Willie Jefferson

Pitcher · Career Stats, Bio & Records

Willie Jefferson was a pitcher who played in Major League Baseball for 5 teams, including the Cincinnati Tigers. Across 66 career appearances, he went 22-24 with a 3.94 ERA and 215 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 8412.2.

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

W–L 22–24
ERA 3.94
WHIP 1.31
SO 215
Pitcher PIV 8412.2
Position
Pitcher
Bats / Throws
R / R
Height / Weight
5'9" / 163 lb
Born
1/27/1904 in Clearview, OK, USA
Died
5/31/1972

Full name: William Jefferson

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Negro Leagues Career Statistics

Batting

Willie Jefferson — Batting
PA AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO SB BA OBP SLG OPS
199.0 190.0 20.0 46.0 6.0 1.0 3.0 19.0 3.0 1.0 3.0 .242 .258 .332 .590

Pitching

Willie Jefferson — Pitching
W L GS CG GF SV IP H R ER HR BB SO ERA WHIP
61 42 105 80 35 2 829.0 741 392 98 23 84 198 1.06 0.99

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 Pitching

Willie Jefferson — Negro Leagues Season-by-Season Pitching
Season W L GS CG GF SV IP H R ER HR BB SO ERA WHIP
1936 0 1 1 1 0 0 8.0 19 10 0 0 0 0 0.00 2.38
Listed seasons · 1 0 1 1 1 0 0 8.0 19 10 0 0 0 0 0.00 2.38

Career Pitching Statistics

Willie Jefferson — Career Pitching Statistics
W L G GS CG SHO SV IP H ER HR BB SO ERA Pitcher PIV
22 24 66 46 34 3 1 399.2 439 175 18 86 215 3.94 8412.2

Career ERA 3.94 vs. league average 3.86 across their career seasons — near league average.

Season-by-Season Pitching

Pitching Career Arc

Click a stat to plot it across every season.

Willie Jefferson Stats, Bio & Career Records
Year Team Lg W L G GS CG SHO SV IP H ER BB SO ERA Lg ERA Pitcher PIV
1937 CT NAL 1 2 8 5 3 0 0 39.1 49 25 8 33 5.72 4.34 (-32%) 1378.6
1938 MRS NAL 3 5 13 6 5 1 0 73.2 77 30 13 42 3.67 4.35 (+16%) 1839.5
1939 MRS NAL 1 2 5 4 3 1 0 35.0 36 10 5 14 2.57 4.28 (+40%) 416.8
1942 CCB NAL 6 3 12 11 6 0 0 74.1 79 25 14 34 3.03 3.57 (+15%) 652.9
1942 PS NN2 2 1 3 3 3 1 0 25.0 25 14 6 15 5.04 3.57 (-41%) 849.3
1943 CBE NAL 3 6 9 8 7 0 0 65.1 80 32 18 35 4.41 3.50 (-26%) 1156.8
1944 CBE NAL 4 5 10 8 6 0 0 65.1 74 30 17 30 4.13 3.57 (-16%) 1383.4
1945 CBE NAL 2 0 5 1 1 0 1 21.1 15 4 5 12 1.69 3.67 (+54%) 734.9
1946 CBE NAL 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0.1 4 5 0 0 135.00 — 0.0
Career · 9 seasons 22 24 66 46 34 3 1 399.2 439 175 86 215 3.94 — 8,412

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

Willie Jefferson — Career Batting Statistics
G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB BB SO AVG OBP SLG OPS PIV
77 179 17 42 6 1 2 21 3 3 0 .235 .255 .313 .568 0

Career AVG .235 vs. league average .264 across their career seasons — 11.1% below league average.

Career OBP .255 vs. league average .332 across their career seasons — 23.1% below league average.

Career SLG .313 vs. league average .369 across their career seasons — 15.2% below league average.

Career OPS .568 vs. league average .701 across their career seasons — 18.9% below league average.

Season-by-Season Batting

Career Arc

Click a stat to plot it across every season.

Willie Jefferson 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
1937 CT NAL 11 24 2 5 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 .208 — — — — 0.0
1938 MRS NAL 17 41 7 12 2 1 2 7 0 0 0 .293 — — — — 0.0
1939 MRS NAL 6 12 0 4 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 .333 — — — — 0.0
1942 CCB NAL 12 28 4 5 1 0 0 3 0 2 0 .179 — — — — 0.0
1942 PS NN2 3 10 0 5 1 0 0 4 0 0 0 .500 — — — — 0.0
1943 CBE NAL 10 26 0 5 1 0 0 2 1 0 0 .192 — — — — 0.0
1944 CBE NAL 11 26 3 4 1 0 0 1 2 0 0 .154 — — — — 0.0
1945 CBE NAL 6 12 1 2 0 0 0 1 0 1 0 .167 — — — — 0.0
1946 CBE NAL 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 — — — — 0.0
Career · 9 seasons 77 179 17 42 6 1 2 21 3 3 0 .235 — — — — 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

Willie Jefferson — Playoff Career Batting
G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO AVG
1 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000

Playoff Batting by Year

Willie Jefferson — Playoff Batting by Year
Year Round Team G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO AVG
1945 NWS CBE 1 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000

Playoff Career Pitching

Willie Jefferson — Playoff Career Pitching
W L G GS SV IP H ER BB SO ERA
1 0 1 1 0 9.0 6 1 2 4 1.00

Playoff Pitching by Year

Willie Jefferson — Playoff Pitching by Year
Year Round Team W L G GS SV IP H ER BB SO ERA
1945 NWS CBE 1 0 1 1 0 9.0 6 1 2 4 1.00

Game Log & Splits

View full game log (212 games) →

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

Batting — Home / Away

Willie Jefferson — Batting — Home / Away
SplitGABRHHRRBIAVG
Home6071102117.296
Away507761619.208

Pitching — Home / Away

Willie Jefferson — Pitching — Home / Away
SplitGIPHERBBSOERA
Home55344.22873224600.84
Away47265.12484730821.59

Last 10 Games — Batting

Willie Jefferson — Last 10 Games — Batting
DateTmOppResABRH2B3BHRRBIBBSO
1946-07-17 CVBMEML 000000000
1946-06-02 CVBIN9L 000000000
1946-05-28 CVBCAGL 000000000
1945-08-30 CVBMEMW 000000000
1945-08-24 CVBMEMW 000000000
1945-08-19 CVBBIRL 000000000
1945-07-22 CVBCIAW 000000000
1945-07-15 CVBBIRL 000000000
1945-07-04 CVBKCMW 300000000
1945-07-01 CVBKCMW 000000000

Last 10 Games — Pitching

Willie Jefferson — Last 10 Games — Pitching
DateTmOppDecIPHRERBBSOHR
1946-07-17 CVBMEM — 0.0543000
1946-06-02 CVBIN9 L 0.0232000
1946-05-28 CVBCAG — 2.0000001
1945-08-30 CVBMEM W 7.0500000
1945-08-24 CVBMEM W 9.0040000
1945-08-19 CVBBIR — 9.01040000
1945-07-22 CVBCIA W 7.0400000
1945-07-15 CVBBIR L 7.0090000
1945-07-04 CVBKCM W 7.0410330
1945-07-01 CVBKCM — 1.0100020

Fielding Statistics

Career Fielding Totals by Position

Willie Jefferson — Career Fielding Totals by Position
Position G GS PO A E DP
3B 2 2 2 4 0 0
C 1 1 4 0 0 0
OF 6 2 1 1 0 0
P 66 46 18 124 6 2

Season-by-Season Fielding

Willie Jefferson — Season-by-Season Fielding
Year Team Pos G GS PO A E DP
1937 CT C 1 1 4 0 0 0
1937 CT OF 3 1 1 0 0 0
1937 CT P 8 5 1 14 0 0
1938 MRS 3B 1 1 1 2 0 0
1938 MRS OF 2 1 0 1 0 0
1938 MRS P 13 6 4 19 2 0
1939 MRS P 5 4 2 8 2 0
1942 CCB P 12 11 5 37 0 1
1942 PS P 3 3 1 3 0 0
1943 CBE P 9 8 3 18 1 0
1944 CBE OF 1 0 0 0 0 0
1944 CBE P 10 8 1 22 1 1
1945 CBE 3B 1 1 1 2 0 0
1945 CBE P 5 1 1 3 0 0
1946 CBE P 1 0 0 0 0 0

Career Games by Position

Position Diamond

Circle size = games played at each position.

Willie Jefferson Stats, Bio & Career Records
Position Games
Pitcher 66
Catcher 1
Third Base 2
Left Field 4
Right Field 2

Most Similar Players

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

  1. 98
    Lee Wade
    25-27, 3.77 ERA
  2. 93
    Henderson Alvarez
    27-35, 3.82 ERA
  3. 91
    Jim Willis
    33-42, 3.91 ERA
  4. 90
    Porter Charleston
    32-19, 3.86 ERA
  5. 87
    Patricio Scantlebury
    27-20, 3.84 ERA
  6. 85
    Don Rudolph
    18-32, 4.00 ERA

Willie Jefferson: the record in brief

Willie Jefferson's record on this page is drawn from the season tables, which run from 1937 to 1946. The team column moves through the Cincinnati Tigers (1937), the Memphis Red Sox (1938 to 1939), the Cincinnati-Cleveland Buckeyes (1942), the Philadelphia Stars (1942), and the Cleveland Buckeyes (1943 through 1946). Jefferson played primarily as a pitcher and threw and hit right-handed. The bio adds a birth date on January 27, 1904, in Clearview, OK, USA and a listed size of 163 pounds on a 5-foot-9 frame. The bio records the death on May 31, 1972. Willie Jefferson was the playing name; the full given name is William.

Across 66 games (46 starts), Jefferson recorded 22 wins against 24 losses with a 3.94 ERA. Also on Jefferson's record: 215 strikeouts and 34 complete games. Jefferson's 3.94 ERA was close to the 3.86 league figure for those seasons. Jefferson won 6 games in 1942, the most of any season listed.

Frequently Asked Questions about Willie Jefferson

Was Willie Jefferson a pitcher?
Yes. Willie Jefferson pitched in the major leagues, recording 22 wins and 215 strikeouts.
How many home runs did Willie Jefferson hit?
Willie Jefferson hit 2 career home runs with 42 hits.
What was Willie Jefferson's career batting average?
Willie Jefferson batted .235 over his career, with 42 hits in 179 at bats.
How many RBI did Willie Jefferson have?
Willie Jefferson drove in 21 runs in his career.
What was Willie Jefferson's career ERA?
Willie Jefferson finished with a 3.94 career ERA, going 22-24 with 215 strikeouts.
How many strikeouts did Willie Jefferson have?
Willie Jefferson recorded 215 career strikeouts.