Ford Smith

Pitcher · Career Stats, Bio & Records

W–L 14–6
ERA 2.37
WHIP 1.12
SO 109
Pitcher PIV 5586.9
Position
Pitcher
Bats / Throws
B / R
Height / Weight
6'1" / 198 lb
Born
1/19/1919 in Phoenix, AZ, USA
Died
2/26/1983 in Phoenix, AZ, USA
Awards
All-Star

Full name: John Ford Smith

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Negro Leagues Career Statistics

Batting

PA AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO SB BA OBP SLG OPS
230.0 204.0 31.0 60.0 13.0 2.0 2.0 41.0 24.0 3.0 0 .294 .371 .407 .778

Pitching

W L GS CG GF SV IP H R ER HR BB SO ERA WHIP
34 12 39 33 23 4 397.0 347 156 45 7 93 126 1.02 1.11

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
1939 2.0 2.0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 .000 .000 .000
Listed seasons · 1 2 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 — — —

Negro Leagues Season-by-Season Pitching

Season W L GS CG GF SV IP H R ER HR BB SO ERA WHIP
1939 1 0 0 0 1 0 4.0 2 0 0 0 1 2 0.00 0.75
Listed seasons · 1 1 0 0 0 1 0 4.0 2 0 0 0 1 2 0.00 0.75

Career Pitching Statistics

W L G GS CG SHO SV IP H ER HR BB SO ERA Pitcher PIV
14 6 28 18 13 3 2 182.0 150 48 3 53 109 2.37 5586.9

Career ERA 2.37 vs. league average 3.90 across their career seasons — 39.1% 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
1941 KCM NAL 3 0 5 2 0 0 0 33.0 28 8 6 17 2.18 3.94 (+45%) 1343.0
1946 KCM NAL 1 1 6 2 2 0 1 30.3 26 10 7 19 2.97 3.59 (+17%) 791.9
1947 KCM NAL 6 3 9 7 5 2 0 63.0 47 15 27 32 2.14 3.97 (+46%) 870.8
1948 KCM NAL 4 2 8 7 6 1 1 55.7 49 15 13 41 2.43 4.10 (+41%) 2581.2
Career · 4 seasons 14 6 28 18 13 3 2 182.0 150 48 53 109 2.37 — 5,587

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
63 157 23 37 9 1 1 29 0 11 1 .236 .290 .325 .615 -289

Career AVG .236 vs. league average .261 across their career seasons — 9.8% below league average.

Career OBP .290 vs. league average .335 across their career seasons — 13.3% below league average.

Career SLG .325 vs. league average .372 across their career seasons — 12.6% below league average.

Career OPS .615 vs. league average .706 across their career seasons — 13.0% 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
1941 KCM NAL 10 22 2 9 3 0 0 7 0 0 0 .409 — — — — 0.0
1946 KCM NAL 25 71 9 13 3 1 0 10 0 7 0 .183 .256 (-29%) .328 (-22%) .358 (-29%) .687 (-26%) -289.2
1947 KCM NAL 15 38 8 10 0 0 1 9 0 4 1 .263 — — — — 0.0
1948 KCM NAL 13 26 4 5 3 0 0 3 0 0 0 .192 — — — — 0.0
Career · 4 seasons 63 157 23 37 9 1 1 29 0 11 1 .236 — — — — -289

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

G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO AVG
9 19 1 5 0 0 0 1 4 0 .263

Playoff Batting by Year

Year Round Team G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO AVG
1948 ALC KCM 4 6 1 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 .167
1946 NWS KCM 5 13 0 4 0 0 0 1 3 0 .308

Playoff Career Pitching

W L G GS SV IP H ER BB SO ERA
0 2 6 3 1 29.0 30 12 18 14 3.72

Playoff Pitching by Year

Year Round Team W L G GS SV IP H ER BB SO ERA
1948 ALC KCM 0 1 4 1 1 14.7 19 7 6 10 4.30
1946 NWS KCM 0 1 2 2 0 14.3 11 5 12 4 3.14

Game Log & Splits

View full game log (125 games) →

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

Batting — Home / Away

SplitGABRHHRRBIAVG
Home581191936223.303
Away20306709.233

Pitching — Home / Away

SplitGIPHERBBSOERA
Home30208.01631452800.61
Away17115.21171212250.93

Last 10 Games — Batting

DateTmOppResABRH2B3BHRRBIBBSO
1948-08-29 KCMCVBL 400000000
1948-08-27 KCMMEML 100000001
1948-08-16 KCMIN9W 000000000
1948-08-12 KCMMEMW 000000000
1948-08-08 KCMMEML 200000000
1948-08-01 KCMBIRW 200000000
1948-07-26 KCMIN9W 011001200
1948-07-18 KCMMEML 000000000
1948-07-11 KCMCAGW 000000000
1948-07-05 KCMCAGW 321100000

Last 10 Games — Pitching

DateTmOppDecIPHRERBBSOHR
1948-08-29 KCMCVB L 9.01066550
1948-08-16 KCMIN9 W 9.0930000
1948-08-12 KCMMEM W 9.01250000
1948-08-08 KCMMEM L 7.0662460
1948-08-01 KCMBIR W 7.0400240
1948-07-26 KCMIN9 W 9.01250000
1948-07-18 KCMMEM L 8.01370001
1948-07-11 KCMCAG W 9.01460000
1948-07-05 KCMCAG — 3.2640130
1948-07-04 KCMCAG — 2.0100110

Fielding Statistics

Career Fielding Totals by Position

Position G GS PO A E DP
1B 1 1 6 0 1 1
OF 25 20 24 2 2 1
P 28 18 5 54 4 4

Season-by-Season Fielding

Year Team Pos G GS PO A E DP
1941 KCM OF 4 1 2 1 0 0
1941 KCM P 5 2 1 11 0 0
1946 KCM OF 18 16 21 1 2 1
1946 KCM P 6 2 0 11 0 1
1947 KCM OF 3 3 1 0 0 0
1947 KCM P 9 7 3 18 1 1
1948 KCM 1B 1 1 6 0 1 1
1948 KCM P 8 7 1 14 3 2

Career Games by Position

Position Diamond

Circle size = games played at each position.

Position Games
Pitcher 28
First Base 1
Left Field 5
Center Field 11
Right Field 9

Frequently Asked Questions about Ford Smith

Was Ford Smith a pitcher?
Yes. Ford Smith pitched in the major leagues, recording 14 wins and 109 strikeouts.
How many home runs did Ford Smith hit?
Ford Smith hit 1 career home runs with 37 hits.