Hilton Smith

Pitcher · Career Stats, Hall of Fame Bio & Records (Final season: 1948)

⭐ Hall of Fame 2001
W–L 71–38
ERA 2.93
WHIP 1.11
SO 628
Pitcher PIV 37557.8
Position
Pitcher
Bats / Throws
R / R
Height / Weight
6'2" / 180 lb
Born
2/27/1907 in Giddings, TX, USA
Died
11/18/1983 in Kansas City, MO, USA
Last Game
1948-09-21
Hall of Fame
Inducted 2001 (Veterans)
Awards
6× All-Star

Full name: Hilton Lee 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
610.0 583.0 61.0 191.0 37.0 5.0 5.0 84.0 17.0 4.0 4.0 .328 .346 .434 .780

Pitching

W L GS CG GF SV IP H R ER HR BB SO ERA WHIP
120 59 177 106 100 18 1508.2 1218 568 196 18 217 698 1.17 0.95

Career Pitching Statistics

W L G GS CG SHO SV IP H ER HR BB SO ERA Pitcher PIV
71 38 170 104 63 8 16 975.3 883 318 19 198 628 2.93 37557.8

Career ERA 2.93 vs. league average 3.98 across their career seasons — 26.3% 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
1932 MRM NSL 0 0 1 1 0 0 0 5.7 6 3 0 2 4.76 — 0.0
1936 KCM IND 0 1 1 1 0 0 0 2.0 5 2 3 2 9.00 — 0.0
1937 KCM NAL 11 4 20 16 9 3 0 128.3 84 24 27 97 1.68 4.34 (+61%) 5981.0
1937 CAG NAL 0 0 1 0 0 0 1 2.0 1 0 0 2 0.00 — 0.0
1938 KCM NAL 9 2 19 11 7 1 1 112.7 102 26 12 88 2.08 4.35 (+52%) 6053.1
1939 KCM NAL 6 4 21 12 6 1 4 105.3 82 31 19 84 2.65 4.28 (+38%) 5473.0
1940 KCM NAL 4 4 16 7 4 0 3 64.3 53 27 15 64 3.78 4.21 (+10%) 3671.3
1941 KCM NAL 10 0 15 8 7 2 3 92.3 72 17 11 67 1.66 3.94 (+58%) 4576.4
1942 KCM NAL 5 4 14 7 5 0 2 85.0 91 36 19 53 3.81 3.57 (-7%) 2731.3
1943 KCM NAL 3 2 10 6 3 1 0 60.0 49 17 10 29 2.55 3.50 (+27%) 2002.9
1944 KCM NAL 2 5 9 6 3 0 1 49.7 45 19 17 18 3.44 3.57 (+4%) 746.0
1945 KCM NAL 6 4 11 8 6 0 0 77.0 76 28 19 42 3.27 3.67 (+11%) 1807.9
1946 KCM NAL 4 2 8 6 3 0 1 51.7 40 8 10 16 1.39 3.59 (+61%) 1034.0
1947 KCM NAL 7 4 13 8 6 0 0 75.7 105 49 15 25 5.83 3.97 (-47%) 1690.2
1948 KCM NAL 4 2 11 7 4 0 0 63.7 72 31 21 39 4.38 4.10 (-7%) 1790.8
Career · 15 seasons 71 38 170 104 63 8 16 975.1 883 318 198 628 2.93 — 37,558

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
256 542 55 163 28 5 6 88 3 22 2 .301 .327 .404 .731 -122

Career AVG .301 vs. league average .266 across their career seasons — +13.0% above league average.

Career OBP .327 vs. league average .335 across their career seasons — near league average.

Career SLG .404 vs. league average .376 across their career seasons — +7.5% above league average.

Career OPS .731 vs. league average .711 across their career seasons — near 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
1932 MRM NSL 2 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 — — — — 0.0
1936 KCM IND 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 — — — — 0.0
1937 KCM NAL 25 59 4 18 2 0 1 7 1 1 2 .305 .276 (+10%) .342 (-8%) .398 (-2%) .740 (-5%) -53.3
1937 CAG NAL 4 7 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .143 — — — — -53.3
1938 KCM NAL 26 68 9 25 6 0 3 13 1 2 0 .368 .272 (+35%) .341 (+13%) .392 (+50%) .734 (+33%) 342.1
1939 KCM NAL 26 52 3 9 0 1 0 2 0 1 0 .173 .274 (-37%) .342 (-46%) .393 (-46%) .735 (-46%) -409.0
1940 KCM NAL 19 30 2 14 4 1 0 7 0 1 0 .467 — — — — 0.0
1941 KCM NAL 16 40 6 13 5 0 0 8 0 3 0 .325 — — — — 0.0
1942 KCM NAL 18 45 6 15 2 0 0 6 0 2 0 .333 — — — — 0.0
1943 KCM NAL 26 62 8 16 3 2 0 9 0 5 0 .258 .255 (+1%) .324 (-4%) .346 (+7%) .671 (+2%) -2.1
1944 KCM NAL 20 32 2 8 0 0 1 3 0 3 0 .250 — — — — 0.0
1945 KCM NAL 20 39 2 10 1 0 0 8 1 1 0 .256 — — — — 0.0
1946 KCM NAL 16 33 4 13 2 0 0 10 0 1 0 .394 — — — — 0.0
1947 KCM NAL 24 44 3 12 1 0 1 10 0 1 0 .273 — — — — 0.0
1948 KCM NAL 13 28 6 9 2 1 0 5 0 1 0 .321 — — — — 0.0
Career · 15 seasons 256 542 55 163 28 5 6 88 3 22 2 .301 — — — — -176

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
11 22 3 7 2 0 0 0 1 0 .318

Playoff Batting by Year

Year Round Team G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO AVG
1948 ALC KCM 1 1 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 1.000
1946 NWS KCM 3 6 1 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 .167
1942 NWS KCM 1 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
1939 ALC KCM 3 6 1 2 1 0 0 0 0 0 .333
1937 ALC KCM 3 7 1 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 .429

Playoff Career Pitching

W L G GS SV IP H ER BB SO ERA
6 0 9 5 1 47.7 52 7 12 50 1.32

Playoff Pitching by Year

Year Round Team W L G GS SV IP H ER BB SO ERA
1946 NWS KCM 1 0 2 2 0 14.0 15 2 3 12 1.29
1942 NWS KCM 1 0 1 1 0 5.0 5 0 2 2 0.00
1939 ALC KCM 2 0 3 1 1 13.7 13 1 3 19 0.66
1937 ALC KCM 2 0 3 1 0 15.0 19 4 4 17 2.40

Game Log & Splits

View full game log (415 games) →

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

Batting — Home / Away

SplitGABRHHRRBIAVG
Home14727932102456.366
Away93129124018.310

Pitching — Home / Away

SplitGIPHERBBSOERA
Home99606.147280782931.19
Away76359.229937421460.93

Last 10 Games — Batting

DateTmOppResABRH2B3BHRRBIBBSO
1948-08-17 KCMCAGL 000000000
1948-07-28 KCMIN9L 301000100
1948-07-22 KCMIN9W 000000000
1948-07-12 KCMCAGL 100000000
1948-07-05 KCMCAGW 312000000
1948-06-27 KCMCVBL 311000100
1948-06-24 KCMMEMW 110000010
1948-06-18 KCMCVBL 000000000
1948-06-13 KCMCVBL 000000000
1948-06-13 KCMCVBL 000000000

Last 10 Games — Pitching

DateTmOppDecIPHRERBBSOHR
1948-08-17 KCMCAG — 0.0000000
1948-07-28 KCMIN9 — 7.0975330
1948-07-22 KCMIN9 W 7.0040000
1948-07-12 KCMCAG L 2.0790142
1948-07-05 KCMCAG W 4.1830220
1948-06-27 KCMCVB — 8.01355130
1948-06-18 KCMCVB L 0.0000000
1948-06-13 KCMCVB — 3.0020000
1948-06-13 KCMCVB L 0.1222000
1948-06-07 KCMBIR — 0.0000000

Fielding Statistics

Career Fielding Totals by Position

Position G GS PO A E DP
1B 1 0 3 0 0 0
OF 27 18 20 1 2 0
P 170 104 39 277 15 11

Season-by-Season Fielding

Year Team Pos G GS PO A E DP
1932 MRM P 1 1 0 2 0 0
1936 KCM P 1 1 0 0 0 0
1937 KCM P 20 16 5 46 4 2
1937 CAG 1B 1 0 3 0 0 0
1937 CAG OF 1 1 2 0 0 0
1937 CAG P 1 0 0 0 0 0
1938 KCM OF 6 4 4 1 1 0
1938 KCM P 19 11 6 41 0 2
1939 KCM OF 2 1 2 0 0 0
1939 KCM P 21 12 5 28 2 0
1940 KCM P 16 7 4 16 0 0
1941 KCM OF 1 1 1 0 0 0
1941 KCM P 15 8 5 29 0 1
1942 KCM OF 1 1 1 0 0 0
1942 KCM P 14 7 1 20 2 1
1943 KCM OF 12 8 3 0 1 0
1943 KCM P 10 6 3 15 2 0
1944 KCM OF 2 1 3 0 0 0
1944 KCM P 9 6 0 15 4 0
1945 KCM P 11 8 2 17 0 1
1946 KCM OF 1 1 2 0 0 0
1946 KCM P 8 6 3 17 1 2
1947 KCM P 13 8 4 19 0 2
1948 KCM OF 1 0 2 0 0 0
1948 KCM P 11 7 1 12 0 0

Career Games by Position

Position Diamond

Circle size = games played at each position.

Position Games
Pitcher 170
First Base 1
Left Field 11
Center Field 1
Right Field 15

Most Similar Players

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

  1. 98
    Tom Hughes
    56-39, 2.56 ERA
  2. 96
    Juan Padrón
    68-72, 2.74 ERA
  3. 93
    Fred Anderson
    53-57, 2.86 ERA
  4. 87
    Bullet Rogan HOF
    117-52, 2.74 ERA
  5. 86
    Tex Hughson
    96-54, 2.94 ERA
  6. 85
    Tom Williams
    57-27, 2.93 ERA

Compare Hilton Smith

Side-by-side career stat comparisons against Smith's closest peers by position and era.

vs Satchel Paige
vs Paul Derringer
vs Carl Hubbell
vs Bob Feller
vs Dizzy Dean
vs Dutch Leonard

Browse all MLB player comparisons →

See Hilton Smith in Another Era

What would Smith's 1937 season look like in a different era's run environment? Try the cross-era translation with a live slider.

Translate Hilton Smith's peak season across eras →

Frequently Asked Questions about Hilton Smith

Was Hilton Smith a pitcher?
Yes. Hilton Smith pitched in the major leagues, recording 71 wins and 628 strikeouts.
How many home runs did Hilton Smith hit?
Hilton Smith hit 6 career home runs with 163 hits.
Is Hilton Smith in the Hall of Fame?
Yes. Hilton Smith was inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 2001.