Howie Pollet
Pitcher · Career Stats, Bio & Records (1941-1956)
Howie Pollet was a pitcher who played in Major League Baseball from 1941 to 1956 for 4 teams, including the St. Louis Cardinals, a span of 16 seasons. Across 403 career appearances, he went 131-116 with a 3.51 ERA, 934 strikeouts, and 20 saves. He also batted .185 with 0 home runs. Howie Pollet was a 3-time All-Star. His career Pitcher PIV — Baseball Data Hub's era-adjusted measure of pitching impact — is 14446.6.
- 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 / L
- Height / Weight
- 6'1" / 175 lb
- Died
- 8/8/1974 in Houston, TX, USA
- MLB Debut
- 1941-08-20
- Last Game
- 1956-09-23
- Awards
- 3× All-Star
Full name: Howard Joseph Pollet
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1941 | SLN | NL | 5 | 2 | 9 | 8 | 6 | 2 | 0 | 70.0 | 55 | 15 | 27 | 37 | 1.93 | 3.94 (+51%) | 1426.3 |
| 1942 | SLN | NL | 7 | 5 | 27 | 13 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 109.1 | 102 | 35 | 39 | 42 | 2.88 | 3.57 (+19%) | -539.9 |
| 1943 | SLN | NL | 8 | 4 | 16 | 14 | 12 | 5 | 0 | 118.1 | 83 | 23 | 32 | 61 | 1.75 | 3.50 (+50%) | 2429.6 |
| 1946 | SLN | NL | 21 | 10 | 40 | 32 | 22 | 4 | 5 | 266.0 | 228 | 62 | 86 | 107 | 2.10 | 3.59 (+42%) | 1380.2 |
| 1947 | SLN | NL | 9 | 11 | 37 | 24 | 9 | 0 | 2 | 176.1 | 195 | 85 | 87 | 73 | 4.34 | 3.97 (-9%) | -1051.7 |
| 1948 | SLN | NL | 13 | 8 | 36 | 26 | 11 | 0 | 0 | 186.1 | 216 | 94 | 67 | 80 | 4.54 | 4.10 (-11%) | 1840.5 |
| 1949 | SLN | NL | 20 | 9 | 39 | 28 | 17 | 5 | 1 | 230.2 | 228 | 71 | 59 | 108 | 2.77 | 4.12 (+33%) | 7524.3 |
| 1950 | SLN | NL | 14 | 13 | 37 | 30 | 14 | 2 | 2 | 232.1 | 228 | 85 | 68 | 117 | 3.29 | 4.36 (+24%) | 5049.9 |
| 1951 | SLN | NL | 0 | 3 | 6 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 12.1 | 10 | 6 | 8 | 10 | 4.38 | 4.04 (-8%) | 56.3 |
| 1951 | PIT | NL | 6 | 10 | 21 | 21 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 128.2 | 149 | 72 | 51 | 47 | 5.04 | 4.04 (-25%) | -4330.1 |
| 1952 | PIT | NL | 7 | 16 | 31 | 30 | 9 | 1 | 0 | 214.0 | 217 | 98 | 71 | 90 | 4.12 | 3.70 (-11%) | -1180.6 |
| 1953 | PIT | NL | 1 | 1 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 12.2 | 27 | 15 | 6 | 8 | 10.66 | 4.14 (-158%) | -210.4 |
| 1953 | CHN | NL | 5 | 6 | 25 | 17 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 111.1 | 120 | 51 | 44 | 45 | 4.12 | 4.14 (avg) | 1258.1 |
| 1954 | CHN | NL | 8 | 10 | 20 | 20 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 128.1 | 131 | 51 | 54 | 58 | 3.58 | 3.90 (+8%) | 2425.6 |
| 1955 | CHN | NL | 4 | 3 | 24 | 7 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 61.0 | 62 | 38 | 27 | 27 | 5.61 | 4.00 (-40%) | -1763.6 |
| 1956 | CHA | AL | 3 | 1 | 11 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 26.1 | 27 | 12 | 11 | 14 | 4.10 | 3.96 (-3%) | 276.7 |
| 1956 | PIT | NL | 0 | 4 | 19 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 23.1 | 18 | 8 | 8 | 10 | 3.09 | 3.96 (+22%) | -144.5 |
| Career · 17 seasons | 131 | 116 | 403 | 278 | 116 | 25 | 20 | 2,107.1 | 2,096 | 821 | 745 | 934 | 3.51 | — | 14,447 | ||
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 407 | 698 | 54 | 129 | 17 | 2 | 0 | 48 | 0 | 55 | 159 | .185 | .244 | .215 | .459 | -2,951 |
Career AVG .185 vs. league average .260 across their career seasons — 28.9% below league average.
Career OBP .244 vs. league average .334 across their career seasons — 26.7% below league average.
Career SLG .215 vs. league average .378 across their career seasons — 43.1% below league average.
Career OPS .459 vs. league average .711 across their career seasons — 35.4% 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1941 | SLN | NL | 9 | 28 | 0 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 12 | .179 | — | — | — | — | 0.0 |
| 1942 | SLN | NL | 27 | 31 | 2 | 7 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 7 | 7 | .226 | — | — | — | — | 0.0 |
| 1943 | SLN | NL | 16 | 43 | 3 | 7 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 9 | .163 | — | — | — | — | 0.0 |
| 1946 | SLN | NL | 40 | 87 | 2 | 14 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 6 | 23 | .161 | .256 (-37%) | .328 (-35%) | .358 (-42%) | .687 (-39%) | -524.7 |
| 1947 | SLN | NL | 37 | 65 | 5 | 15 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 13 | .231 | .262 (-12%) | .336 (-28%) | .376 (-18%) | .712 (-23%) | -260.9 |
| 1948 | SLN | NL | 38 | 68 | 6 | 8 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 3 | 9 | .118 | .263 (-55%) | .340 (-54%) | .379 (-65%) | .719 (-60%) | -656.9 |
| 1949 | SLN | NL | 39 | 82 | 10 | 16 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 8 | 18 | .195 | .262 (-26%) | .343 (-22%) | .384 (-46%) | .727 (-35%) | -452.7 |
| 1950 | SLN | NL | 38 | 84 | 7 | 12 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 5 | 18 | .143 | .265 (-46%) | .346 (-45%) | .401 (-59%) | .747 (-52%) | -731.0 |
| 1951 | SLN | NL | 6 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | .000 | — | — | — | — | 0.0 |
| 1951 | PIT | NL | 21 | 36 | 3 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 12 | .139 | — | — | — | — | 0.0 |
| 1952 | PIT | NL | 31 | 68 | 4 | 13 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 8 | 17 | .191 | .252 (-24%) | .326 (-15%) | .369 (-48%) | .696 (-33%) | -324.8 |
| 1953 | PIT | NL | 5 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .333 | — | — | — | — | 0.0 |
| 1953 | CHN | NL | 25 | 31 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 6 | .129 | — | — | — | — | 0.0 |
| 1954 | CHN | NL | 20 | 47 | 6 | 13 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 6 | .277 | — | — | — | — | 0.0 |
| 1955 | CHN | NL | 24 | 15 | 0 | 6 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 5 | .400 | — | — | — | — | 0.0 |
| 1956 | CHA | AL | 12 | 8 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | .375 | — | — | — | — | 0.0 |
| 1956 | PIT | NL | 19 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | .000 | — | — | — | — | 0.0 |
| Career · 17 seasons | 407 | 698 | 54 | 129 | 17 | 2 | 0 | 48 | 0 | 55 | 159 | .185 | — | — | — | — | -2,951 | ||
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 (808 games) →Per-game data from Retrosheet (regular season, through 2025).
Batting — Home / Away
| Split | G | AB | R | H | HR | RBI | AVG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Home | 201 | 300 | 25 | 53 | 0 | 25 | .177 |
| Away | 205 | 393 | 29 | 76 | 0 | 23 | .193 |
Pitching — Home / Away
| Split | G | IP | H | ER | BB | SO | ERA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Home | 197 | 1016.2 | 1062 | 412 | 360 | 483 | 3.65 |
| Away | 205 | 1081.0 | 1029 | 410 | 384 | 460 | 3.41 |
Last 10 Games — Pitching
| Date | Tm | Opp | Dec | IP | H | R | ER | BB | SO | HR |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1956-09-23 | PIT | BRO | — | 0.1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1956-09-18 | PIT | ATL | — | 1.0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 1956-09-15 | PIT | CIN | — | 1.0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 1956-09-13 | PIT | CIN | — | 0.1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1956-09-12 | PIT | CHC | — | 0.1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 1956-09-08 | PIT | PHI | — | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1956-08-31 | PIT | PHI | SV | 0.1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 1956-08-23 | PIT | STL | — | 1.0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1956-08-21 | PIT | CIN | L | 0.0 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 1956-08-09 | PIT | BRO | — | 2.0 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
Fielding Statistics
Career Fielding Totals by Position
Season-by-Season Fielding
| Year | Team | Pos | G | GS | PO | A | E | DP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1941 | SLN | P | 9 | 0 | 0 | 18 | 0 | 0 |
| 1942 | SLN | P | 27 | 0 | 4 | 16 | 2 | 1 |
| 1943 | SLN | P | 16 | 0 | 1 | 17 | 0 | 0 |
| 1946 | SLN | P | 40 | 0 | 8 | 59 | 4 | 9 |
| 1947 | SLN | P | 37 | 0 | 5 | 33 | 0 | 5 |
| 1948 | SLN | P | 36 | 0 | 5 | 44 | 2 | 2 |
| 1949 | SLN | P | 39 | 0 | 9 | 33 | 2 | 2 |
| 1950 | SLN | P | 37 | 0 | 13 | 40 | 4 | 5 |
| 1951 | SLN | P | 6 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 |
| 1951 | PIT | P | 21 | 0 | 5 | 23 | 0 | 2 |
| 1952 | PIT | P | 31 | 0 | 7 | 48 | 3 | 2 |
| 1953 | PIT | P | 5 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 1953 | CHN | P | 25 | 0 | 8 | 14 | 3 | 2 |
| 1954 | CHN | P | 20 | 20 | 6 | 22 | 0 | 1 |
| 1955 | CHN | P | 24 | 7 | 7 | 15 | 0 | 1 |
| 1956 | CHA | P | 11 | 4 | 1 | 6 | 0 | 0 |
| 1956 | PIT | P | 19 | 0 | 3 | 4 | 0 | 0 |
Career Games by Position
Circle size = games played at each position.
| Position | Games |
|---|---|
| Pitcher | 403 |
Awards & Honors
| Year | Award | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 1949 | Baseball Magazine All-Star | P2 |
| 1949 | Baseball Magazine All-Star | P1 |
| 1949 | TSN Pitcher of the Year | |
| 1946 | Baseball Magazine All-Star | P3 |
| 1946 | Baseball Magazine All-Star | P1 |
Award Voting History
| Year | Award | League | Finish | Points Won | Points Max | Votes First |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1949 | Most Valuable Player | NL | 11th | 29.0 | 336 | 0 |
| 1946 | Most Valuable Player | NL | 4th | 116.0 | 336 | 0 |
Most Similar Players
Career comps based on counting + rate stats and primary position. Score is relative — closest peer anchors at ~98%.
Howie Pollet (highlighted) compared to peers across the same era.
Compare Howie Pollet
Howie Pollet: the record in brief
Howie Pollet played a first major league game on August 20, 1941 and a last one on September 23, 1956. Pollet played for the St. Louis Cardinals (1941 through 1951), the Pittsburgh Pirates (1951 through 1956), the Chicago Cubs (1953 to 1955), and the Chicago White Sox (1956). Pollet is listed as a pitcher at 6'1" and 175 pounds. The bio says Pollet batted and threw left-handed. Pollet was born on June 26, 1921, in New Orleans, LA, USA. Pollet died on August 8, 1974, in Houston, TX, USA. Pollet's full given name, per the bio, is Howard Joseph Pollet.
Pollet went 131-116 with a 3.51 ERA in 403 games, 278 of them starts. Also on Pollet's record: 934 strikeouts, 116 complete games, 25 shutouts, and 20 saves. The leagues Pollet pitched in allowed 3.91 earned runs per nine over those seasons, so the career ERA was 10.3% better than average. Pollet won 21 games in 1946, the most of any season listed.
Frequently Asked Questions about Howie Pollet
- What years did Howie Pollet play?
- Howie Pollet played in Major League Baseball from 1941 to 1956.
- Was Howie Pollet a pitcher?
- Yes. Howie Pollet pitched in the major leagues, recording 131 wins and 934 strikeouts.
- How many home runs did Howie Pollet hit?
- Howie Pollet hit 0 career home runs with 129 hits.
- What teams did Howie Pollet play for?
- Howie Pollet played for 4 teams: the St. Louis Cardinals (1941–1943, 1946–1951), the Pittsburgh Pirates (1951–1953, 1956), the Chicago Cubs (1953–1955), and the Chicago White Sox (1956).
- Did Howie Pollet win a Cy Young Award?
- No. Howie Pollet did not win the Cy Young Award.
- What awards did Howie Pollet win?
- Howie Pollet was selected to 3 All-Star Games.
- What were Howie Pollet's career stats?
- In 403 games, Howie Pollet went 131-116 with a 3.51 ERA, 934 strikeouts, 2,107.1 innings pitched, and 20 saves. At the plate he had 129 hits and 0 home runs.
- What position did Howie Pollet play?
- Howie Pollet played primarily as a pitcher, the position where he appeared in the most games.
- How tall was Howie Pollet and how much did he weigh?
- Howie Pollet was listed at 6 feet 1 inch and 175 pounds.
- What was Howie Pollet's career ERA?
- Howie Pollet finished with a 3.51 career ERA, going 131-116 with 934 strikeouts.
- How many strikeouts did Howie Pollet have?
- Howie Pollet recorded 934 career strikeouts.
- Is Howie Pollet in the Hall of Fame?
- No. Howie Pollet has not been inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame.
- How many All-Star Games did Howie Pollet make?
- Howie Pollet was selected to 3 All-Star Games.