'2" and 190 pounds, Jackson is listed as a pitcher. Jackson both batted and threw left-handed, per the bio block. The recorded birth is in 1917, in LA, USA. Jackson's full given name, per the bio, is John William Jackson.

Jackson pitched in 19 games, starting 12, and finished with a 4-8 record and 6.30 ERA. The same table counts 43 strikeouts. The league ERA over Jackson's seasons was 4.28, so the 6.30 figure ran 47.2% worse than average. In 1939, one of the busiest seasons, Jackson posted a 5.27 ERA; the league figure that year was 4.28. By Pitcher PIV, Baseball Data Hub's measure of run prevention relative to each season's league, Jackson's career adds up to 542.6.

Frequently Asked Questions about Big Train Jackson

Was Big Train Jackson a pitcher?: Yes. Big Train Jackson pitched in the major leagues, recording 4 wins and 43 strikeouts.
How many home runs did Big Train Jackson hit?: Big Train Jackson hit 0 career home runs with 1 hits.
What was Big Train Jackson's career batting average?: Big Train Jackson batted .042 over his career, with 1 hits in 24 at bats.
How many RBI did Big Train Jackson have?: Big Train Jackson drove in 1 runs in his career.
What was Big Train Jackson's career ERA?: Big Train Jackson finished with a 6.30 career ERA, going 4-8 with 43 strikeouts.
How many strikeouts did Big Train Jackson have?: Big Train Jackson recorded 43 career strikeouts.