Silver King

Pitcher · Career Stats, Bio & Records (1886-1897)

Silver King was a pitcher who played in Major League Baseball from 1886 to 1897 for 7 teams, including the Kansas City Cowboys, a span of 12 seasons. Across 397 career appearances, he went 203-152 with a 3.18 ERA and 1,222 strikeouts. He also batted .198 with 4 home runs. His career Pitcher PIV — Baseball Data Hub's era-adjusted measure of pitching impact — is 25621.3.

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 203–152
ERA 3.18
WHIP 1.28
SO 1,222
Pitcher PIV 25621.3
Position
Pitcher
Bats / Throws
R / R
Height / Weight
6'0" / 170 lb
Born
1/11/1868 in St. Louis, MO, USA
Died
5/19/1938 in St. Louis, MO, USA
MLB Debut
1886-09-28
Last Game
1897-08-19

Full name: Charles Frederick King

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Career Pitching Statistics

Silver King — Career Pitching Statistics
W L G GS CG SHO SV IP H ER HR BB SO ERA Pitcher PIV
203 152 397 370 328 19 6 3180.2 3,098 1,124 69 967 1,222 3.18 25621.3

Career ERA 3.18 vs. league average 3.80 across their career seasons — 16.3% better than league average.

Season-by-Season Pitching

Pitching Career Arc

Click a stat to plot it across every season.

Silver King Stats, Bio & Career Records
Year Team Lg W L G GS CG SHO SV IP H ER BB SO ERA Lg ERA Pitcher PIV
1886 KCN NL 1 3 5 5 5 0 0 39.0 43 21 9 23 4.85 3.37 (-44%) 416.0
1887 SL4 AA 32 12 46 44 43 2 1 390.0 401 164 109 128 3.78 4.17 (+9%) 4790.1
1888 SL4 AA 45 20 66 64 64 6 0 584.2 435 106 76 258 1.63 2.95 (+45%) 9445.7
1889 SL4 AA 35 16 56 53 47 2 1 458.0 462 160 125 188 3.14 3.93 (+20%) 4645.4
1890 CHP PL 30 22 56 56 48 4 0 461.0 420 138 163 185 2.69 3.88 (+31%) 6018.4
1891 PIT NL 14 29 48 44 40 3 1 384.1 382 133 144 160 3.11 3.52 (+12%) 3450.2
1892 NY1 NL 22 24 51 47 45 1 0 410.1 392 150 171 170 3.29 3.28 (avg) -2060.9
1893 NY1 NL 3 4 7 7 4 0 0 49.0 69 47 26 13 8.63 4.66 (-85%) -1014.5
1893 CIN NL 5 6 17 15 8 1 1 105.0 119 57 56 30 4.89 4.66 (-5%) -156.1
1896 WAS NL 10 7 22 16 12 0 1 145.1 179 66 43 35 4.09 4.36 (+6%) 1161.1
1897 WAS NL 6 9 23 19 12 0 1 154.0 196 82 45 32 4.79 4.30 (-11%) -1074.0
Career · 11 seasons 203 152 397 370 328 19 6 3,180.2 3,098 1,124 967 1,222 3.18 — 25,621

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

Silver King — Career Batting Statistics
G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB BB SO AVG OBP SLG OPS PIV
419 1,305 182 259 32 23 4 135 24 166 279 .198 .290 .267 .558 -2,912

Career AVG .198 vs. league average .262 across their career seasons — 24.4% below league average.

Career OBP .290 vs. league average .330 across their career seasons — 12.0% below league average.

Career SLG .267 vs. league average .354 across their career seasons — 24.4% below league average.

Career OPS .558 vs. league average .684 across their career seasons — 18.4% below league average.

Season-by-Season Batting

Career Arc

Click a stat to plot it across every season.

Silver King 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
1886 KCN NL 7 22 0 1 0 0 0 1 0 2 12 .045 — — — — 0.0
1887 SL4 AA 62 222 28 46 6 1 0 19 10 24 42 .207 .270 (-23%) .331 (-14%) .373 (-35%) .705 (-25%) -824.1
1888 SL4 AA 66 207 25 43 4 6 1 14 6 40 64 .208 .238 (-13%) .290 (+16%) .319 (-6%) .610 (+5%) 328.8
1889 SL4 AA 56 189 37 43 7 3 0 30 3 22 40 .228 .263 (-14%) .334 (-7%) .357 (-17%) .691 (-12%) -340.3
1890 CHP PL 58 185 24 31 2 5 1 16 3 13 22 .168 .260 (-36%) .336 (-34%) .351 (-29%) .687 (-32%) -955.8
1891 PIT NL 49 148 12 25 2 3 0 9 0 14 31 .169 .254 (-34%) .331 (-27%) .343 (-35%) .675 (-31%) -720.7
1892 NY1 NL 51 163 26 34 2 4 2 23 1 16 26 .209 .244 (-15%) .316 (-11%) .327 (-6%) .644 (-8%) -216.7
1893 NY1 NL 7 17 8 3 0 0 0 3 0 7 2 .176 — — — — 0.0
1893 CIN NL 17 37 5 6 1 1 0 1 0 8 14 .162 — — — — 0.0
1896 WAS NL 22 58 9 16 6 0 0 12 1 8 15 .276 .290 (-5%) .354 (+3%) .387 (-2%) .741 (avg) 9.8
1897 WAS NL 24 57 8 11 2 0 0 7 0 12 11 .193 .291 (-34%) .354 (-6%) .387 (-41%) .741 (-24%) -193.2
Career · 11 seasons 419 1,305 182 259 32 23 4 135 24 166 279 .198 — — — — -2,912

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

Silver King — Playoff Career Batting
G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO AVG
9 29 1 2 0 0 0 1 1 9 .069

Playoff Batting by Year

Silver King — Playoff Batting by Year
Year Round Team G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO AVG
1888 WS SL4 5 15 1 1 0 0 0 0 1 6 .067
1887 WS SL4 4 14 0 1 0 0 0 1 0 3 .071

Playoff Career Pitching

Silver King — Playoff Career Pitching
W L G GS SV IP H ER BB SO ERA
2 6 9 9 0 66.0 63 16 11 33 2.18

Playoff Pitching by Year

Silver King — Playoff Pitching by Year
Year Round Team W L G GS SV IP H ER BB SO ERA
1888 WS SL4 1 3 5 5 0 35.0 37 9 9 12 2.31
1887 WS SL4 1 3 4 4 0 31.0 26 7 2 21 2.03

Fielding Statistics

Career Fielding Totals by Position

Silver King — Career Fielding Totals by Position
Position G GS PO A E DP
1B 3 0 0 0 0 0
3B 1 0 0 0 0 0
OF 23 0 20 1 12 1
P 397 0 146 637 56 22

Season-by-Season Fielding

Silver King — Season-by-Season Fielding
Year Team Pos G GS PO A E DP
1886 KCN OF 2 0 0 0 2 0
1886 KCN P 5 0 0 13 1 0
1887 SL4 OF 17 0 19 1 10 1
1887 SL4 P 46 0 16 59 6 0
1888 SL4 OF 2 0 1 0 0 0
1888 SL4 P 66 0 32 119 12 4
1889 SL4 1B 2 0 0 0 0 0
1889 SL4 OF 1 0 0 0 0 0
1889 SL4 P 56 0 19 70 5 2
1890 CHP 1B 1 0 0 0 0 0
1890 CHP OF 1 0 0 0 0 0
1890 CHP P 56 0 22 139 6 5
1891 PIT 3B 1 0 0 0 0 0
1891 PIT P 48 0 19 67 10 5
1892 NY1 P 51 0 22 79 10 4
1893 NY1 P 7 0 4 10 2 0
1893 CIN P 17 0 4 22 1 1
1896 WAS P 22 0 6 19 1 0
1897 WAS P 23 0 2 40 2 1

Career Games by Position

Position Diamond

Circle size = games played at each position.

Silver King Stats, Bio & Career Records
Position Games
Pitcher 397
First Base 3
Third Base 1
Center Field 7
Right Field 17

Most Similar Players

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

Career Spans

Silver King (highlighted) compared to peers across the same era.

  1. 98
    Bill Dinneen
    170-177, 3.01 ERA
  2. 89
    Bill Hutchison
    182-163, 3.59 ERA
  3. 89
    Clark Griffith HOF
    237-146, 3.31 ERA
  4. 84
    Charlie Buffinton
    233-152, 2.96 ERA
  5. 79
    Joe McGinnity HOF
    246-142, 2.66 ERA
  6. 78
    Sadie McMahon
    173-127, 3.51 ERA

Silver King: the record in brief

Between the debut on September 28, 1886 and the final game on August 19, 1897, Silver King built the record summarized on this page. King played for the Kansas City Cowboys (1886), the St. Louis Browns (1887 to 1889), the Chicago Pirates (1890), the Pittsburgh Pirates (1891), the New York Giants (1892 to 1893), the Cincinnati Reds (1893), and the Washington Senators (1896 to 1897). King played primarily as a pitcher and batted and threw right-handed. Born on January 11, 1868, in St. Louis, MO, USA, King was listed at 6 feet, 0 inches and 170 pounds. The bio records the death on May 19, 1938, in St. Louis, MO, USA. Silver King was the playing name; the full given name is Charles Frederick.

Across 397 games (370 starts), King recorded 203 wins against 152 losses with a 3.18 ERA. The totals include 1,222 strikeouts, 328 complete games, and 19 shutouts.

Frequently Asked Questions about Silver King

What years did Silver King play?
Silver King played in Major League Baseball from 1886 to 1897.
Was Silver King a pitcher?
Yes. Silver King pitched in the major leagues, recording 203 wins and 1222 strikeouts.
How many home runs did Silver King hit?
Silver King hit 4 career home runs with 259 hits.
What teams did Silver King play for?
Silver King played for 7 teams: the Kansas City Cowboys (1886), the St. Louis Browns (1887–1889), the Chicago Pirates (1890), the Pittsburgh Pirates (1891), the New York Giants (1892–1893), the Cincinnati Reds (1893), and the Washington Senators (1896–1897).
What were Silver King's career stats?
In 397 games, Silver King went 203-152 with a 3.18 ERA, 1,222 strikeouts, 3,180.2 innings pitched, and 6 saves. At the plate he had 259 hits and 4 home runs.
What position did Silver King play?
Silver King played primarily as a pitcher, the position where he appeared in the most games.
How tall was Silver King and how much did he weigh?
Silver King was listed at 6 feet and 170 pounds.
What was Silver King's career ERA?
Silver King finished with a 3.18 career ERA, going 203-152 with 1,222 strikeouts.
How many strikeouts did Silver King have?
Silver King recorded 1,222 career strikeouts.
Is Silver King in the Hall of Fame?
No. Silver King has not been inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame.