Willie Jefferson

Pitcher · Career Stats, Bio & Records

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

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

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

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

W L G GS CG SHO SV IP H ER HR BB SO ERA Pitcher PIV
22 24 66 46 34 3 1 399.7 439 175 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.

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 39.3 49 25 8 33 5.72 4.34 (-32%) 1378.6
1938 MRS NAL 3 5 13 6 5 1 0 73.7 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 74.3 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 65.3 80 32 18 35 4.41 3.50 (-26%) 1156.8
1944 CBE NAL 4 5 10 8 6 0 0 65.3 74 30 17 30 4.13 3.57 (-16%) 1383.4
1945 CBE NAL 2 0 5 1 1 0 1 21.3 15 4 5 12 1.69 3.67 (+54%) 734.9
1946 CBE NAL 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0.3 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

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.

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

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

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

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

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

SplitGABRHHRRBIAVG
Home6071102117.296
Away507761619.208

Pitching — Home / Away

SplitGIPHERBBSOERA
Home55344.22873224600.84
Away47265.12484730821.59

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

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

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

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.

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

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.