Jack Ryan

Catcher · Career Stats, Bio & Records (1889-1913)

Jack Ryan was a catcher who played in Major League Baseball from 1889 to 1913 for 6 teams, including the Louisville Colonels, a span of 25 seasons. In 616 career games, he hit .217 with 476 hits, 4 home runs, and 189 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

AVG .217
HR 4
RBI 189
H 476
OPS .529
PIV -8,382
Position
Catcher
Bats / Throws
R / R
Height / Weight
5'10" / 165 lb
Born
11/12/1868 in Haverhill, MA, USA
Died
8/21/1952 in Boston, MA, USA
MLB Debut
1889-09-02
Last Game
1913-10-04

Full name: John Bernard Ryan

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Career Batting Statistics

Jack Ryan — Career Batting Statistics
G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB BB SO AVG OBP SLG OPS PIV
616 2,192 245 476 69 29 4 189 32 85 155 .217 .249 .281 .529 -8,382

Career AVG .217 vs. league average .271 across their career seasons — 19.9% below league average.

Career OBP .249 vs. league average .337 across their career seasons — 26.2% below league average.

Career SLG .281 vs. league average .362 across their career seasons — 22.4% below league average.

Career OPS .529 vs. league average .698 across their career seasons — 24.2% below league average.

Season-by-Season Batting

Career Arc

Click a stat to plot it across every season.

Jack Ryan (b. 1868) 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
1889 LS2 AA 21 79 8 14 1 0 0 2 2 3 17 .177 .263 (-33%) .334 (-38%) .357 (-47%) .691 (-43%) -521.6
1890 LS2 AA 93 337 43 73 16 4 0 35 6 12 0 .217 .260 (-17%) .336 (-28%) .351 (-18%) .687 (-23%) -1298.3
1891 LS2 AA 75 253 24 57 5 4 2 25 3 15 40 .225 .254 (-11%) .331 (-18%) .343 (-13%) .675 (-15%) -647.0
1894 BSN NL 53 201 39 54 12 7 1 29 3 13 16 .269 .309 (-13%) .379 (-17%) .435 (-5%) .814 (-10%) -450.7
1895 BSN NL 49 189 22 55 7 0 0 18 3 6 6 .291 .296 (-2%) .361 (-13%) .399 (-18%) .761 (-16%) -511.9
1896 BSN NL 8 32 2 3 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 .094 — — — — 0.0
1898 BRO NL 87 301 39 57 11 4 0 24 5 15 12 .189 .270 (-30%) .333 (-30%) .347 (-27%) .680 (-29%) -1382.9
1899 BLN NL 2 4 0 2 1 0 0 1 1 0 0 .500 — — — — 0.0
1901 SLN NL 83 300 27 59 6 5 0 31 5 7 30 .197 .271 (-28%) .326 (-33%) .359 (-30%) .686 (-32%) -1511.8
1902 SLN NL 76 267 23 48 4 4 0 14 2 4 22 .180 .266 (-33%) .321 (-39%) .343 (-35%) .665 (-37%) -1514.4
1903 SLN NL 67 227 18 54 5 1 1 10 2 10 11 .238 .261 (-9%) .316 (-14%) .345 (-18%) .662 (-16%) -543.2
1912 WS1 AL 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 — — — — 0.0
1913 WS1 AL 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 — — — — 0.0
Career · 13 seasons 616 2,192 245 476 69 29 4 189 32 85 155 .217 — — — — -8,382

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

Jack Ryan — Playoff Career Batting
G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO AVG
6 19 0 1 0 0 0 2 0 1 .053

Playoff Batting by Year

Jack Ryan — Playoff Batting by Year
Year Round Team G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO AVG
1890 WS LS2 6 19 0 1 0 0 0 2 0 1 .053

Game Log & Splits

View full game log (317 games) →

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

Batting — Home / Away

Jack Ryan — Batting — Home / Away
SplitGABRHHRRBIAVG
Home15854654108133.198
Away15955953112043.200

Last 10 Games — Batting

Jack Ryan — Last 10 Games — Batting
DateTmOppResABRH2B3BHRRBIBBSO
1913-10-04 MINBOSW 100000000
1912-10-05 MINNYYL 100000000
1903-09-27 STLPHIW 200000010
1903-09-27 STLPHIL 401000000
1903-09-26 STLPHIL 402000000
1903-09-22 STLBSNL 401000000
1903-09-20 STLBSNL 412000000
1903-09-20 STLBSNL 400000000
1903-09-19 STLBSNL 400000000
1903-09-17 STLBROL 300000010

Fielding Statistics

Career Fielding Totals by Position

Jack Ryan — Career Fielding Totals by Position
Position G GS PO A E DP
1B 42 0 359 21 10 33
2B 19 0 45 54 11 7
3B 17 0 22 24 6 2
C 527 0 2068 690 154 59
OF 15 0 20 1 3 0
SS 4 0 1 7 3 0

Season-by-Season Fielding

Jack Ryan — Season-by-Season Fielding
Year Team Pos G GS PO A E DP
1889 LS2 3B 2 0 4 1 2 0
1889 LS2 C 15 0 51 25 12 1
1889 LS2 OF 4 0 8 0 0 0
1890 LS2 1B 1 0 0 0 0 0
1890 LS2 C 89 0 415 148 41 5
1890 LS2 OF 3 0 5 0 0 0
1890 LS2 SS 1 0 0 0 2 0
1891 LS2 1B 11 0 90 3 8 5
1891 LS2 2B 3 0 8 3 2 0
1891 LS2 3B 6 0 9 10 3 0
1891 LS2 C 56 0 223 83 23 10
1891 LS2 OF 4 0 3 0 2 0
1894 BSN 1B 2 0 5 1 0 1
1894 BSN C 51 0 168 46 21 7
1895 BSN 2B 5 0 15 17 3 4
1895 BSN C 43 0 167 46 11 2
1895 BSN OF 1 0 1 0 0 0
1896 BSN C 8 0 32 9 4 1
1898 BRO 1B 1 0 3 0 0 0
1898 BRO 3B 4 0 5 4 1 1
1898 BRO C 84 0 289 93 16 13
1899 BLN C 2 0 4 4 0 1
1901 SLN 1B 5 0 50 5 0 7
1901 SLN 2B 9 0 17 28 6 3
1901 SLN C 65 0 292 84 7 7
1901 SLN OF 3 0 3 1 1 0
1902 SLN 1B 4 0 37 3 0 3
1902 SLN 2B 2 0 5 6 0 0
1902 SLN 3B 4 0 3 8 0 1
1902 SLN C 66 0 258 86 12 8
1902 SLN SS 1 0 0 0 0 0
1903 SLN 1B 18 0 174 9 2 17
1903 SLN C 47 0 168 65 7 4
1903 SLN SS 2 0 1 7 1 0
1912 WS1 3B 1 0 1 1 0 0
1913 WS1 C 1 0 1 1 0 0

Career Games by Position

Position Diamond

Circle size = games played at each position.

Jack Ryan (b. 1868) Stats, Bio & Career Records
Position Games
Catcher 527
First Base 42
Second Base 19
Third Base 17
Shortstop 4
Left Field 4
Center Field 4
Right Field 7

Most Similar Players

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

Career Spans

Jack Ryan (highlighted) compared to peers across the same era.

  1. 98
    Doc Powers
    .216 avg, 4 HR
  2. 96
    Kid Baldwin
    .221 avg, 7 HR
  3. 86
    Doc Bushong
    .214 avg, 2 HR
  4. 83
    Barney Gilligan
    .207 avg, 3 HR
  5. 78
    Mike Kahoe
    .212 avg, 4 HR
  6. 76
    Jimmy Peoples
    .211 avg, 7 HR

Jack Ryan: the record in brief

Between the debut on September 2, 1889 and the final game on October 4, 1913, Jack Ryan built the record summarized on this page. The season rows list, in order, the Louisville Colonels (1889 to 1891), the Boston Beaneaters (1894 to 1896), the Brooklyn Bridegrooms (1898), the Baltimore Orioles (1899), the St. Louis Cardinals (1901 through 1903), and the Washington Senators (1912 through 1913). Ryan is listed as a catcher at 165 pounds on a 5-foot-10 frame. The bio says Ryan batted and threw right-handed. The recorded birth is November 12, 1868, in Haverhill, MA, USA. Ryan's death is recorded on August 21, 1952, in Boston, MA, USA. Ryan's full given name, per the bio, is John Bernard Ryan.

Across 616 games at the plate, Ryan's career line reads 476 hits in 2,192 at bats for a .217 average; the totals also include 4 home runs, 189 RBI, and 32 stolen bases. Ryan's career OPS of .529 combines a .249 on-base mark with .281 slugging. Set against a .271 league average for the same years, Ryan's .217 average sits 19.9% below it. By OPS the gap is 24.2% below league average (.529 against .698).

Frequently Asked Questions about Jack Ryan

What years did Jack Ryan play?
Jack Ryan played in Major League Baseball from 1889 to 1913.
Was Jack Ryan a pitcher?
No. Jack Ryan was a position player (Catcher).
How many home runs did Jack Ryan hit?
Jack Ryan hit 4 career home runs with 476 hits.
What was Jack Ryan's career batting average?
Jack Ryan batted .217 over his career, with 476 hits in 2,192 at bats.
How many RBI did Jack Ryan have?
Jack Ryan drove in 189 runs in his career.
Is Jack Ryan in the Hall of Fame?
No. Jack Ryan has not been inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame.