Bill Ricks

Pitcher · Career Stats, Bio & Records

Bill Ricks was a pitcher who played in Major League Baseball for the Philadelphia Stars. Across 64 career appearances, he went 21-15 with a 3.23 ERA and 195 strikeouts. Bill Ricks was an All-Star. His totals include Negro Leagues seasons, which MLB recognized as major league in 2020. His career Pitcher PIV — Baseball Data Hub's era-adjusted measure of pitching impact — is 5568.4.

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

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

Bill Ricks — 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

Bill Ricks — 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

Bill Ricks — 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

Bill Ricks — 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

Bill Ricks — 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 4 348.1 336 125 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.

Bill Ricks — Season-by-Season Pitching
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 72.2 66 21 21 48 2.60 3.67 (+29%) 2438.1
1946 PS NN2 1 5 15 7 1 0 1 64.2 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

Bill Ricks — 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.

Bill Ricks — Season-by-Season Batting
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

Bill Ricks — Batting — Home / Away
SplitGABRHHRRBIAVG
Home3577142518.325
Away527881803.231

Pitching — Home / Away

Bill Ricks — Pitching — Home / Away
SplitGIPHERBBSOERA
Home32189.11412662771.24
Away49238.02527072522.65

Last 10 Games — Batting

Bill Ricks — 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

Bill Ricks — 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

Bill Ricks — 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

Bill Ricks — 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.

Bill Ricks — Career Games by 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

Bill Ricks: the record in brief

Bill Ricks's record on this page is drawn from the season tables, which run from 1944 to 1948. The team column never changes: it is the Philadelphia Stars from 1944 to 1948. At 195 pounds on a 6-foot-4 frame, Ricks is listed as a pitcher. Ricks both batted and threw right-handed, per the bio block. Ricks was born on September 1, 1919, in Lexington, NC, USA. Ricks's death is recorded on July 15, 1987, in Brooklyn, NY, USA. The given name on file is John William Ricks.

Across 64 games (37 starts), Ricks recorded 21 wins against 15 losses with a 3.23 ERA. Also on Ricks's record: 195 strikeouts and 19 complete games. That 3.23 ERA compares with a 3.78 league average across the same seasons, 14.6% better. No season topped the 10 wins of 1944. Among the heaviest workloads, the lowest ERA was 2.86 in 1944, when the league's was 3.57. Pitcher PIV, the site's era-adjusted run-prevention measure, totals 5,568.4 for Ricks's career.

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.
What was Bill Ricks's career batting average?
Bill Ricks batted .285 over his career, with 43 hits in 151 at bats.
How many RBI did Bill Ricks have?
Bill Ricks drove in 22 runs in his career.
What was Bill Ricks's career ERA?
Bill Ricks finished with a 3.23 career ERA, going 21-15 with 195 strikeouts.
How many strikeouts did Bill Ricks have?
Bill Ricks recorded 195 career strikeouts.