Bill Ricks

Pitcher · Career Stats, Bio & Records

W–L 21–15
ERA 3.23
WHIP 1.33
SO 195
Pitcher PIV 5568.4
Position
Pitcher
Bats / Throws
R / R
Height / Weight
6'4" / 195 lb
Born
9/1/1919 in Lexington, NC, USA
Died
7/15/1987 in Brooklyn, NY, USA
Awards
All-Star

Full name: John William Ricks

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Negro Leagues Career Statistics

Batting

PA AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO SB BA OBP SLG OPS
191.0 183.0 25.0 50.0 2.0 4.0 1.0 15.0 5.0 2.0 1.0 .273 .293 .344 .637

Pitching

W L GS CG GF SV IP H R ER HR BB SO ERA WHIP
26 32 56 34 31 7 489.2 471 248 119 15 150 147 2.19 1.27

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

Season PA AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO SB BA OBP SLG OPS
1949 25.0 23.0 4.0 4.0 0 1.0 0 0 0 1.0 1.0 .174 .174 .261 .435
Listed seasons · 1 25 23 4 4 0 1 0 0 0 1 1 .174 — — —

Negro Leagues Season-by-Season Pitching

Season W L GS CG GF SV IP H R ER HR BB SO ERA WHIP
1949 3 9 12 8 4 2 90.2 84 47 29 1 33 24 2.88 1.29
Listed seasons · 1 3 9 12 8 4 2 90.2 84 47 29 1 33 24 2.88 1.29

Career Pitching Statistics

W L G GS CG SHO SV IP H ER HR BB SO ERA Pitcher PIV
21 15 64 37 19 2 4 348.3 336 125 9 127 195 3.23 5568.4

Career ERA 3.23 vs. league average 3.78 across their career seasons — 14.6% better than league average.

Season-by-Season Pitching

Pitching Career Arc

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
1944 PS NN2 10 7 21 17 10 0 0 148.0 149 47 51 92 2.86 3.57 (+20%) 2236.2
1945 PS NN2 4 2 15 7 4 1 1 72.7 66 21 21 48 2.60 3.67 (+29%) 2438.1
1946 PS NN2 1 5 15 7 1 0 1 64.7 63 34 26 25 4.73 3.59 (-32%) -51.0
1947 PS NN2 0 1 4 1 0 0 1 11.0 15 13 8 2 10.64 3.97 (-168%) -474.2
1948 PS NN2 6 0 9 5 4 1 1 52.0 43 10 21 28 1.73 4.10 (+58%) 1419.4
Career · 5 seasons 21 15 64 37 19 2 4 348.1 336 125 127 195 3.23 — 5,568

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
73 151 21 43 4 2 1 22 0 4 0 .285 .303 .358 .661 -204

Career AVG .285 vs. league average .261 across their career seasons — +9.1% above league average.

Career OBP .303 vs. league average .332 across their career seasons — 8.7% below league average.

Career SLG .358 vs. league average .365 across their career seasons — near league average.

Career OPS .661 vs. league average .697 across their career seasons — 5.2% below league average.

Season-by-Season Batting

Career Arc

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
1944 PS NN2 24 61 8 13 2 1 0 6 0 4 0 .213 .261 (-18%) .325 (-20%) .357 (-22%) .683 (-21%) -204.0
1945 PS NN2 19 39 8 19 2 1 0 13 0 0 0 .487 — — — — 0.0
1946 PS NN2 16 26 3 6 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 .231 — — — — 0.0
1947 PS NN2 5 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 — — — — 0.0
1948 PS NN2 9 22 2 5 0 0 1 2 0 0 0 .227 — — — — 0.0
Career · 5 seasons 73 151 21 43 4 2 1 22 0 4 0 .285 — — — — -204

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 (168 games) →

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

Batting — Home / Away

SplitGABRHHRRBIAVG
Home3577142518.325
Away527881803.231

Pitching — Home / Away

SplitGIPHERBBSOERA
Home32189.11412662771.24
Away49238.02527072522.65

Last 10 Games — Batting

DateTmOppResABRH2B3BHRRBIBBSO
1949-08-19 PH5IN9W 000000000
1949-08-06 PH5IN9W 000000000
1949-07-27 PH5IN9L 000000000
1949-07-25 PH5IN9L 100000000
1949-07-24 PH5NY6L 200000000
1949-07-10 PH5BIRL 110000000
1949-06-26 PH5NY6L 000000000
1949-06-20 PH5CAGL 000000000
1949-06-19 PH5CAGL 000000000
1949-06-11 PH5IN9L 210000000

Last 10 Games — Pitching

DateTmOppDecIPHRERBBSOHR
1949-08-19 PH5IN9 W 9.0622000
1949-08-06 PH5IN9 SV 1.1000000
1949-07-27 PH5IN9 — 3.2020000
1949-07-24 PH5NY6 L 8.0943230
1949-07-10 PH5BIR — 2.0666320
1949-06-26 PH5NY6 L 8.0640000
1949-06-20 PH5CAG L 8.0970200
1949-06-19 PH5CAG L 0.0000000
1949-06-11 PH5IN9 L 9.11154200
1949-06-02 PH5HOE W 9.06227110

Fielding Statistics

Career Fielding Totals by Position

Position G GS PO A E DP
OF 1 0 1 0 0 0
P 64 37 14 88 5 6

Season-by-Season Fielding

Year Team Pos G GS PO A E DP
1944 PS OF 1 0 1 0 0 0
1944 PS P 21 17 8 43 2 4
1945 PS P 15 7 2 14 0 0
1946 PS P 15 7 1 17 1 1
1947 PS P 4 1 0 4 1 0
1948 PS P 9 5 3 10 1 1

Career Games by Position

Position Diamond

Circle size = games played at each position.

Position Games
Pitcher 64
Right Field 1

Most Similar Players

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

  1. 98
    Harry Moran
    23-17, 3.34 ERA
  2. 95
    Jonas Gaines
    35-28, 3.38 ERA
  3. 93
    Gentry Jessup
    24-29, 3.40 ERA
  4. 91
    Pastor Pareda
    19-27, 3.20 ERA
  5. 89
    Walter Clarkson
    18-16, 3.17 ERA
  6. 87
    Bobby Keefe
    16-21, 3.14 ERA

Frequently Asked Questions about Bill Ricks

Was Bill Ricks a pitcher?
Yes. Bill Ricks pitched in the major leagues, recording 21 wins and 195 strikeouts.
How many home runs did Bill Ricks hit?
Bill Ricks hit 1 career home runs with 43 hits.