Ivy Olson
Shortstop · Career Stats, Bio & Records (1911-1924)
Ivy Olson was a shortstop who played in Major League Baseball from 1911 to 1924 for the Cleveland Guardians, the Cincinnati Reds, and the Brooklyn Dodgers, a span of 14 seasons. In 1,574 career games, he hit .258 with 1,575 hits, 13 home runs, and 446 RBI.
- 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
- Position
- Shortstop
- Bats / Throws
- R / R
- Height / Weight
- 5'10" / 175 lb
- Died
- 9/1/1965 in Inglewood, CA, USA
- MLB Debut
- 1911-04-12
- Last Game
- 1924-07-21
Full name: Ivan Massie Olson
Career Batting Statistics
| G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | SB | BB | SO | AVG | OBP | SLG | OPS | PIV |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1,574 | 6,111 | 730 | 1,575 | 191 | 69 | 13 | 446 | 156 | 285 | 301 | .258 | .295 | .318 | .613 | -10,348 |
Career AVG .258 vs. league average .267 across their career seasons — near league average.
Career OBP .295 vs. league average .330 across their career seasons — 10.8% below league average.
Career SLG .318 vs. league average .358 across their career seasons — 11.2% below league average.
Career OPS .613 vs. league average .689 across their career seasons — 11.0% 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1911 | CLE | AL | 140 | 545 | 89 | 142 | 20 | 8 | 1 | 50 | 20 | 34 | 56 | .261 | .266 (-2%) | .336 (-7%) | .356 (-7%) | .693 (-7%) | -668.4 |
| 1912 | CLE | AL | 125 | 467 | 68 | 118 | 13 | 1 | 0 | 33 | 16 | 21 | 23 | .253 | .268 (-6%) | .335 (-13%) | .358 (-21%) | .694 (-17%) | -1240.4 |
| 1913 | CLE | AL | 104 | 370 | 47 | 92 | 13 | 3 | 0 | 32 | 7 | 22 | 28 | .249 | .259 (-4%) | .325 (-9%) | .345 (-13%) | .670 (-11%) | -632.5 |
| 1914 | CLE | AL | 89 | 310 | 22 | 75 | 6 | 2 | 1 | 20 | 15 | 13 | 24 | .242 | .255 (-5%) | .322 (-15%) | .339 (-16%) | .661 (-16%) | -748.1 |
| 1915 | CIN | NL | 63 | 207 | 18 | 48 | 5 | 4 | 0 | 14 | 10 | 12 | 13 | .232 | .250 (-7%) | .318 (-14%) | .332 (-11%) | .651 (-13%) | -425.8 |
| 1915 | BRO | NL | 18 | 26 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | .077 | — | — | — | — | -425.8 |
| 1916 | BRO | NL | 108 | 351 | 29 | 89 | 13 | 4 | 1 | 38 | 14 | 21 | 27 | .254 | .248 (+2%) | .314 (-5%) | .326 (-1%) | .640 (-3%) | -221.7 |
| 1917 | BRO | NL | 139 | 580 | 64 | 156 | 18 | 5 | 2 | 38 | 6 | 14 | 34 | .269 | .248 (+8%) | .312 (-7%) | .323 (+1%) | .635 (-3%) | -373.8 |
| 1918 | BRO | NL | 126 | 506 | 63 | 121 | 16 | 4 | 1 | 17 | 21 | 27 | 18 | .239 | .255 (-6%) | .318 (-10%) | .326 (-10%) | .645 (-10%) | -802.9 |
| 1919 | BRO | NL | 140 | 590 | 73 | 164 | 14 | 9 | 1 | 38 | 26 | 30 | 12 | .278 | .262 (+6%) | .322 (-2%) | .347 (-3%) | .670 (-3%) | -278.4 |
| 1920 | BRO | NL | 143 | 637 | 71 | 162 | 13 | 11 | 1 | 46 | 4 | 20 | 19 | .254 | .271 (-6%) | .331 (-16%) | .363 (-14%) | .694 (-15%) | -1575.4 |
| 1921 | BRO | NL | 151 | 652 | 88 | 174 | 22 | 10 | 3 | 35 | 4 | 28 | 26 | .267 | .286 (-7%) | .344 (-13%) | .395 (-13%) | .739 (-13%) | -1414.2 |
| 1922 | BRO | NL | 136 | 551 | 63 | 150 | 26 | 6 | 1 | 47 | 8 | 25 | 10 | .272 | .285 (-5%) | .345 (-11%) | .397 (-13%) | .743 (-12%) | -1161.5 |
| 1923 | BRO | NL | 82 | 292 | 33 | 76 | 11 | 1 | 1 | 35 | 5 | 14 | 10 | .260 | .282 (-8%) | .344 (-14%) | .390 (-19%) | .734 (-17%) | -805.1 |
| 1924 | BRO | NL | 10 | 27 | 0 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | .222 | — | — | — | — | 0.0 |
| Career · 15 seasons | 1,574 | 6,111 | 730 | 1,575 | 191 | 69 | 13 | 446 | 156 | 285 | 301 | .258 | — | — | — | — | -10,774 | ||
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
Playoff Batting by Year
Game Log & Splits
View full game log (1574 games) →Per-game data from Retrosheet (regular season, through 2025).
Batting — Home / Away
| Split | G | AB | R | H | HR | RBI | AVG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Home | 782 | 2963 | 357 | 801 | 5 | 240 | .270 |
| Away | 792 | 3150 | 370 | 774 | 8 | 224 | .246 |
Last 10 Games — Batting
| Date | Tm | Opp | Res | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | BB | SO |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1924-07-21 | BRO | PIT | L | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1924-06-30 | BRO | NY1 | L | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1924-06-23 | BRO | NY1 | L | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1924-06-22 | BRO | PHI | L | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 1924-06-21 | BRO | PHI | W | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1924-06-20 | BRO | PHI | L | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 1924-06-19 | BRO | CIN | W | 3 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 1924-06-18 | BRO | CIN | L | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1924-06-17 | BRO | CIN | W | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1924-06-16 | BRO | CIN | W | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
Fielding Statistics
Career Fielding Totals by Position
| Position | G | GS | PO | A | E | DP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1B | 34 | 0 | 295 | 18 | 9 | 20 |
| 2B | 288 | 0 | 651 | 938 | 72 | 136 |
| 3B | 155 | 0 | 223 | 296 | 36 | 10 |
| OF | 10 | 0 | 17 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| SS | 1054 | 0 | 2389 | 3313 | 417 | 425 |
Season-by-Season Fielding
| Year | Team | Pos | G | GS | PO | A | E | DP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1911 | CLE | 3B | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 |
| 1911 | CLE | SS | 139 | 0 | 293 | 428 | 72 | 51 |
| 1912 | CLE | 2B | 21 | 0 | 47 | 64 | 9 | 6 |
| 1912 | CLE | 3B | 36 | 0 | 62 | 74 | 8 | 2 |
| 1912 | CLE | OF | 3 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1912 | CLE | SS | 56 | 0 | 118 | 180 | 27 | 10 |
| 1913 | CLE | 1B | 21 | 0 | 206 | 10 | 8 | 17 |
| 1913 | CLE | 2B | 1 | 0 | 5 | 3 | 1 | 1 |
| 1913 | CLE | 3B | 73 | 0 | 97 | 145 | 12 | 7 |
| 1914 | CLE | 1B | 3 | 0 | 17 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 1914 | CLE | 2B | 23 | 0 | 62 | 72 | 2 | 5 |
| 1914 | CLE | 3B | 19 | 0 | 42 | 32 | 5 | 1 |
| 1914 | CLE | OF | 6 | 0 | 14 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 1914 | CLE | SS | 31 | 0 | 58 | 89 | 9 | 14 |
| 1915 | CIN | 1B | 7 | 0 | 65 | 7 | 1 | 3 |
| 1915 | CIN | 2B | 39 | 0 | 88 | 125 | 14 | 17 |
| 1915 | CIN | 3B | 15 | 0 | 17 | 34 | 4 | 0 |
| 1915 | BRO | 2B | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1915 | BRO | 3B | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 1915 | BRO | OF | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1915 | BRO | SS | 7 | 0 | 16 | 14 | 3 | 2 |
| 1916 | BRO | 1B | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1916 | BRO | 2B | 3 | 0 | 7 | 4 | 1 | 0 |
| 1916 | BRO | SS | 103 | 0 | 234 | 303 | 47 | 28 |
| 1917 | BRO | 3B | 6 | 0 | 4 | 7 | 6 | 0 |
| 1917 | BRO | SS | 133 | 0 | 283 | 431 | 45 | 53 |
| 1918 | BRO | SS | 126 | 0 | 265 | 388 | 58 | 42 |
| 1919 | BRO | SS | 140 | 0 | 349 | 445 | 44 | 57 |
| 1920 | BRO | 2B | 21 | 0 | 51 | 78 | 7 | 20 |
| 1920 | BRO | SS | 125 | 0 | 275 | 404 | 47 | 48 |
| 1921 | BRO | 2B | 20 | 0 | 36 | 65 | 7 | 12 |
| 1921 | BRO | SS | 133 | 0 | 343 | 465 | 49 | 71 |
| 1922 | BRO | 2B | 85 | 0 | 193 | 283 | 20 | 39 |
| 1922 | BRO | SS | 51 | 0 | 139 | 149 | 13 | 43 |
| 1923 | BRO | 1B | 2 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1923 | BRO | 2B | 72 | 0 | 161 | 244 | 11 | 36 |
| 1923 | BRO | 3B | 4 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 1923 | BRO | SS | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 1924 | BRO | 2B | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1924 | BRO | SS | 8 | 0 | 15 | 17 | 2 | 6 |
Career Games by Position
Circle size = games played at each position.
| Position | Games |
|---|---|
| First Base | 36 |
| Second Base | 284 |
| Third Base | 165 |
| Shortstop | 1053 |
| Left Field | 8 |
| Right Field | 2 |
Most Similar Players
Career comps based on counting + rate stats and primary position. Score is relative — closest peer anchors at ~98%.
Ivy Olson (highlighted) compared to peers across the same era.
Ivy Olson: the record in brief
The profile opens with Ivy Olson's first major league game on April 12, 1911; the last one listed came on July 21, 1924. Club by club, the record runs the Cleveland Naps (1911 to 1914), the Cincinnati Reds (1915), and the Brooklyn Robins (1915 through 1924). Olson played primarily as a shortstop and threw and hit right-handed. The bio adds a birth date on October 14, 1885, in Kansas City, MO, USA and a listed size of 175 pounds on a 5-foot-10 frame. Olson died on September 1, 1965, in Inglewood, CA, USA. Olson's full given name, per the bio, is Ivan Massie Olson.
Olson finished with 1,575 hits from 6,111 at bats in 1,574 games, which works out to .258, adding 13 homers, 446 RBI, and 156 stolen bases. On-base and slugging figures of .295 and .318 give Olson a career OPS of .613. The .258 career average is close to the .267 the league hit across the same seasons. No season topped the 174 hits of 1921. Olson drove in a season-high 50 runs in 1911. 1919 brought a season-best 26 stolen bases.
Frequently Asked Questions about Ivy Olson
- What years did Ivy Olson play?
- Ivy Olson played in Major League Baseball from 1911 to 1924.
- Was Ivy Olson a pitcher?
- No. Ivy Olson was a position player (Shortstop).
- How many home runs did Ivy Olson hit?
- Ivy Olson hit 13 career home runs with 1575 hits.
- What was Ivy Olson's career batting average?
- Ivy Olson batted .258 over his career, with 1,575 hits in 6,111 at bats.
- How many RBI did Ivy Olson have?
- Ivy Olson drove in 446 runs in his career.
- Is Ivy Olson in the Hall of Fame?
- No. Ivy Olson has not been inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame.