What years did Ken O'Dea play?

Ken O'Dea played in Major League Baseball from 1935 to 1946.

Was Ken O'Dea a pitcher?

No. Ken O'Dea was a position player (Catcher).

How many home runs did Ken O'Dea hit?

Ken O'Dea hit 40 career home runs with 560 hits.

What teams did Ken O'Dea play for?

Ken O'Dea played for 4 teams: the Chicago Cubs (1935–1938), the New York Giants (1939–1941), the St. Louis Cardinals (1942–1946), and the Boston Braves (1946).

Did Ken O'Dea win an MVP award?

No. Ken O'Dea did not win the MVP award.

What awards did Ken O'Dea win?

Ken O'Dea was selected to 1 All-Star Game.

What were Ken O'Dea's career stats?

In 832 games, Ken O'Dea had 560 hits, 40 home runs, 323 RBI, 262 runs, and 3 stolen bases, with a .255 batting average.

What position did Ken O'Dea play?

Ken O'Dea played primarily as a catcher, the position where he appeared in the most games.

How tall was Ken O'Dea and how much did he weigh?

Ken O'Dea was listed at 6 feet and 180 pounds.

How many home runs did Ken O'Dea hit each season?

Ken O'Dea's home runs by season: 6 in 1935, 2 in 1936, 4 in 1937, 3 in 1938, 3 in 1939, 0 in 1940, 3 in 1941, 5 in 1942, 3 in 1943, 6 in 1944, 4 in 1945, and 1 in 1946. His most in one season was 6, in 1935 and 1944.

What was Ken O'Dea's career batting average?

Ken O'Dea batted .255 over his career, with 560 hits in 2,195 at bats.

How many RBI did Ken O'Dea have?

Ken O'Dea drove in 323 runs in his career.

Is Ken O'Dea in the Hall of Fame?

No. Ken O'Dea has not been inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame.

How many All-Star Games did Ken O'Dea make?

Ken O'Dea was selected to 1 All-Star Game.

Ken O'Dea

Catcher · Career Stats, Bio & Records (1935-1946)

Ken O'Dea was a catcher who played in Major League Baseball from 1935 to 1946 for 4 teams, including the Chicago Cubs, a span of 12 seasons. In 832 career games, he hit .255 with 560 hits, 40 home runs, and 323 RBI. Ken O'Dea was an All-Star. His career PIV — Baseball Data Hub's era-adjusted measure of offensive impact — is 685.

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 October 15, 2026

AVG .255

HR 40

RBI 323

H 560

OPS .712

PIV 685

Position: Catcher
Bats / Throws: L / R
Height / Weight: 6'0" / 180 lb
Born: 3/16/1913 in Lima, NY, USA
Died: 12/17/1985 in Lima, NY, USA
MLB Debut: 1935-04-21
Last Game: 1946-08-06
Awards: All-Star

Full name: James Kenneth O'Dea

📊 Compare This Player 📈 View Career Timeline

Career Batting Statistics

Ken O'Dea — Career Batting Statistics
G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	SB	BB	SO	AVG	OBP	SLG	OPS	PIV
832	2,195	262	560	101	20	40	323	3	273	251	.255	.338	.374	.712	685

Career AVG .255 vs. league average .267 across their career seasons — near league average.

Career OBP .338 vs. league average .335 across their career seasons — near league average.

Career SLG .374 vs. league average .376 across their career seasons — near league average.

Career OPS .712 vs. league average .711 across their career seasons — near league average.

Season-by-Season Batting

Career Arc

Click a stat to plot it across every season.

Ken O'Dea 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
1935	CHN	NL	76	202	30	52	13	2	6	38	0	26	18	.257	.279 (-8%)	.342 (+1%)	.399 (+8%)	.742 (+5%)	176.1
1936	CHN	NL	80	189	36	58	10	3	2	38	0	38	18	.307	.283 (+8%)	.349 (+21%)	.404 (+5%)	.753 (+12%)	587.2
1937	CHN	NL	83	219	31	66	7	5	4	32	1	24	26	.301	.276 (+9%)	.342 (+8%)	.398 (+9%)	.740 (+9%)	367.1
1938	CHN	NL	86	247	22	65	12	1	3	33	1	12	18	.263	.272 (-4%)	.341 (-13%)	.392 (-9%)	.734 (-11%)	-482.3
1939	NY1	NL	52	97	7	17	1	0	3	11	0	10	16	.175	.274 (-36%)	.342 (-26%)	.393 (-29%)	.735 (-28%)	-439.9
1940	NY1	NL	48	96	9	23	4	1	0	12	0	16	15	.240	.267 (-10%)	.335 (+4%)	.387 (-22%)	.722 (-10%)	-112.7
1941	NY1	NL	59	89	13	19	5	1	3	17	0	8	20	.213	.262 (-19%)	.332 (-16%)	.373 (+5%)	.705 (-5%)	-97.2
1942	SLN	NL	58	192	22	45	7	1	5	32	0	17	23	.234	.253 (-7%)	.323 (-8%)	.349 (+3%)	.672 (-3%)	-100.2
1943	SLN	NL	71	203	15	57	11	2	3	25	0	19	25	.281	.255 (+10%)	.324 (+6%)	.346 (+15%)	.671 (+11%)	358.6
1944	SLN	NL	85	265	35	66	11	2	6	37	1	37	29	.249	.261 (-5%)	.325 (+5%)	.357 (+4%)	.683 (+5%)	297.6
1945	SLN	NL	100	307	36	78	18	2	4	43	0	50	31	.254	.260 (-3%)	.328 (+9%)	.354 (+3%)	.683 (+6%)	442.4
1946	SLN	NL	22	57	2	7	2	0	1	3	0	8	8	.123	.256 (-52%)	.328 (-30%)	.358 (-41%)	.687 (-36%)	-312.3
1946	BSN	NL	12	32	4	7	0	0	0	2	0	8	4	.219	—	—	—	—	-312.3
Career · 13 seasons			832	2,195	262	560	101	20	40	323	3	273	251	.255	—	—	—	—	372

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

Ken O'Dea — Playoff Career Batting
G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	SO	AVG
10	13	1	6	0	0	1	6	1	0	.462

Playoff Batting by Year

Ken O'Dea — Playoff Batting by Year
Year	Round	Team	G	AB	R	H	HR	RBI	BB	AVG
1944	WS	SLN	3	3	0	1	0	2	0	.333
1943	WS	SLN	2	3	0	2	0	0	0	.667
1942	WS	SLN	1	1	0	1	0	1	0	1.000
1938	WS	CHN	3	5	1	1	1	2	1	.200
1935	WS	CHN	1	1	0	1	0	1	0	1.000

Game Log & Splits

View full game log (832 games) →

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

Batting — Home / Away

Ken O'Dea — Batting — Home / Away
Split	G	AB	R	H	HR	RBI	AVG
Home	402	1033	143	273	25	169	.264
Away	430	1162	119	287	15	154	.247

Last 10 Games — Batting

Ken O'Dea — Last 10 Games — Batting
Date	Tm	Opp	Res	AB	R	H	RBI	BB	SO
1946-08-06	BSN	PHI	W	4	0	0	0	0	2
1946-08-04	BSN	CHC	W	4	0	1	0	0	0
1946-07-31	BSN	PIT	W	3	1	0	0	1	0
1946-07-29	BSN	STL	W	3	0	1	0	0	0
1946-07-24	BSN	CIN	L	3	0	1	0	1	0
1946-07-20	BSN	STL	L	4	0	1	0	0	1
1946-07-19	BSN	CHC	W	3	1	0	1	1	1
1946-07-18	BSN	CHC	W	0	1	0	0	2	0
1946-07-16	BSN	PIT	W	0	0	0	0	0	0
1946-07-14	BSN	PIT	L	4	0	1	0	0	0

Fielding Statistics

Career Fielding Totals by Position

Ken O'Dea — Career Fielding Totals by Position
Position	G	GS	PO	A	E	DP
C	627	0	2450	336	48	44

Season-by-Season Fielding

Ken O'Dea — Season-by-Season Fielding
Year	Team	Pos	G	PO	A	E	DP
1935	CHN	C	63	213	27	9	3
1936	CHN	C	55	211	27	5	1
1937	CHN	C	64	234	29	4	4
1938	CHN	C	71	294	32	10	3
1939	NY1	C	30	78	11	5	1
1940	NY1	C	31	89	29	1	1
1941	NY1	C	14	62	9	0	0
1942	SLN	C	49	247	37	6	6
1943	SLN	C	56	237	32	3	6
1944	SLN	C	69	326	34	2	4
1945	SLN	C	91	321	50	2	14
1946	SLN	C	22	99	14	1	0
1946	BSN	C	12	39	5	0	1

Career Games by Position

Position Diamond

Circle size = games played at each position.

Ken O'Dea Stats, Bio & Career Records
Position	Games
Catcher	620

Most Similar Players

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

Career Spans

Ken O'Dea (highlighted) compared to peers across the same era.

Ken O'Dea: the record in brief

Ken O'Dea played a first major league game on April 21, 1935 and a last one on August 6, 1946. The season rows list, in order, the Chicago Cubs (1935 to 1938), the New York Giants (1939 to 1941), the St. Louis Cardinals (1942 to 1946), and the Boston Braves (1946). O'Dea played primarily as a catcher and threw right-handed and batted left-handed. The bio adds a birth date on March 16, 1913, in Lima, NY, USA and a listed size of 6'0" and 180 pounds. The bio records the death on December 17, 1985, in Lima, NY, USA. O'Dea's full given name, per the bio, is James Kenneth O'Dea.

O'Dea collected 560 hits in 2,195 at bats across 832 games, good for a .255 batting average, adding 40 home runs and 323 RBI. Reaching base at a .338 clip and slugging .374, O'Dea finished with a .712 OPS. The .255 career average is close to the .267 the league hit across the same seasons. O'Dea collected a career-high 78 hits in 1945.

Frequently Asked Questions about Ken O'Dea

What years did Ken O'Dea play?: Ken O'Dea played in Major League Baseball from 1935 to 1946.
Was Ken O'Dea a pitcher?: No. Ken O'Dea was a position player (Catcher).
How many home runs did Ken O'Dea hit?: Ken O'Dea hit 40 career home runs with 560 hits.
What teams did Ken O'Dea play for?: Ken O'Dea played for 4 teams: the Chicago Cubs (1935–1938), the New York Giants (1939–1941), the St. Louis Cardinals (1942–1946), and the Boston Braves (1946).
Did Ken O'Dea win an MVP award?: No. Ken O'Dea did not win the MVP award.
What awards did Ken O'Dea win?: Ken O'Dea was selected to 1 All-Star Game.
What were Ken O'Dea's career stats?: In 832 games, Ken O'Dea had 560 hits, 40 home runs, 323 RBI, 262 runs, and 3 stolen bases, with a .255 batting average.
What position did Ken O'Dea play?: Ken O'Dea played primarily as a catcher, the position where he appeared in the most games.
How tall was Ken O'Dea and how much did he weigh?: Ken O'Dea was listed at 6 feet and 180 pounds.
How many home runs did Ken O'Dea hit each season?: Ken O'Dea's home runs by season: 6 in 1935, 2 in 1936, 4 in 1937, 3 in 1938, 3 in 1939, 0 in 1940, 3 in 1941, 5 in 1942, 3 in 1943, 6 in 1944, 4 in 1945, and 1 in 1946. His most in one season was 6, in 1935 and 1944.
What was Ken O'Dea's career batting average?: Ken O'Dea batted .255 over his career, with 560 hits in 2,195 at bats.
How many RBI did Ken O'Dea have?: Ken O'Dea drove in 323 runs in his career.
Is Ken O'Dea in the Hall of Fame?: No. Ken O'Dea has not been inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame.
How many All-Star Games did Ken O'Dea make?: Ken O'Dea was selected to 1 All-Star Game.