Johnny Marcum
Pitcher · Career Stats, Bio & Records (1933-1939)
Johnny Marcum was a pitcher who played in Major League Baseball from 1933 to 1939 for 4 teams, including the Philadelphia Athletics, a span of 7 seasons. Across 195 career appearances, he went 65-63 with a 4.66 ERA and 392 strikeouts. He also batted .265 with 5 home runs.
- 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
- Position
- Pitcher
- Bats / Throws
- L / R
- Height / Weight
- 5'11" / 197 lb
- Died
- 9/10/1984 in Louisville, KY, USA
- MLB Debut
- 1933-09-07
- Last Game
- 1939-09-30
Full name: John Alfred Marcum
Season-by-Season Pitching
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1933 | PHA | AL | 3 | 2 | 5 | 5 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 37.0 | 28 | 8 | 20 | 14 | 1.95 | 3.86 (+50%) | 74.7 |
| 1934 | PHA | AL | 14 | 11 | 37 | 31 | 17 | 2 | 0 | 232.0 | 257 | 116 | 88 | 92 | 4.50 | 4.29 (-5%) | -314.0 |
| 1935 | PHA | AL | 17 | 12 | 39 | 27 | 19 | 2 | 3 | 242.2 | 256 | 110 | 83 | 99 | 4.08 | 4.35 (+6%) | 2808.1 |
| 1936 | BOS | AL | 8 | 13 | 31 | 23 | 9 | 1 | 1 | 174.0 | 194 | 93 | 52 | 57 | 4.81 | 4.59 (-5%) | -253.3 |
| 1937 | BOS | AL | 13 | 11 | 37 | 23 | 9 | 1 | 3 | 183.2 | 230 | 99 | 47 | 59 | 4.85 | 4.34 (-12%) | -1034.4 |
| 1938 | BOS | AL | 5 | 6 | 15 | 11 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 92.1 | 113 | 42 | 25 | 25 | 4.09 | 4.35 (+6%) | -1303.8 |
| 1939 | SLA | AL | 2 | 5 | 12 | 6 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 47.2 | 66 | 41 | 10 | 14 | 7.74 | 4.28 (-81%) | -2576.4 |
| 1939 | CHA | AL | 3 | 3 | 19 | 6 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 90.0 | 125 | 60 | 19 | 32 | 6.00 | 4.28 (-40%) | -1964.9 |
| Career · 8 seasons | 65 | 63 | 195 | 132 | 69 | 8 | 7 | 1,099.1 | 1,269 | 569 | 344 | 392 | 4.66 | — | -4,564 | ||
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 299 | 533 | 56 | 141 | 18 | 1 | 5 | 70 | 0 | 36 | 32 | .265 | .311 | .330 | .641 | -926 |
Career AVG .265 vs. league average .277 across their career seasons — near league average.
Career OBP .311 vs. league average .341 across their career seasons — 8.9% below league average.
Career SLG .330 vs. league average .394 across their career seasons — 16.2% below league average.
Career OPS .641 vs. league average .735 across their career seasons — 12.8% below league average.
Season-by-Season Batting
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1933 | PHA | AL | 5 | 12 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | .167 | — | — | — | — | 0.0 |
| 1934 | PHA | AL | 58 | 112 | 10 | 30 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 13 | 0 | 3 | 5 | .268 | .278 (-4%) | .340 (-16%) | .392 (-16%) | .733 (-16%) | -297.5 |
| 1935 | PHA | AL | 64 | 119 | 13 | 37 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 17 | 0 | 9 | 5 | .311 | .279 (+11%) | .342 (+5%) | .399 (-1%) | .742 (+2%) | 49.3 |
| 1936 | BOS | AL | 48 | 88 | 6 | 18 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 7 | 0 | 3 | 5 | .205 | .283 (-28%) | .349 (-34%) | .404 (-24%) | .753 (-29%) | -436.6 |
| 1937 | BOS | AL | 51 | 86 | 12 | 23 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 13 | 0 | 7 | 4 | .267 | .276 (-3%) | .342 (-6%) | .398 (-9%) | .740 (-8%) | -115.0 |
| 1938 | BOS | AL | 19 | 37 | 3 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 6 | 9 | .135 | — | — | — | — | 0.0 |
| 1939 | SLA | AL | 16 | 22 | 3 | 10 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 2 | .455 | — | — | — | — | 0.0 |
| 1939 | CHA | AL | 38 | 57 | 7 | 16 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 12 | 0 | 5 | 1 | .281 | .274 (+2%) | .342 (-1%) | .393 (-29%) | .735 (-16%) | 0.0 |
| Career · 8 seasons | 299 | 533 | 56 | 141 | 18 | 1 | 5 | 70 | 0 | 36 | 32 | .265 | — | — | — | — | -800 | ||
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 (494 games) →Per-game data from Retrosheet (regular season, through 2025).
Batting — Home / Away
| Split | G | AB | R | H | HR | RBI | AVG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Home | 142 | 251 | 30 | 71 | 3 | 37 | .283 |
| Away | 157 | 283 | 26 | 70 | 2 | 32 | .247 |
Pitching — Home / Away
| Split | G | IP | H | ER | BB | SO | ERA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Home | 94 | 547.0 | 588 | 253 | 189 | 201 | 4.16 |
| Away | 101 | 552.2 | 683 | 316 | 157 | 192 | 5.15 |
Last 10 Games — Batting
| Date | Tm | Opp | Res | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | BB | SO |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1939-09-30 | CHW | SLA | L | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1939-09-20 | CHW | NYY | L | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1939-09-17 | CHW | BOS | L | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1939-09-15 | CHW | PHA | L | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1939-09-10 | CHW | DET | L | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 1939-09-04 | CHW | CLE | W | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1939-09-03 | CHW | DET | L | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1939-08-31 | CHW | MIN | L | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1939-08-27 | CHW | PHA | L | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1939-08-26 | CHW | BOS | W | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Last 10 Games — Pitching
| Date | Tm | Opp | Dec | IP | H | R | ER | BB | SO | HR |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1939-09-30 | CHW | SLA | — | 5.0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| 1939-09-20 | CHW | NYY | — | 3.0 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| 1939-09-17 | CHW | BOS | L | 2.0 | 6 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1939-09-10 | CHW | DET | — | 2.0 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1939-08-31 | CHW | MIN | — | 3.1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 1939-08-26 | CHW | BOS | — | 0.1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1939-08-22 | CHW | NYY | L | 5.0 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 2 |
| 1939-08-09 | CHW | DET | — | 2.1 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1939-08-05 | CHW | MIN | — | 5.0 | 7 | 6 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| 1939-08-02 | CHW | PHA | — | 7.0 | 11 | 9 | 9 | 2 | 1 | 3 |
Fielding Statistics
Career Fielding Totals by Position
Season-by-Season Fielding
Career Games by Position
Circle size = games played at each position.
| Position | Games |
|---|---|
| Pitcher | 195 |
Award Voting History
| Year | Award | League | Finish | Points Won | Points Max | Votes First |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1935 | Most Valuable Player | AL | 20th | 3.0 | 80 | 0 |
Most Similar Players
Career comps based on counting + rate stats and primary position. Score is relative — closest peer anchors at ~98%.
Johnny Marcum (highlighted) compared to peers across the same era.
Johnny Marcum: the record in brief
September 7, 1933 and September 30, 1939 bracket Johnny Marcum's time in the majors: the debut and the last game on record. Marcum played for the Philadelphia Athletics (1933 through 1935), the Boston Red Sox (1936 to 1938), the St. Louis Browns (1939), and the Chicago White Sox (1939). Marcum, born on September 9, 1909, in Campbellsburg, KY, USA, is listed as a pitcher and threw right-handed and batted left-handed. Marcum's listed size is 5-foot-11 and 197 pounds. Marcum's death is recorded on September 10, 1984, in Louisville, KY, USA. The given name on file is John Alfred Marcum.
The pitching table credits Marcum with a 65-63 record and a 4.66 ERA in 195 games. The same table counts 392 strikeouts, 69 complete games, and 8 shutouts. The league ERA over Marcum's seasons was 4.29, so the 4.66 figure ran 8.5% worse than average. Marcum won 17 games in 1935, the most of any season listed.
Frequently Asked Questions about Johnny Marcum
- What years did Johnny Marcum play?
- Johnny Marcum played in Major League Baseball from 1933 to 1939.
- Was Johnny Marcum a pitcher?
- Yes. Johnny Marcum pitched in the major leagues, recording 65 wins and 392 strikeouts.
- How many home runs did Johnny Marcum hit?
- Johnny Marcum hit 5 career home runs with 141 hits.
- What teams did Johnny Marcum play for?
- Johnny Marcum played for 4 teams: the Philadelphia Athletics (1933–1935), the Boston Red Sox (1936–1938), the St. Louis Browns (1939), and the Chicago White Sox (1939).
- What were Johnny Marcum's career stats?
- In 195 games, Johnny Marcum went 65-63 with a 4.66 ERA, 392 strikeouts, 1,099.1 innings pitched, and 7 saves. At the plate he had 141 hits and 5 home runs.
- What position did Johnny Marcum play?
- Johnny Marcum played primarily as a pitcher, the position where he appeared in the most games.
- How tall was Johnny Marcum and how much did he weigh?
- Johnny Marcum was listed at 5 feet 11 inches and 197 pounds.
- What was Johnny Marcum's career ERA?
- Johnny Marcum finished with a 4.66 career ERA, going 65-63 with 392 strikeouts.
- How many strikeouts did Johnny Marcum have?
- Johnny Marcum recorded 392 career strikeouts.
- Is Johnny Marcum in the Hall of Fame?
- No. Johnny Marcum has not been inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame.