Whitey Kurowski

Third Baseman · Career Stats, Bio & Records (1941-1949)

Whitey Kurowski was a third baseman who played in Major League Baseball from 1941 to 1949 for the St. Louis Cardinals, a span of 9 seasons. In 916 career games, he hit .286 with 925 hits, 106 home runs, and 529 RBI. Whitey Kurowski was a 5-time All-Star. His career PIV — Baseball Data Hub's era-adjusted measure of offensive impact — is 12,333.

AVG (Batting Average):
Hits divided by at bats. .300 is the traditional mark of an excellent hitter.
HR (Home Runs):
Hits on which the batter circled the bases and scored, almost always by clearing the outfield fence.
RBI (Runs Batted In):
Runs that scored as a direct result of a batter's plate appearance.
OPS (On-Base Plus Slugging):
On-base percentage plus slugging percentage, the quickest single summary of offensive value. .900 or better is star-level.

Data updated

AVG .286
HR 106
RBI 529
H 925
OPS .821
PIV 12,333
Position
Third Baseman
Bats / Throws
R / R
Height / Weight
5'11" / 193 lb
Born
4/19/1918 in Reading, PA, USA
Died
12/9/1999 in Sinking Spring, PA, USA
MLB Debut
1941-09-23
Last Game
1949-10-01
Awards
5× All-Star

Full name: George John Kurowski

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Career Batting Statistics

Whitey Kurowski — Career Batting Statistics
G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB BB SO AVG OBP SLG OPS PIV
916 3,229 518 925 162 32 106 529 19 369 332 .286 .366 .455 .821 12,333

Career AVG .286 vs. league average .260 across their career seasons — +10.2% above league average.

Career OBP .366 vs. league average .331 across their career seasons — +10.4% above league average.

Career SLG .455 vs. league average .364 across their career seasons — +25.0% above league average.

Career OPS .821 vs. league average .695 across their career seasons — +18.0% above league average.

Season-by-Season Batting

Career Arc

Click a stat to plot it across every season.

Whitey Kurowski 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
1941 SLN NL 5 9 1 3 2 0 0 2 0 0 2 .333 — — — — 0.0
1942 SLN NL 115 366 51 93 17 3 9 42 7 33 60 .254 .253 (avg) .323 (+1%) .349 (+12%) .672 (+6%) 410.8
1943 SLN NL 139 522 69 150 24 8 13 70 3 31 54 .287 .255 (+12%) .324 (+1%) .346 (+27%) .671 (+14%) 1190.4
1944 SLN NL 149 555 95 150 25 7 20 87 2 58 40 .270 .261 (+3%) .325 (+5%) .357 (+25%) .683 (+16%) 1613.4
1945 SLN NL 133 511 84 165 27 3 21 102 1 45 45 .323 .260 (+24%) .328 (+17%) .354 (+44%) .683 (+31%) 2927.8
1946 SLN NL 142 519 76 156 32 5 14 89 2 72 47 .301 .256 (+17%) .328 (+19%) .358 (+29%) .687 (+24%) 2573.0
1947 SLN NL 146 513 108 159 27 6 27 104 4 87 56 .310 .262 (+18%) .336 (+25%) .376 (+45%) .712 (+35%) 3907.2
1948 SLN NL 77 220 34 47 8 0 2 33 0 42 28 .214 .263 (-19%) .340 (+4%) .379 (-27%) .719 (-13%) -289.9
1949 SLN NL 10 14 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 .143 — — — — 0.0
Career · 9 seasons 916 3,229 518 925 162 32 106 529 19 369 332 .286 — — — — 12,333

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

Whitey Kurowski — Playoff Career Batting
G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO AVG
23 83 12 21 5 1 1 9 3 13 .253

Playoff Batting by Year

Whitey Kurowski — Playoff Batting by Year
Year Round Team G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO AVG
1946 WS SLN 7 27 5 8 3 0 0 2 0 3 .296
1944 WS SLN 6 23 2 5 1 0 0 1 1 4 .217
1943 WS SLN 5 18 2 4 1 0 0 1 0 3 .222
1942 WS SLN 5 15 3 4 0 1 1 5 2 3 .267

Game Log & Splits

View full game log (914 games) →

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

Batting — Home / Away

Whitey Kurowski — Batting — Home / Away
SplitGABRHHRRBIAVG
Home442153024244939254.293
Away472169527447567273.280

Last 10 Games — Batting

Whitey Kurowski — Last 10 Games — Batting
DateTmOppResABRH2B3BHRRBIBBSO
1949-10-01 STLCHCL 100000000
1949-09-27 STLPITL 100000000
1949-09-22 STLBROL 100000000
1949-09-21 STLBROL 101000000
1949-09-19 STLPHIL 101000000
1949-05-11 STLBSNL 100000000
1949-05-07 STLNY1L 200000010
1949-05-06 STLNY1L 400000000
1949-05-04 STLPHIL 100000000
1949-04-29 STLCHCL 100000000

Fielding Statistics

Career Fielding Totals by Position

Whitey Kurowski — Career Fielding Totals by Position
Position G GS PO A E DP
2B 9 0 4 7 0 1
3B 868 0 1025 1569 116 137
OF 1 0 0 0 0 0
SS 10 0 3 7 1 0

Season-by-Season Fielding

Whitey Kurowski — Season-by-Season Fielding
Year Team Pos G GS PO A E DP
1941 SLN 3B 4 0 2 3 0 0
1942 SLN 3B 104 0 124 194 19 19
1942 SLN OF 1 0 0 0 0 0
1942 SLN SS 1 0 0 0 0 0
1943 SLN 3B 137 0 166 255 21 29
1943 SLN SS 2 0 1 2 0 0
1944 SLN 2B 9 0 4 7 0 1
1944 SLN 3B 146 0 188 281 17 20
1944 SLN SS 1 0 0 2 0 0
1945 SLN 3B 131 0 172 235 15 28
1945 SLN SS 6 0 2 3 1 0
1946 SLN 3B 138 0 175 249 15 17
1947 SLN 3B 141 0 140 250 19 17
1948 SLN 3B 65 0 55 100 10 7
1949 SLN 3B 2 0 3 2 0 0

Career Games by Position

Position Diamond

Circle size = games played at each position.

Whitey Kurowski Stats, Bio & Career Records
Position Games
Second Base 9
Third Base 867
Shortstop 10
Left Field 1

Awards & Honors

Whitey Kurowski — Awards & Honors
Year Award Notes
1946 Baseball Magazine All-Star 3B
1945 Baseball Magazine All-Star 3B
1945 TSN All-Star 3B

Award Voting History

Whitey Kurowski — Award Voting History
Year Award League Finish Points Won Points Max Votes First
1947 Most Valuable Player NL 9th 45.0 336 0
1946 Most Valuable Player NL 30th 3.0 336 0
1945 Most Valuable Player NL 5th 90.0 336 0
1944 Most Valuable Player NL 29th 1.0 336 0
1942 Most Valuable Player NL 25th 6.0 336 0

Most Similar Players

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

Career Spans

Whitey Kurowski (highlighted) compared to peers across the same era.

  1. 98
    Yandy Diaz
    .291 avg, 122 HR
  2. 93
    Garrett Atkins
    .285 avg, 99 HR
  3. 92
    Nick Etten
    .277 avg, 89 HR
  4. 90
    Don Hurst
    .298 avg, 115 HR
  5. 86
    John Valentin
    .279 avg, 124 HR
  6. 86
    Hank Thompson
    .275 avg, 144 HR

Compare Whitey Kurowski

Side-by-side career stat comparisons against Kurowski's closest peers by position and era.

vs Jose Ramirez
vs Nolan Arenado
vs Manny Machado
vs Alex Bregman
vs Rafael Devers

Browse all MLB player comparisons →

Whitey Kurowski: the record in brief

September 23, 1941 and October 1, 1949 bracket Whitey Kurowski's time in the majors: the debut and the last game on record. The team column never changes: it is the St. Louis Cardinals from 1941 to 1949. Kurowski played primarily as a third baseman and batted and threw right-handed. Born on April 19, 1918, in Reading, PA, USA, Kurowski was listed at 193 pounds on a 5-foot-11 frame. Kurowski died on December 9, 1999, in Sinking Spring, PA, USA. The bio lists the given name George John.

Kurowski finished with 925 hits from 3,229 at bats in 916 games, which works out to .286, plus 106 home runs and 529 runs batted in. Reaching base at a .366 clip and slugging .455, Kurowski finished with a .821 OPS. Over the seasons Kurowski played, league hitters batted .260; the .286 career figure is 10.2% above that. For power, 1947 stands out: 27 home runs with the St. Louis Cardinals. No season topped the 165 hits of 1945.

Frequently Asked Questions about Whitey Kurowski

What years did Whitey Kurowski play?
Whitey Kurowski played in Major League Baseball from 1941 to 1949.
Was Whitey Kurowski a pitcher?
No. Whitey Kurowski was a position player (Third Baseman).
How many home runs did Whitey Kurowski hit?
Whitey Kurowski hit 106 career home runs with 925 hits.
What was Whitey Kurowski's career batting average?
Whitey Kurowski batted .286 over his career, with 925 hits in 3,229 at bats.
How many RBI did Whitey Kurowski have?
Whitey Kurowski drove in 529 runs in his career.
Is Whitey Kurowski in the Hall of Fame?
No. Whitey Kurowski has not been inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame.