Oscar Owens
Right Fielder · Career Stats, Bio & Records
Oscar Owens was a right fielder who played in Major League Baseball for the Pittsburgh Keystones and the Homestead Grays. In 93 career games, he hit .342 with 89 hits, 4 home runs, and 40 RBI. He also pitched in 27 games, going 7-6 with a 5.59 ERA. His totals include Negro Leagues seasons, which MLB recognized as major league in 2020. His career PIV — Baseball Data Hub's era-adjusted measure of offensive impact — is 880.
- 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
- Right Fielder
- Bats / Throws
- R / R
- Height / Weight
- 5'6" / 155 lb
- Died
- 4/30/1960 in Washington, DC, USA
Full name: William Oscar Owens
Negro Leagues (season totals). Additive Retrosheet-digitized totals for seasons not already in the logs above; they are not summed into the career line. No team/league breakdown is available, and coverage may be partial.
Negro Leagues Season-by-Season Batting
Career Batting Statistics
| G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | SB | BB | SO | AVG | OBP | SLG | OPS | PIV |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 93 | 260 | 51 | 89 | 18 | 3 | 4 | 40 | 6 | 23 | 1 | .342 | .402 | .481 | .883 | 880 |
Career AVG .342 vs. league average .285 across their career seasons — +19.9% above league average.
Career OBP .402 vs. league average .347 across their career seasons — +15.8% above league average.
Career SLG .481 vs. league average .406 across their career seasons — +18.5% above league average.
Career OPS .883 vs. league average .753 across their career seasons — +17.3% above 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1922 | PK | NNL | 30 | 95 | 27 | 35 | 11 | 1 | 3 | 19 | 4 | 10 | 0 | .368 | .285 (+29%) | .345 (+25%) | .397 (+51%) | .743 (+39%) | 639.3 |
| 1928 | HG | EAS | 8 | 18 | 1 | 7 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | .389 | — | — | — | — | 0.0 |
| 1929 | HG | ANL | 28 | 79 | 20 | 30 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 11 | 1 | 9 | 0 | .380 | .289 (+31%) | .353 (+29%) | .415 (-3%) | .769 (+12%) | 235.8 |
| 1930 | HG | IND | 20 | 51 | 3 | 15 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 7 | 1 | 3 | 0 | .294 | .293 (avg) | .354 (-6%) | .429 (+10%) | .784 (+3%) | 4.9 |
| 1931 | HG | IND | 7 | 17 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | .118 | — | — | — | — | 0.0 |
| Career · 5 seasons | 93 | 260 | 51 | 89 | 18 | 3 | 4 | 40 | 6 | 23 | 1 | .342 | — | — | — | — | 880 | ||
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.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1922 | PK | NNL | 2 | 4 | 7 | 5 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 43.2 | 50 | 28 | 24 | 17 | 5.77 | 4.18 (-38%) | -500.4 |
| 1928 | HG | EAS | 0 | 2 | 4 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 25.0 | 33 | 20 | 10 | 11 | 7.20 | 4.13 (-74%) | 50.1 |
| 1929 | HG | ANL | 1 | 0 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 18.1 | 23 | 17 | 10 | 6 | 8.35 | 4.60 (-81%) | -674.3 |
| 1930 | HG | IND | 4 | 0 | 9 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 44.1 | 46 | 21 | 11 | 29 | 4.26 | 4.80 (+11%) | 905.5 |
| 1931 | HG | IND | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10.1 | 8 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 1.74 | 4.10 (+58%) | 449.2 |
| Career · 5 seasons | 7 | 6 | 27 | 12 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 141.2 | 160 | 88 | 55 | 67 | 5.59 | — | 230 | ||
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.
Fielding Statistics
Career Fielding Totals by Position
| Position | G | GS | PO | A | E | DP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1B | 4 | 3 | 35 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| C | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| OF | 54 | 43 | 55 | 6 | 6 | 0 |
| P | 27 | 13 | 10 | 38 | 2 | 3 |
Season-by-Season Fielding
| Year | Team | Pos | G | GS | PO | A | E | DP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1922 | PK | OF | 21 | 19 | 19 | 5 | 4 | 0 |
| 1922 | PK | P | 7 | 5 | 3 | 16 | 1 | 2 |
| 1928 | HG | 1B | 2 | 1 | 13 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1928 | HG | C | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1928 | HG | P | 4 | 3 | 3 | 8 | 0 | 0 |
| 1929 | HG | 1B | 2 | 2 | 22 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 1929 | HG | OF | 20 | 15 | 25 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| 1929 | HG | P | 5 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 0 |
| 1930 | HG | OF | 9 | 6 | 8 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 1930 | HG | P | 9 | 4 | 3 | 10 | 0 | 1 |
| 1931 | HG | OF | 4 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1931 | HG | P | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
Career Games by Position
Circle size = games played at each position.
| Position | Games |
|---|---|
| Pitcher | 27 |
| Catcher | 1 |
| First Base | 4 |
| Left Field | 12 |
| Center Field | 8 |
| Right Field | 34 |
Oscar Owens: the record in brief
The season rows for Oscar Owens begin in 1922. Owens played for the Pittsburgh Keystones (1922) and the Homestead Grays (1928 to 1931). Owens, born on September 7, 1893, in Reidsville, NC, USA, is listed as a right fielder and batted and threw right-handed. Size on record: 155 pounds on a 5-foot-6 frame. Owens's death is recorded on April 30, 1960, in Washington, DC, USA. The given name on file is William Oscar Owens.
Owens's career batting table shows 93 games, 260 at bats and 89 hits, a .342 average; the totals also include 4 home runs and 40 RBI. Owens got on base at a .402 rate and slugged .481 (.883 OPS). Set against a .285 league average for the same years, Owens's .342 average sits 19.9% above it. In OPS terms, Owens's .883 stands 17.3% above the league's .753. No season topped the 35 hits of 1922. In 1929, a season of regular play, Owens hit .380 while the league hit .289.
Frequently Asked Questions about Oscar Owens
- Was Oscar Owens a pitcher?
- Both. Oscar Owens pitched in 27 games, going 7-6 with a 5.59 ERA, but spent most of his career as a Right Fielder.
- How many home runs did Oscar Owens hit?
- Oscar Owens hit 4 career home runs with 89 hits.
- What teams did Oscar Owens play for?
- Oscar Owens played for 2 teams: the Pittsburgh Keystones (1922) and the Homestead Grays (1928–1931).
- What were Oscar Owens's career stats?
- In 93 games, Oscar Owens had 89 hits, 4 home runs, 40 RBI, 51 runs, and 6 stolen bases, with a .342 batting average. As a pitcher, in 27 games, he went 7-6 with a 5.59 ERA, 67 strikeouts, and 141.2 innings pitched.
- What position did Oscar Owens play?
- Oscar Owens played primarily as a right fielder, the position where he appeared in the most games.
- How tall was Oscar Owens and how much did he weigh?
- Oscar Owens was listed at 5 feet 6 inches and 155 pounds.
- How many home runs did Oscar Owens hit each season?
- Oscar Owens's home runs by season: 3 in 1922, 0 in 1928, 0 in 1929, 1 in 1930, and 0 in 1931. His most in one season was 3, in 1922.
- What was Oscar Owens's career batting average?
- Oscar Owens batted .342 over his career, with 89 hits in 260 at bats.
- How many RBI did Oscar Owens have?
- Oscar Owens drove in 40 runs in his career.
- What was Oscar Owens's career ERA?
- Oscar Owens finished with a 5.59 career ERA, going 7-6 with 67 strikeouts.
- Is Oscar Owens in the Hall of Fame?
- No. Oscar Owens has not been inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame.