Bill Steele

Pitcher · Career Stats, Bio & Records (1910-1914)

Bill Steele was a pitcher who played in Major League Baseball from 1910 to 1914 for the St. Louis Cardinals and the Brooklyn Dodgers, a span of 5 seasons. Across 129 career appearances, he went 37-43 with a 4.02 ERA and 236 strikeouts. He also batted .203 with 0 home runs.

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

W–L 37–43
ERA 4.02
WHIP 1.43
SO 236
Pitcher PIV -6079.4
Position
Pitcher
Bats / Throws
R / R
Height / Weight
5'11" / 200 lb
Born
10/5/1886 in Milford, PA, USA
Died
10/19/1949 in Clayton, MO, USA
MLB Debut
1910-09-10
Last Game
1914-10-01

Full name: William Mitchell Steele

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Career Pitching Statistics

Bill Steele — Career Pitching Statistics
W L G GS CG SHO SV IP H ER HR BB SO ERA Pitcher PIV
37 43 129 79 40 1 7 676.2 733 302 21 235 236 4.02 -6079.4

Career ERA 4.02 vs. league average 3.09 across their career seasons — 30.1% worse than league average.

Season-by-Season Pitching

Pitching Career Arc

Click a stat to plot it across every season.

Bill Steele — Season-by-Season Pitching
Year Team Lg W L G GS CG SHO SV IP H ER BB SO ERA Lg ERA Pitcher PIV
1910 SLN NL 4 4 9 8 8 0 1 71.2 71 26 24 25 3.27 2.79 (-17%) -542.9
1911 SLN NL 18 19 43 34 23 1 3 287.1 287 119 113 115 3.73 3.37 (-10%) -1963.3
1912 SLN NL 9 13 40 25 7 0 2 194.0 245 101 66 67 4.69 3.36 (-39%) -1352.3
1913 SLN NL 4 4 12 9 2 0 0 54.0 58 30 18 10 5.00 3.07 (-63%) -1408.0
1914 SLN NL 1 2 17 2 0 0 0 53.1 55 16 7 16 2.70 2.93 (+8%) -303.4
1914 BRO NL 1 1 8 1 0 0 1 16.1 17 10 7 3 5.51 2.93 (-88%) -509.6
Career · 6 seasons 37 43 129 79 40 1 7 676.2 733 302 235 236 4.02 — -6,079

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

Bill Steele — Career Batting Statistics
G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB BB SO AVG OBP SLG OPS PIV
130 231 20 47 8 4 0 30 0 24 47 .203 .281 .273 .554 -507

Career AVG .203 vs. league average .260 across their career seasons — 21.6% below league average.

Career OBP .281 vs. league average .327 across their career seasons — 14.0% below league average.

Career SLG .273 vs. league average .345 across their career seasons — 20.9% below league average.

Career OPS .554 vs. league average .672 across their career seasons — 17.6% below league average.

Season-by-Season Batting

Career Arc

Click a stat to plot it across every season.

Bill Steele — Season-by-Season Batting
Year Team Lg G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB BB SO AVG Lg AVG Lg OBP Lg SLG Lg OPS PIV
1910 SLN NL 9 31 3 8 1 1 0 3 0 0 4 .258 — — — — 0.0
1911 SLN NL 43 101 8 21 2 2 0 15 0 11 21 .208 .266 (-22%) .336 (-13%) .356 (-25%) .693 (-19%) -294.5
1912 SLN NL 41 61 5 11 2 1 0 8 0 9 15 .180 .268 (-33%) .335 (-15%) .358 (-31%) .694 (-23%) -212.4
1913 SLN NL 12 18 1 1 0 0 0 1 0 2 4 .056 — — — — 0.0
1914 SLN NL 17 17 2 5 2 0 0 1 0 1 2 .294 — — — — 0.0
1914 BRO NL 8 3 1 1 1 0 0 2 0 1 1 .333 — — — — 0.0
Career · 6 seasons 130 231 20 47 8 4 0 30 0 24 47 .203 — — — — -507

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.

Game Log & Splits

View full game log (259 games) →

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

Batting — Home / Away

Bill Steele — Batting — Home / Away
SplitGABRHHRRBIAVG
Home5892919012.207
Away721391129019.209

Pitching — Home / Away

Bill Steele — Pitching — Home / Away
SplitGIPHERBBSOERA
Home58295.23221341121004.08
Away71384.24191811251324.23

Last 10 Games — Batting

Bill Steele — Last 10 Games — Batting
DateTmOppResABRH2B3BHRRBIBBSO
1914-10-01 BROPHIL 000000000
1914-09-26 BROSTLL 000000000
1914-09-21 BROCINW 200000001
1914-09-19 BROCINW 000000000
1914-09-10 BRONY1L 000000000
1914-09-05 BRONY1L 000000000
1914-09-03 BRONY1L 000000000
1914-08-14 BROPHIL 111100210
1914-07-18 STLPHIW 100000000
1914-07-11 STLNY1L 100000000

Last 10 Games — Pitching

Bill Steele — Last 10 Games — Pitching
DateTmOppDecIPHRERBBSOHR
1914-10-01 BROPHI L 1.0333000
1914-09-26 BROSTL — 2.0000000
1914-09-21 BROCIN W 3.2211210
1914-09-19 BROCIN — 2.0100110
1914-09-10 BRONY1 — 1.0000000
1914-09-05 BRONY1 — 0.1321000
1914-09-03 BRONY1 — 1.0140201
1914-08-14 BROPHI — 5.0765220
1914-07-18 STLPHI — 2.1752011
1914-07-11 STLNY1 L 2.1874011

Fielding Statistics

Career Fielding Totals by Position

Bill Steele — Career Fielding Totals by Position
Position G GS PO A E DP
P 129 8 32 211 6 9

Season-by-Season Fielding

Bill Steele — Season-by-Season Fielding
Year Team Pos G GS PO A E DP
1910 SLN P 9 8 2 24 0 0
1911 SLN P 43 0 14 88 2 5
1912 SLN P 40 0 10 66 2 2
1913 SLN P 12 0 5 9 0 2
1914 SLN P 17 0 1 20 1 0
1914 BRO P 8 0 0 4 1 0

Career Games by Position

Position Diamond

Circle size = games played at each position.

Bill Steele — Career Games by Position
Position Games
Pitcher 129

Most Similar Players

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

Career Spans

Bill Steele (highlighted) compared to peers across the same era.

  1. 98
    Jack Bentley
    46-33, 4.01 ERA
  2. 87
    Vic Keen
    42-44, 4.11 ERA
  3. 80
    Speed Martin
    29-42, 3.78 ERA
  4. 79
    Bubba Church
    36-37, 4.10 ERA
  5. 73
    Whitey Glazner
    41-48, 4.21 ERA
  6. 73
    Steve Comer
    44-37, 4.13 ERA

Bill Steele: the record in brief

According to the bio, Bill Steele debuted on September 10, 1910 and played a final game on October 1, 1914. By club, Steele's seasons break down as the St. Louis Cardinals (1910 to 1914) and the Brooklyn Robins (1914). Steele played primarily as a pitcher and batted and threw right-handed. Born on October 5, 1886, in Milford, PA, USA, Steele was listed at 200 pounds on a 5-foot-11 frame. Steele's death is recorded on October 19, 1949, in Clayton, MO, USA. Bill Steele was the playing name; the full given name is William Mitchell.

Steele pitched in 129 games, starting 79, and finished with a 37-43 record and 4.02 ERA. The same table counts 236 strikeouts and 40 complete games. The league ERA over Steele's seasons was 3.09, so the 4.02 figure ran 30.1% worse than average. Steele won 18 games in 1911, the most of any season listed. Among the heaviest workloads, the lowest ERA was 3.73 in 1911, when the league's was 3.37.

Frequently Asked Questions about Bill Steele

What years did Bill Steele play?
Bill Steele played in Major League Baseball from 1910 to 1914.
Was Bill Steele a pitcher?
Yes. Bill Steele pitched in the major leagues, recording 37 wins and 236 strikeouts.
How many home runs did Bill Steele hit?
Bill Steele hit 0 career home runs with 47 hits.
What teams did Bill Steele play for?
Bill Steele played for 2 teams: the St. Louis Cardinals (1910–1914) and the Brooklyn Robins (1914).
What were Bill Steele's career stats?
In 129 games, Bill Steele went 37-43 with a 4.02 ERA, 236 strikeouts, 676.2 innings pitched, and 7 saves. At the plate he had 47 hits and 0 home runs.
What position did Bill Steele play?
Bill Steele played primarily as a pitcher, the position where he appeared in the most games.
How tall was Bill Steele and how much did he weigh?
Bill Steele was listed at 5 feet 11 inches and 200 pounds.
What was Bill Steele's career ERA?
Bill Steele finished with a 4.02 career ERA, going 37-43 with 236 strikeouts.
How many strikeouts did Bill Steele have?
Bill Steele recorded 236 career strikeouts.
Is Bill Steele in the Hall of Fame?
No. Bill Steele has not been inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame.