Tommy Sampson

Second Baseman · Career Stats, Bio & Records

Tommy Sampson was a second baseman who played in Major League Baseball for the Birmingham Black Barons and the New York Cubans. In 196 career games, he hit .304 with 225 hits, 2 home runs, and 87 RBI. Tommy Sampson was a 5-time All-Star. His totals include Negro Leagues seasons, which MLB recognized as major league in 2020. His career PIV — Baseball Data Hub's era-adjusted measure of offensive impact — is 591.

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 .304
HR 2
RBI 87
H 225
OPS .722
PIV 591
Position
Second Baseman
Bats / Throws
R / R
Height / Weight
6'1" / 180 lb
Born
8/31/1912 in Calhoun, AL, USA
Died
1/24/2002 in Elizabeth City, NC, USA
Awards
5× All-Star

Full name: Thomas Sampson

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Negro Leagues Career Statistics

Batting

Tommy Sampson — Batting
PA AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO SB BA OBP SLG OPS
911.0 843.0 145.0 289.0 28.0 20.0 6.0 91.0 42.0 7.0 23.0 .343 .381 .445 .826

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

Tommy Sampson — Negro Leagues Season-by-Season Batting
Season PA AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO SB BA OBP SLG OPS
1949 29.0 26.0 6.0 7.0 0 0 1.0 5.0 3.0 1.0 0 .269 .345 .385 .730
Listed seasons · 1 29 26 6 7 0 0 1 5 3 1 0 .269 — — —

Career Batting Statistics

Tommy Sampson — Career Batting Statistics
G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB BB SO AVG OBP SLG OPS PIV
196 740 120 225 19 14 2 87 17 39 2 .304 .346 .376 .722 591

Career AVG .304 vs. league average .260 across their career seasons — +16.7% above league average.

Career OBP .346 vs. league average .331 across their career seasons — near league average.

Career SLG .376 vs. league average .365 across their career seasons — near league average.

Career OPS .722 vs. league average .696 across their career seasons — near league average.

Season-by-Season Batting

Career Arc

Click a stat to plot it across every season.

Tommy Sampson 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
1940 BBB NAL 27 104 20 35 4 3 0 13 3 5 0 .337 .267 (+26%) .335 (+13%) .387 (+12%) .722 (+12%) 201.8
1941 BBB NAL 26 88 11 26 3 3 0 18 1 4 0 .295 .262 (+13%) .332 (-2%) .373 (+7%) .705 (+3%) 3.0
1942 BBB NAL 35 135 28 45 3 2 2 13 4 5 1 .333 .253 (+32%) .323 (+13%) .349 (+23%) .672 (+18%) 365.5
1943 BBB NAL 42 168 25 49 2 3 0 16 7 11 0 .292 .255 (+14%) .324 (+3%) .346 (-2%) .671 (avg) 0.2
1944 BBB NAL 30 112 18 38 4 2 0 13 1 7 0 .339 .261 (+30%) .325 (+21%) .357 (+15%) .683 (+18%) 332.9
1945 BBB NAL 6 23 4 6 0 0 0 1 0 1 0 .261 — — — — 0.0
1946 BBB NAL 3 5 0 1 0 0 0 2 0 1 0 .200 — — — — 0.0
1947 BBB NAL 6 16 2 4 0 0 0 2 0 0 1 .250 — — — — 0.0
1948 NYC NN2 21 89 12 21 3 1 0 9 1 5 0 .236 .263 (-10%) .340 (-19%) .379 (-23%) .719 (-21%) -312.1
Career · 9 seasons 196 740 120 225 19 14 2 87 17 39 2 .304 — — — — 591

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

Tommy Sampson — Playoff Career Batting
G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO AVG
9 38 1 13 0 1 0 2 2 0 .342

Playoff Batting by Year

Tommy Sampson — Playoff Batting by Year
Year Round Team G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO AVG
1943 ALC BBB 2 7 0 2 0 1 0 1 0 0 .286
1943 NWS BBB 7 31 1 11 0 0 0 1 2 0 .355

Game Log & Splits

View full game log (175 games) →

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

Batting — Home / Away

Tommy Sampson — Batting — Home / Away
SplitGABRHHRRBIAVG
Home742203878329.355
Away10130961101140.327

Last 10 Games — Batting

Tommy Sampson — Last 10 Games — Batting
DateTmOppResABRH2B3BHRRBIBBSO
1949-08-17 CAGBIRW 403000000
1949-07-31 CAGPH5L 000000000
1949-07-29 CAGKCMW 400000001
1949-07-26 CAGKCML 300000010
1949-07-24 CAGKCMW 421000200
1949-07-24 CAGKCMW 331000010
1949-07-16 CAGNY6L 300000010
1949-06-26 CAGHOEW 001000100
1949-06-12 CAGBLGL 200000100
1949-05-11 CAGBIRL 300000000

Fielding Statistics

Career Fielding Totals by Position

Tommy Sampson — Career Fielding Totals by Position
Position G GS PO A E DP
1B 3 3 22 0 0 0
2B 182 182 436 537 78 86
3B 6 6 9 16 2 0

Season-by-Season Fielding

Tommy Sampson — Season-by-Season Fielding
Year Team Pos G GS PO A E DP
1940 BBB 1B 1 1 9 0 0 0
1940 BBB 2B 26 26 61 89 8 14
1941 BBB 2B 25 25 55 69 16 8
1942 BBB 1B 1 1 8 0 0 0
1942 BBB 2B 33 33 83 91 12 14
1942 BBB 3B 1 1 1 6 1 0
1943 BBB 2B 41 41 99 122 19 14
1943 BBB 3B 1 1 1 4 0 0
1944 BBB 2B 30 30 68 102 13 23
1945 BBB 2B 2 2 3 4 1 3
1945 BBB 3B 4 4 7 6 1 0
1946 BBB 1B 1 1 5 0 0 0
1946 BBB 2B 1 1 0 6 0 0
1947 BBB 2B 3 3 7 7 1 1
1948 NYC 2B 21 21 60 47 8 9

Career Games by Position

Position Diamond

Circle size = games played at each position.

Tommy Sampson Stats, Bio & Career Records
Position Games
First Base 3
Second Base 182
Third Base 6

Tommy Sampson: the record in brief

Tommy Sampson's record on this page is drawn from the season tables, which run from 1940 to 1948. By club, Sampson's seasons break down as the Birmingham Black Barons (1940 through 1947) and the New York Cubans (1948). Sampson played primarily as a second baseman and batted and threw right-handed. The bio adds a birth date on August 31, 1912, in Calhoun, AL, USA and a listed size of 6-foot-1 and 180 pounds. The bio records the death on January 24, 2002, in Elizabeth City, NC, USA. The given name on file is Thomas Sampson.

In 196 games and 740 at bats, Sampson batted .304 with 225 hits, adding 2 homers and 87 runs batted in. Sampson got on base at a .346 rate and slugged .376 (.722 OPS). Over the seasons Sampson played, league hitters batted .260; the .304 career figure is 16.7% above that. 1943 produced Sampson's most hits, 49 of them for the Birmingham Black Barons.

Frequently Asked Questions about Tommy Sampson

Was Tommy Sampson a pitcher?
No. Tommy Sampson was a position player (Second Baseman).
How many home runs did Tommy Sampson hit?
Tommy Sampson hit 2 career home runs with 225 hits.
What teams did Tommy Sampson play for?
Tommy Sampson played for 2 teams: the Birmingham Black Barons (1940–1947) and the New York Cubans (1948).
Did Tommy Sampson win an MVP award?
No. Tommy Sampson did not win the MVP award.
What awards did Tommy Sampson win?
Tommy Sampson was selected to 5 All-Star Games.
What were Tommy Sampson's career stats?
In 196 games, Tommy Sampson had 225 hits, 2 home runs, 87 RBI, 120 runs, and 17 stolen bases, with a .304 batting average.
What position did Tommy Sampson play?
Tommy Sampson played primarily as a second baseman, the position where he appeared in the most games.
How tall was Tommy Sampson and how much did he weigh?
Tommy Sampson was listed at 6 feet 1 inch and 180 pounds.
How many home runs did Tommy Sampson hit each season?
Tommy Sampson's home runs by season: 0 in 1940, 0 in 1941, 2 in 1942, 0 in 1943, 0 in 1944, 0 in 1945, 0 in 1946, 0 in 1947, and 0 in 1948. His most in one season was 2, in 1942.
What was Tommy Sampson's career batting average?
Tommy Sampson batted .304 over his career, with 225 hits in 740 at bats.
How many RBI did Tommy Sampson have?
Tommy Sampson drove in 87 runs in his career.
Is Tommy Sampson in the Hall of Fame?
No. Tommy Sampson has not been inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame.
How many All-Star Games did Tommy Sampson make?
Tommy Sampson was selected to 5 All-Star Games.