What years did Preacher Roe play?

Preacher Roe played in Major League Baseball from 1938 to 1954.

Was Preacher Roe a pitcher?

Yes. Preacher Roe pitched in the major leagues, recording 127 wins and 956 strikeouts.

How many home runs did Preacher Roe hit?

Preacher Roe hit 1 career home runs with 68 hits.

What was Preacher Roe's career batting average?

Preacher Roe batted .110 over his career, with 68 hits in 620 at bats.

How many RBI did Preacher Roe have?

Preacher Roe drove in 28 runs in his career.

What was Preacher Roe's career ERA?

Preacher Roe finished with a 3.43 career ERA, going 127-84 with 956 strikeouts.

Preacher Roe

Pitcher · Career Stats, Bio & Records (1938-1954)

Preacher Roe was a pitcher who played in Major League Baseball from 1938 to 1954 for the St. Louis Cardinals, the Pittsburgh Pirates, and the Brooklyn Dodgers, a span of 17 seasons. Across 333 career appearances, he went 127-84 with a 3.43 ERA and 956 strikeouts. He also batted .110 with 1 home runs. Preacher Roe was a 5-time All-Star. His career Pitcher PIV — Baseball Data Hub's era-adjusted measure of pitching impact — is 10243.4.

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 October 12, 2026

W–L 127–84

ERA 3.43

WHIP 1.26

SO 956

Pitcher PIV 10243.4

Position: Pitcher
Bats / Throws: R / L
Height / Weight: 6'2" / 170 lb
Born: 2/26/1916 in Ash Flat, AR, USA
Died: 11/9/2008 in West Plains, MO, USA
MLB Debut: 1938-08-22
Last Game: 1954-09-04
Awards: 5× All-Star

Full name: Elwin Charles Roe

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Career Pitching Statistics

Preacher Roe — Career Pitching Statistics
W	L	G	GS	CG	SHO	SV	IP	H	ER	HR	BB	SO	ERA	Pitcher PIV
127	84	333	261	101	17	10	1914.1	1,907	730	199	504	956	3.43	10243.4

Career ERA 3.43 vs. league average 3.95 across their career seasons — 13.1% better than league average.

Season-by-Season Pitching

Pitching Career Arc

Click a stat to plot it across every season.

Preacher Roe Stats, Bio & Career Records
Year	Team	Lg	W	L	G	GS	CG	SHO	SV	IP	H	ER	BB	SO	ERA	Lg ERA	Pitcher PIV
1938	SLN	NL	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	2.2	6	4	2	1	13.50	—	0.0
1944	PIT	NL	13	11	39	25	7	1	1	185.1	182	64	59	88	3.11	3.57 (+13%)	1771.8
1945	PIT	NL	14	13	33	31	15	3	1	235.0	228	75	46	148	2.87	3.67 (+22%)	6178.7
1946	PIT	NL	3	8	21	10	1	0	2	70.0	83	40	25	28	5.14	3.59 (-43%)	-492.1
1947	PIT	NL	4	15	38	22	4	1	2	144.0	156	84	63	59	5.25	3.97 (-32%)	-3357.8
1948	BRO	NL	12	8	34	22	8	2	2	177.2	156	52	33	86	2.63	4.10 (+36%)	3147.6
1949	BRO	NL	15	6	30	27	13	3	1	212.2	201	66	44	109	2.79	4.12 (+32%)	2529.7
1950	BRO	NL	19	11	36	32	16	2	1	250.2	245	92	66	125	3.30	4.36 (+24%)	1129.6
1951	BRO	NL	22	3	34	33	19	2	0	257.2	247	87	64	113	3.04	4.04 (+25%)	1217.1
1952	BRO	NL	11	2	27	25	8	2	0	158.2	163	55	39	83	3.12	3.70 (+16%)	1038.9
1953	BRO	NL	11	3	25	24	9	1	0	157.0	171	76	40	85	4.36	4.14 (-5%)	-1531.3
1954	BRO	NL	3	4	15	10	1	0	0	63.0	69	35	23	31	5.00	3.90 (-28%)	-1388.7
Career · 12 seasons			127	84	333	261	101	17	10	1,914.1	1,907	730	504	956	3.43	—	10,243

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

Preacher Roe — Career Batting Statistics
G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	SB	BB	SO	AVG	OBP	SLG	OPS	PIV
333	620	37	68	3	0	1	28	0	38	215	.110	.161	.119	.280	-5,328

Career AVG .110 vs. league average .262 across their career seasons — 58.2% below league average.

Career OBP .161 vs. league average .335 across their career seasons — 51.9% below league average.

Career SLG .119 vs. league average .378 across their career seasons — 68.4% below league average.

Career OPS .280 vs. league average .713 across their career seasons — 60.7% below league average.

Season-by-Season Batting

Career Arc

Click a stat to plot it across every season.

Preacher Roe Stats, Bio & Career Records
Year	Team	Lg	G	AB	R	H	2B	HR	RBI	BB	SO	AVG	Lg AVG	Lg OBP	Lg SLG	Lg OPS	PIV
1938	SLN	NL	1	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.000	—	—	—	—	0.0
1944	PIT	NL	39	53	4	7	0	0	1	3	23	.132	.261 (-49%)	.325 (-45%)	.357 (-63%)	.683 (-55%)	-436.3
1945	PIT	NL	33	75	3	8	1	0	3	6	21	.107	.260 (-59%)	.328 (-47%)	.354 (-66%)	.683 (-57%)	-652.5
1946	PIT	NL	21	15	2	1	0	0	0	3	5	.067	—	—	—	—	0.0
1947	PIT	NL	38	40	1	5	0	0	1	2	15	.125	—	—	—	—	0.0
1948	BRO	NL	34	51	4	5	0	0	1	5	14	.098	.263 (-63%)	.340 (-47%)	.379 (-74%)	.719 (-62%)	-499.1
1949	BRO	NL	30	70	5	8	0	0	7	7	28	.114	.262 (-56%)	.343 (-43%)	.384 (-70%)	.727 (-58%)	-647.6
1950	BRO	NL	36	91	8	14	1	0	3	2	27	.154	.265 (-42%)	.346 (-50%)	.401 (-59%)	.747 (-55%)	-830.4
1951	BRO	NL	34	89	3	10	0	0	7	2	36	.112	.260 (-57%)	.336 (-61%)	.385 (-71%)	.721 (-66%)	-943.1
1952	BRO	NL	27	57	2	4	0	0	3	3	19	.070	.252 (-72%)	.326 (-64%)	.369 (-81%)	.696 (-73%)	-646.4
1953	BRO	NL	25	57	4	3	0	1	2	3	18	.053	.264 (-80%)	.335 (-70%)	.397 (-74%)	.733 (-72%)	-672.9
1954	BRO	NL	15	21	1	3	1	0	0	2	9	.143	—	—	—	—	0.0
Career · 12 seasons			333	620	37	68	3	1	28	38	215	.110	—	—	—	—	-5,328

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

Preacher Roe — Playoff Career Batting
G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	SO	AVG
5	8	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	5	.000

Playoff Batting by Year

Preacher Roe — Playoff Batting by Year
Year	Round	Team	G	AB	SO	AVG
1953	WS	BRO	1	3	2	.000
1952	WS	BRO	3	2	0	.000
1949	WS	BRO	1	3	3	.000

Playoff Career Pitching

Preacher Roe — Playoff Career Pitching
W	L	G	GS	SV	IP	H	ER	BB	SO	ERA
2	1	5	3	0	28.1	20	8	10	14	2.54

Playoff Pitching by Year

Preacher Roe — Playoff Pitching by Year
Year	Round	Team	W	L	G	GS	IP	H	ER	BB	SO	ERA
1953	WS	BRO	0	1	1	1	8.0	5	4	4	4	4.50
1952	WS	BRO	1	0	3	1	11.1	9	4	6	7	3.18
1949	WS	BRO	1	0	1	1	9.0	6	0	0	3	0.00

Game Log & Splits

View full game log (666 games) →

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

Batting — Home / Away

Preacher Roe — Batting — Home / Away
Split	G	AB	R	H	HR	RBI	AVG
Home	179	306	19	37	0	16	.121
Away	154	314	18	31	1	12	.099

Pitching — Home / Away

Preacher Roe — Pitching — Home / Away
Split	G	IP	H	ER	BB	SO	ERA
Home	179	1009.0	1020	395	256	491	3.52
Away	154	905.1	887	336	247	467	3.34

Last 10 Games — Batting

Preacher Roe — Last 10 Games — Batting
Date	Tm	Opp	Res	AB	SO
1954-09-04	BRO	NY1	L	0	0
1954-08-22	BRO	PHI	L	0	0
1954-08-19	BRO	PIT	W	0	0
1954-08-16	BRO	PHI	L	0	0
1954-08-05	BRO	STL	L	0	0
1954-08-01	BRO	ATL	L	1	0
1954-07-06	BRO	NY1	L	1	0
1954-06-27	BRO	STL	W	4	3
1954-06-13	BRO	CIN	W	1	1
1954-06-07	BRO	STL	W	4	4

Last 10 Games — Pitching

Preacher Roe — Last 10 Games — Pitching
Date	Tm	Opp	Dec	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO	HR
1954-09-04	BRO	NY1	—	0.1	2	3	3	1	0	1
1954-08-22	BRO	PHI	—	0.2	0	0	0	0	0	0
1954-08-19	BRO	PIT	—	1.1	2	0	0	1	1	0
1954-08-16	BRO	PHI	—	2.2	3	1	1	1	1	0
1954-08-05	BRO	STL	L	2.1	6	4	4	0	0	1
1954-08-01	BRO	ATL	—	3.0	1	0	0	0	0	0
1954-07-06	BRO	NY1	L	3.1	5	3	3	1	4	2
1954-06-27	BRO	STL	W	7.0	7	5	2	2	3	1
1954-06-13	BRO	CIN	—	3.1	5	2	2	0	1	1
1954-06-07	BRO	STL	—	8.0	6	5	5	2	2	2

Fielding Statistics

Career Fielding Totals by Position

Preacher Roe — Career Fielding Totals by Position
Position	G	GS	PO	A	E	DP
P	333	10	90	295	10	26

Season-by-Season Fielding

Preacher Roe — Season-by-Season Fielding
Year	Team	Pos	G	GS	PO	A	E	DP
1938	SLN	P	1	0	0	0	0	0
1944	PIT	P	39	0	11	27	2	0
1945	PIT	P	33	0	16	40	0	3
1946	PIT	P	21	0	4	13	1	1
1947	PIT	P	38	0	6	20	1	2
1948	BRO	P	34	0	4	30	0	2
1949	BRO	P	30	0	5	29	2	4
1950	BRO	P	36	0	12	34	1	3
1951	BRO	P	34	0	18	39	3	6
1952	BRO	P	27	0	9	23	0	0
1953	BRO	P	25	0	4	30	0	3
1954	BRO	P	15	10	1	10	0	2

Career Games by Position

Position Diamond

Circle size = games played at each position.

Preacher Roe Stats, Bio & Career Records
Position	Games
Pitcher	333

Awards & Honors

Preacher Roe — Awards & Honors
Year	Award	Notes
1951	TSN All-Star	P
1951	TSN Pitcher of the Year

College History

Preacher Roe — College History
School Name	City	State	Years Attended
Harding University	Searcy	AR	1936, 1937, 1938

Award Voting History

Preacher Roe — Award Voting History
Year	Award	League	Finish	Points Won	Points Max	Votes First
1952	Most Valuable Player	NL	29th	7.0	336	0
1951	Most Valuable Player	NL	5th	138.0	336	2
1950	Most Valuable Player	NL	17th	15.0	336	0
1949	Most Valuable Player	NL	16th	21.0	336	0

Most Similar Players

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

Career Spans

Preacher Roe (highlighted) compared to peers across the same era.

Compare Preacher Roe

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Preacher Roe: the record in brief

The profile opens with Preacher Roe's first major league game on August 22, 1938; the last one listed came on September 4, 1954. Roe played for the St. Louis Cardinals (1938), the Pittsburgh Pirates (1944 through 1947), and the Brooklyn Dodgers (1948 to 1954). Roe, born on February 26, 1916, in Ash Flat, AR, USA, is listed as a pitcher and threw left-handed and batted right-handed. The bio gives 6'2" and 170 pounds. Roe's death is recorded on November 9, 2008, in West Plains, MO, USA. The bio lists the given name Elwin Charles.

Roe went 127-84 with a 3.43 ERA in 333 games, 261 of them starts. Also on Roe's record: 956 strikeouts, 101 complete games, 17 shutouts, and 10 saves. The leagues Roe pitched in allowed 3.95 earned runs per nine over those seasons, so the career ERA was 13.1% better than average. 1951 brought Roe a season-high 22 wins. Roe struck out 148 batters in 1945, a career high.

Frequently Asked Questions about Preacher Roe

What years did Preacher Roe play?: Preacher Roe played in Major League Baseball from 1938 to 1954.
Was Preacher Roe a pitcher?: Yes. Preacher Roe pitched in the major leagues, recording 127 wins and 956 strikeouts.
How many home runs did Preacher Roe hit?: Preacher Roe hit 1 career home runs with 68 hits.
What was Preacher Roe's career batting average?: Preacher Roe batted .110 over his career, with 68 hits in 620 at bats.
How many RBI did Preacher Roe have?: Preacher Roe drove in 28 runs in his career.
What was Preacher Roe's career ERA?: Preacher Roe finished with a 3.43 career ERA, going 127-84 with 956 strikeouts.