What years did Dave Philley play?

Dave Philley played in Major League Baseball from 1941 to 1962.

Was Dave Philley a pitcher?

No. Dave Philley was a position player (Outfielder).

How many home runs did Dave Philley hit?

Dave Philley hit 84 career home runs with 1,700 hits.

What teams did Dave Philley play for?

Dave Philley played for 8 teams: the Chicago White Sox (1941, 1946–1951, 1956–1957), the Philadelphia Athletics (1951–1953), the Cleveland Indians (1954–1955), the Baltimore Orioles (1955–1956, 1960–1961), the Detroit Tigers (1957), the Philadelphia Phillies (1958–1960), the San Francisco Giants (1960), and the Boston Red Sox (1962).

What were Dave Philley's career stats?

In 1,904 games, Dave Philley had 1,700 hits, 84 home runs, 729 RBI, 789 runs, and 101 stolen bases, with a .270 batting average.

What position did Dave Philley play?

Dave Philley played primarily as an outfielder, the position where he appeared in the most games.

How tall was Dave Philley and how much did he weigh?

Dave Philley was listed at 6 feet and 188 pounds.

How many home runs did Dave Philley hit each season?

Dave Philley's home runs by season: 0 in 1941, 0 in 1946, 2 in 1947, 5 in 1948, 0 in 1949, 14 in 1950, 7 in 1951, 7 in 1952, 9 in 1953, 12 in 1954, 8 in 1955, 5 in 1956, 2 in 1957, 3 in 1958, 7 in 1959, 2 in 1960, 1 in 1961, and 0 in 1962. His most in one season was 14, in 1950.

What was Dave Philley's career batting average?

Dave Philley batted .270 over his career, with 1,700 hits in 6,296 at bats.

How many RBI did Dave Philley have?

Dave Philley drove in 729 runs in his career.

Is Dave Philley in the Hall of Fame?

No. Dave Philley has not been inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame.

Dave Philley

Outfielder · Career Stats, Bio & Records (1941-1962)

Dave Philley was an outfielder who played in Major League Baseball from 1941 to 1962 for 8 teams, including the Chicago White Sox, a span of 22 seasons. In 1,904 career games, he hit .270 with 1,700 hits, 84 home runs, and 729 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 October 23, 2026

AVG .270

HR 84

RBI 729

H 1,700

OPS .710

PIV -1,350

Position: Outfielder
Bats / Throws: B / R
Height / Weight: 6'0" / 188 lb
Born: 5/16/1920 in Paris, TX, USA
Died: 3/15/2012 in Paris, TX, USA
MLB Debut: 1941-09-06
Last Game: 1962-08-06

Full name: David Earl Philley

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Career Batting Statistics

Dave Philley — Career Batting Statistics
G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	SB	BB	SO	AVG	OBP	SLG	OPS	PIV
1,904	6,296	789	1,700	276	72	84	729	101	594	551	.270	.334	.377	.710	-1,350

Career AVG .270 vs. league average .260 across their career seasons — near league average.

Career OBP .334 vs. league average .332 across their career seasons — near league average.

Career SLG .377 vs. league average .387 across their career seasons — near league average.

Career OPS .710 vs. league average .718 across their career seasons — near league average.

Season-by-Season Batting

Career Arc

Click a stat to plot it across every season.

Dave Philley 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	CHA	AL	7	9	4	2	1	0	0	0	0	3	3	.222	—	—	—	—	0.0
1946	CHA	AL	17	68	10	24	2	3	0	17	5	4	4	.353	.256 (+37%)	.328 (+18%)	.358 (+31%)	.687 (+25%)	240.6
1947	CHA	AL	143	551	55	142	25	11	2	45	21	35	39	.258	.262 (-2%)	.336 (-10%)	.376 (-6%)	.712 (-8%)	-827.1
1948	CHA	AL	137	488	51	140	28	3	5	42	8	50	33	.287	.263 (+9%)	.340 (+4%)	.379 (+2%)	.719 (+3%)	285.6
1949	CHA	AL	146	598	84	171	20	8	0	44	13	54	51	.286	.262 (+9%)	.343 (+1%)	.384 (-10%)	.727 (-5%)	-450.7
1950	CHA	AL	156	619	69	150	21	5	14	80	6	52	57	.242	.265 (-9%)	.346 (-13%)	.401 (-10%)	.747 (-11%)	-1262.2
1951	CHA	AL	7	25	0	6	2	0	0	2	0	2	3	.240	—	—	—	—	0.0
1951	PHA	AL	125	468	71	123	18	7	7	59	9	63	38	.263	.260 (+1%)	.336 (+5%)	.385 (-2%)	.721 (+1%)	0.0
1952	PHA	AL	151	586	80	154	25	4	7	71	11	59	35	.263	.252 (+4%)	.326 (+2%)	.369 (-4%)	.696 (-1%)	-53.9
1953	PHA	AL	157	620	80	188	30	9	9	59	13	51	35	.303	.264 (+15%)	.335 (+7%)	.397 (+7%)	.733 (+7%)	815.6
1954	CLE	AL	133	452	48	102	13	3	12	60	2	57	48	.226	.261 (-14%)	.333 (-7%)	.390 (-11%)	.723 (-9%)	-687.5
1955	CLE	AL	43	104	15	31	4	2	2	9	0	12	10	.298	.258 (+15%)	.332 (+11%)	.393 (+10%)	.726 (+10%)	186.1
1955	BAL	AL	83	311	50	93	13	3	6	41	1	34	38	.299	.258 (+16%)	.332 (+11%)	.393 (+6%)	.726 (+8%)	186.1
1956	BAL	AL	32	117	13	24	4	2	1	17	3	18	13	.205	.258 (-21%)	.331 (-7%)	.397 (-25%)	.728 (-17%)	-297.8
1956	CHA	AL	86	279	44	74	14	2	4	47	1	28	27	.265	.258 (+3%)	.331 (-1%)	.397 (-6%)	.728 (-4%)	-297.8
1957	CHA	AL	22	71	9	23	4	0	0	9	1	4	10	.324	.257 (+26%)	.323 (+11%)	.391 (-3%)	.715 (+4%)	47.9
1957	DET	AL	65	173	15	49	8	1	2	16	3	7	16	.283	.257 (+10%)	.323 (-5%)	.391 (-4%)	.715 (-4%)	47.9
1958	PHI	NL	91	207	30	64	11	4	3	31	1	15	20	.309	.257 (+20%)	.324 (+10%)	.394 (+13%)	.719 (+11%)	415.4
1959	PHI	NL	99	254	32	74	18	2	7	37	0	18	27	.291	.256 (+14%)	.323 (+5%)	.392 (+17%)	.715 (+12%)	503.0
1960	PHI	NL	14	15	2	5	2	0	0	4	0	3	2	.333	—	—	—	—	0.0
1960	SFN	NL	39	61	5	10	0	0	1	7	0	6	14	.164	.255 (-36%)	.323 (-26%)	.387 (-45%)	.711 (-36%)	0.0
1960	BAL	AL	14	34	6	9	2	1	1	5	1	4	5	.265	—	—	—	—	0.0
1961	BAL	AL	99	144	13	36	9	2	1	23	2	10	20	.250	.258 (-3%)	.328 (-11%)	.399 (-10%)	.727 (-10%)	-283.9
1962	BOS	AL	38	42	3	6	2	0	0	4	0	5	3	.143	—	—	—	—	0.0
Career · 24 seasons			1,904	6,296	789	1,700	276	72	84	729	101	594	551	.270	—	—	—	—	-1,433

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

Dave Philley — Playoff Career Batting
G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	SO	AVG
4	8	0	1	0	0	0	0	1	3	.125

Playoff Batting by Year

Dave Philley — Playoff Batting by Year
Year	Round	Team	G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	SO	AVG
1954	WS	CLE	4	8	0	1	0	0	0	0	1	3	.125

Game Log & Splits

View full game log (1904 games) →

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

Batting — Home / Away

Dave Philley — Batting — Home / Away
Split	G	AB	R	H	HR	RBI	AVG
Home	959	3029	397	806	26	353	.266
Away	945	3267	392	894	58	376	.274

Last 10 Games — Batting

Dave Philley — Last 10 Games — Batting
Date	Tm	Opp	Res	AB	H	2B	RBI
1962-08-06	BOS	LAA	L	1	0	0	0
1962-07-27	BOS	TEX	L	1	1	1	0
1962-07-26	BOS	NYY	L	1	0	0	0
1962-07-25	BOS	NYY	L	1	0	0	0
1962-07-12	BOS	KC1	L	1	0	0	0
1962-07-01	BOS	KC1	L	1	0	0	0
1962-06-20	BOS	CLE	L	1	0	0	0
1962-06-17	BOS	DET	W	3	0	0	0
1962-06-17	BOS	DET	L	3	0	0	1
1962-06-16	BOS	DET	W	4	1	0	0

Fielding Statistics

Career Fielding Totals by Position

Dave Philley — Career Fielding Totals by Position
Position	G	GS	PO	A	E	DP
1B	125	106	846	65	13	82
3B	21	1	6	14	2	2
OF	1454	402	3242	137	64	33

Season-by-Season Fielding

Dave Philley — Season-by-Season Fielding
Year	Team	Pos	G	GS	PO	A	E	DP
1941	CHA	OF	2	0	0	0	0	0
1946	CHA	OF	17	0	55	3	1	0
1947	CHA	3B	4	0	1	6	0	1
1947	CHA	OF	133	0	355	9	5	2
1948	CHA	OF	128	0	381	22	9	6
1949	CHA	OF	145	0	282	16	7	3
1950	CHA	OF	154	0	367	19	8	8
1951	CHA	OF	6	0	15	0	1	0
1951	PHA	3B	2	0	0	0	0	0
1951	PHA	OF	120	0	299	15	7	4
1952	PHA	3B	2	0	3	3	0	0
1952	PHA	OF	149	0	442	13	4	3
1953	PHA	3B	1	0	0	0	0	0
1953	PHA	OF	157	0	296	18	6	0
1954	CLE	OF	129	120	237	6	4	0
1955	CLE	OF	34	22	44	2	0	2
1955	BAL	3B	2	0	0	1	1	0
1955	BAL	OF	82	80	154	6	5	2
1956	BAL	3B	5	1	2	4	1	1
1956	BAL	OF	31	31	56	2	4	2
1956	CHA	1B	51	44	299	17	7	31
1956	CHA	OF	30	26	50	2	0	0
1957	CHA	1B	2	0	15	0	0	2
1957	CHA	OF	17	16	39	0	1	0
1957	DET	1B	27	23	203	25	1	19
1957	DET	3B	1	0	0	0	0	0
1957	DET	OF	12	11	16	0	1	0
1958	PHI	1B	18	17	151	12	1	12
1958	PHI	OF	24	24	32	0	0	0
1959	PHI	1B	24	21	174	11	4	17
1959	PHI	OF	34	35	64	4	0	1
1960	PHI	1B	2	0	1	0	0	1
1960	PHI	OF	3	0	0	0	0	0
1960	SFN	3B	3	0	0	0	0	0
1960	SFN	OF	10	9	16	0	1	0
1960	BAL	3B	1	0	0	0	0	0
1960	BAL	OF	8	7	15	0	0	0
1961	BAL	1B	1	1	3	0	0	0
1961	BAL	OF	25	17	21	0	0	0
1962	BOS	OF	4	4	6	0	0	0

Career Games by Position

Position Diamond

Circle size = games played at each position.

Dave Philley Stats, Bio & Career Records
Position	Games
First Base	124
Third Base	22
Left Field	201
Center Field	590
Right Field	719

Award Voting History

Dave Philley — Award Voting History
Year	Award	League	Finish	Points Won	Points Max
1955	Most Valuable Player	AL	20th	6.0	336
1953	Most Valuable Player	AL	19th	11.0	336
1950	Most Valuable Player	AL	30th	1.0	336

Most Similar Players

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

Career Spans

Dave Philley (highlighted) compared to peers across the same era.

Dave Philley: the record in brief

According to the bio, Dave Philley debuted on September 6, 1941 and played a final game on August 6, 1962. The season rows list, in order, the Chicago White Sox (1941 to 1957), the Philadelphia Athletics (1951 through 1953), the Cleveland Indians (1954 to 1955), the Baltimore Orioles (1955 to 1961), the Detroit Tigers (1957), the Philadelphia Phillies (1958 through 1960), the San Francisco Giants (1960), and the Boston Red Sox (1962). Born on May 16, 1920, in Paris, TX, USA, Philley is listed as an outfielder and batted from both sides and threw right-handed. Philley's listed size is 6-foot-0 and 188 pounds. Philley's death is recorded on March 15, 2012, in Paris, TX, USA. The bio lists the given name David Earl.

Philley collected 1,700 hits in 6,296 at bats across 1,904 games, good for a .270 batting average, adding 84 homers, 729 runs batted in, and 101 stolen bases. On-base and slugging figures of .334 and .377 give Philley a career OPS of .710. The .270 career average is close to the .260 the league hit across the same seasons.

Frequently Asked Questions about Dave Philley

What years did Dave Philley play?: Dave Philley played in Major League Baseball from 1941 to 1962.
Was Dave Philley a pitcher?: No. Dave Philley was a position player (Outfielder).
How many home runs did Dave Philley hit?: Dave Philley hit 84 career home runs with 1,700 hits.
What teams did Dave Philley play for?: Dave Philley played for 8 teams: the Chicago White Sox (1941, 1946–1951, 1956–1957), the Philadelphia Athletics (1951–1953), the Cleveland Indians (1954–1955), the Baltimore Orioles (1955–1956, 1960–1961), the Detroit Tigers (1957), the Philadelphia Phillies (1958–1960), the San Francisco Giants (1960), and the Boston Red Sox (1962).
What were Dave Philley's career stats?: In 1,904 games, Dave Philley had 1,700 hits, 84 home runs, 729 RBI, 789 runs, and 101 stolen bases, with a .270 batting average.
What position did Dave Philley play?: Dave Philley played primarily as an outfielder, the position where he appeared in the most games.
How tall was Dave Philley and how much did he weigh?: Dave Philley was listed at 6 feet and 188 pounds.
How many home runs did Dave Philley hit each season?: Dave Philley's home runs by season: 0 in 1941, 0 in 1946, 2 in 1947, 5 in 1948, 0 in 1949, 14 in 1950, 7 in 1951, 7 in 1952, 9 in 1953, 12 in 1954, 8 in 1955, 5 in 1956, 2 in 1957, 3 in 1958, 7 in 1959, 2 in 1960, 1 in 1961, and 0 in 1962. His most in one season was 14, in 1950.
What was Dave Philley's career batting average?: Dave Philley batted .270 over his career, with 1,700 hits in 6,296 at bats.
How many RBI did Dave Philley have?: Dave Philley drove in 729 runs in his career.
Is Dave Philley in the Hall of Fame?: No. Dave Philley has not been inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame.