Ed Steele
Right Fielder · Career Stats, Bio & Records
Ed Steele was a right fielder who played in Major League Baseball for the Birmingham Black Barons. In 115 career games, he hit .355 with 142 hits, 9 home runs, and 78 RBI. 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 2,979.
- 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
- Position
- Right Fielder
- Bats / Throws
- L / R
- Height / Weight
- 5'10" / 185 lb
- Died
- 10/1/1978 in Birmingham, AL, USA
Full name: Edward Willis Steele
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1949 | 178.0 | 155.0 | 37.0 | 65.0 | 4.0 | 3.0 | 3.0 | 23.0 | 21.0 | 0 | 7.0 | .419 | .494 | .542 | 1.036 |
| 1950 | 4.0 | 3.0 | 0 | 2.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .667 | .750 | .667 | 1.417 |
| 1951 | 4.0 | 4.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 0 | 1.0 | 0 | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .250 | .250 | .750 | 1.000 |
| Listed seasons · 3 | 186 | 162 | 38 | 68 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 25 | 21 | 0 | 7 | .420 | — | — | — |
Career Batting Statistics
| G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | SB | BB | SO | AVG | OBP | SLG | OPS | PIV |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 115 | 400 | 91 | 142 | 22 | 15 | 9 | 78 | 15 | 61 | 2 | .355 | .458 | .552 | 1.011 | 2,979 |
Career AVG .355 vs. league average .259 across their career seasons — +37.0% above league average.
Career OBP .458 vs. league average .330 across their career seasons — +38.9% above league average.
Career SLG .552 vs. league average .360 across their career seasons — +53.4% above league average.
Career OPS 1.011 vs. league average .690 across their career seasons — +46.5% above league average.
Season-by-Season Batting
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1942 | BBB | NAL | 1 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .500 | — | — | — | — | 0.0 |
| 1943 | BBB | NAL | 3 | 12 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .167 | — | — | — | — | 0.0 |
| 1944 | BBB | NAL | 32 | 112 | 25 | 40 | 6 | 4 | 3 | 23 | 3 | 14 | 0 | .357 | .261 (+37%) | .325 (+36%) | .357 (+57%) | .683 (+47%) | 873.3 |
| 1945 | BBB | NAL | 27 | 100 | 17 | 39 | 5 | 8 | 2 | 18 | 2 | 8 | 2 | .390 | .260 (+49%) | .328 (+34%) | .354 (+86%) | .683 (+61%) | 906.5 |
| 1946 | BBB | NAL | 9 | 27 | 8 | 7 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 3 | 7 | 0 | .259 | — | — | — | — | 0.0 |
| 1947 | BBB | NAL | 14 | 49 | 12 | 18 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 12 | 0 | 10 | 0 | .367 | — | — | — | — | 306.4 |
| 1948 | BBB | NAL | 29 | 98 | 27 | 35 | 6 | 2 | 3 | 18 | 7 | 22 | 0 | .357 | .263 (+35%) | .340 (+46%) | .379 (+45%) | .719 (+46%) | 892.6 |
| Career · 7 seasons | 115 | 400 | 91 | 142 | 22 | 15 | 9 | 78 | 15 | 61 | 2 | .355 | — | — | — | — | 2,979 | ||
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
Playoff Batting by Year
Game Log & Splits
View full game log (164 games) →Per-game data from Retrosheet (regular season, through 2025).
Batting — Home / Away
| Split | G | AB | R | H | HR | RBI | AVG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Home | 81 | 176 | 61 | 93 | 9 | 41 | .528 |
| Away | 83 | 217 | 61 | 103 | 10 | 44 | .475 |
Last 10 Games — Batting
| Date | Tm | Opp | Res | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | BB | SO |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1949-08-28 | BIR | IN9 | W | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| 1949-08-24 | BIR | KCM | W | 6 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1949-08-17 | BIR | CAG | L | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1949-08-16 | BIR | CAG | W | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1949-08-07 | BIR | BLG | L | 4 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1949-08-07 | BIR | BLG | L | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 1949-08-05 | BIR | BLG | L | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 1949-07-31 | BIR | BLG | L | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1949-07-27 | BIR | MEM | W | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| 1949-07-10 | BIR | PH5 | W | 7 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
Fielding Statistics
Career Fielding Totals by Position
Season-by-Season Fielding
Career Games by Position
Circle size = games played at each position.
| Position | Games |
|---|---|
| Left Field | 4 |
| Center Field | 1 |
| Right Field | 110 |
Ed Steele: the record in brief
Ed Steele's record on this page is drawn from the season tables, which run from 1942 to 1948. All of the seasons listed were played for the Birmingham Black Barons. Steele played primarily as a right fielder and batted left-handed and threw right-handed. Born on August 8, 1915, in Dallas County, AL, USA, Steele was listed at 5 feet, 10 inches and 185 pounds. The bio records the death on October 1, 1978, in Birmingham, AL, USA. Ed Steele was the playing name; the full given name is Edward Willis.
The batting record for Steele: 115 games, 142 hits in 400 at bats, and a .355 average, along with 9 home runs and 78 runs batted in. Reaching base at a .458 clip and slugging .552, Steele finished with a 1.011 OPS. Over the seasons Steele played, league hitters batted .259; the .355 career figure is 37.0% above that. By OPS the gap is 46.5% above league average (1.011 against .690). Steele collected a career-high 40 hits in 1944.
Frequently Asked Questions about Ed Steele
- Was Ed Steele a pitcher?
- No. Ed Steele was a position player (Right Fielder).
- How many home runs did Ed Steele hit?
- Ed Steele hit 9 career home runs with 142 hits.
- What teams did Ed Steele play for?
- Ed Steele played for one team, the Birmingham Black Barons (1942–1948).
- What were Ed Steele's career stats?
- In 115 games, Ed Steele had 142 hits, 9 home runs, 78 RBI, 91 runs, and 15 stolen bases, with a .355 batting average.
- What position did Ed Steele play?
- Ed Steele played primarily as a right fielder, the position where he appeared in the most games.
- How tall was Ed Steele and how much did he weigh?
- Ed Steele was listed at 5 feet 10 inches and 185 pounds.
- How many home runs did Ed Steele hit each season?
- Ed Steele's home runs by season: 0 in 1942, 1 in 1943, 3 in 1944, 2 in 1945, 0 in 1946, 0 in 1947, and 3 in 1948. His most in one season was 3, in 1944 and 1948.
- What was Ed Steele's career batting average?
- Ed Steele batted .355 over his career, with 142 hits in 400 at bats.
- How many RBI did Ed Steele have?
- Ed Steele drove in 78 runs in his career.
- Is Ed Steele in the Hall of Fame?
- No. Ed Steele has not been inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame.