Bob Swift
Catcher · Career Stats, Bio & Records (1940-1953)
Bob Swift was a catcher who played in Major League Baseball from 1940 to 1953 for the St. Louis Browns, the Philadelphia Athletics, and the Detroit Tigers, a span of 14 seasons. In 1,001 career games, he hit .231 with 635 hits, 14 home runs, and 238 RBI.
- 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
- Catcher
- Bats / Throws
- R / R
- Height / Weight
- 5'11" / 180 lb
- Died
- 10/17/1966 in Detroit, MI, USA
- MLB Debut
- 1940-04-16
- Last Game
- 1953-09-27
Full name: Robert Virgil Swift
Career Batting Statistics
| G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | SB | BB | SO | AVG | OBP | SLG | OPS | PIV |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1,001 | 2,750 | 212 | 635 | 86 | 3 | 14 | 238 | 10 | 324 | 233 | .231 | .313 | .280 | .592 | -6,271 |
Career AVG .231 vs. league average .261 across their career seasons — 11.4% below league average.
Career OBP .313 vs. league average .333 across their career seasons — 6.1% below league average.
Career SLG .280 vs. league average .372 across their career seasons — 24.8% below league average.
Career OPS .592 vs. league average .705 across their career seasons — 16.0% below 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1940 | SLA | AL | 130 | 398 | 37 | 97 | 20 | 1 | 0 | 39 | 1 | 28 | 39 | .244 | .267 (-9%) | .335 (-12%) | .387 (-23%) | .722 (-18%) | -1132.7 |
| 1941 | SLA | AL | 63 | 170 | 13 | 44 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 21 | 2 | 22 | 11 | .259 | .262 (-1%) | .332 (+3%) | .373 (-20%) | .705 (-9%) | -174.1 |
| 1942 | SLA | AL | 29 | 76 | 3 | 15 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 8 | 0 | 3 | 5 | .197 | .253 (-22%) | .323 (-30%) | .349 (-17%) | .672 (-23%) | -286.4 |
| 1942 | PHA | AL | 60 | 192 | 9 | 44 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 15 | 1 | 13 | 17 | .229 | .253 (-10%) | .323 (-14%) | .349 (-30%) | .672 (-22%) | -286.4 |
| 1943 | PHA | AL | 77 | 224 | 16 | 43 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 11 | 0 | 35 | 16 | .192 | .255 (-25%) | .324 (-7%) | .346 (-32%) | .671 (-20%) | -584.6 |
| 1944 | DET | AL | 80 | 247 | 15 | 63 | 11 | 1 | 1 | 19 | 2 | 27 | 27 | .255 | .261 (-2%) | .325 (+2%) | .357 (-11%) | .683 (-5%) | -131.8 |
| 1945 | DET | AL | 95 | 279 | 19 | 65 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 24 | 1 | 26 | 22 | .233 | .260 (-11%) | .328 (-9%) | .354 (-29%) | .683 (-20%) | -782.4 |
| 1946 | DET | AL | 42 | 107 | 13 | 25 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 10 | 0 | 14 | 7 | .234 | .256 (-9%) | .328 (-2%) | .358 (-14%) | .687 (-8%) | -108.2 |
| 1947 | DET | AL | 97 | 279 | 23 | 70 | 11 | 0 | 1 | 21 | 2 | 33 | 16 | .251 | .262 (-4%) | .336 (-2%) | .376 (-20%) | .712 (-11%) | -446.7 |
| 1948 | DET | AL | 113 | 292 | 23 | 65 | 6 | 0 | 4 | 33 | 1 | 51 | 29 | .223 | .263 (-16%) | .340 (-1%) | .379 (-25%) | .719 (-13%) | -493.4 |
| 1949 | DET | AL | 74 | 189 | 16 | 45 | 6 | 0 | 2 | 18 | 0 | 26 | 20 | .238 | .262 (-9%) | .343 (-4%) | .384 (-21%) | .727 (-13%) | -360.6 |
| 1950 | DET | AL | 67 | 132 | 14 | 30 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 9 | 0 | 25 | 6 | .227 | .265 (-15%) | .346 (+1%) | .401 (-25%) | .747 (-13%) | -214.2 |
| 1951 | DET | AL | 44 | 104 | 8 | 20 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 12 | 10 | .192 | .260 (-26%) | .336 (-18%) | .385 (-50%) | .721 (-35%) | -557.0 |
| 1952 | DET | AL | 28 | 58 | 3 | 8 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 7 | 7 | .138 | .252 (-45%) | .326 (-26%) | .369 (-58%) | .696 (-43%) | -371.0 |
| 1953 | DET | AL | 2 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 1 | .333 | — | — | — | — | 0.0 |
| Career · 15 seasons | 1,001 | 2,750 | 212 | 635 | 86 | 3 | 14 | 238 | 10 | 324 | 233 | .231 | — | — | — | — | -5,929 | ||
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 (1001 games) →Per-game data from Retrosheet (regular season, through 2025).
Batting — Home / Away
| Split | G | AB | R | H | HR | RBI | AVG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Home | 507 | 1350 | 99 | 321 | 9 | 116 | .238 |
| Away | 494 | 1400 | 112 | 314 | 5 | 123 | .224 |
Last 10 Games — Batting
| Date | Tm | Opp | Res | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | BB | SO |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1953-09-27 | DET | CLE | W | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| 1953-09-22 | DET | SLA | L | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 1952-09-25 | DET | SLA | W | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 1952-08-09 | DET | CHW | W | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1952-07-31 | DET | PHA | L | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1952-07-20 | DET | PHA | L | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1952-07-18 | DET | PHA | W | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 1952-07-15 | DET | MIN | L | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 1952-07-13 | DET | NYY | L | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 1952-07-12 | DET | BOS | L | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Fielding Statistics
Career Fielding Totals by Position
Season-by-Season Fielding
| Year | Team | Pos | G | GS | PO | A | E | DP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1940 | SLA | C | 128 | 0 | 389 | 55 | 9 | 8 |
| 1941 | SLA | C | 58 | 0 | 180 | 22 | 3 | 3 |
| 1942 | SLA | C | 28 | 0 | 81 | 11 | 0 | 2 |
| 1942 | PHA | C | 60 | 0 | 253 | 39 | 9 | 3 |
| 1943 | PHA | C | 77 | 0 | 278 | 53 | 8 | 9 |
| 1944 | DET | C | 76 | 0 | 288 | 48 | 6 | 4 |
| 1945 | DET | C | 94 | 0 | 358 | 60 | 5 | 12 |
| 1946 | DET | C | 42 | 0 | 187 | 14 | 4 | 2 |
| 1947 | DET | C | 97 | 0 | 401 | 45 | 5 | 6 |
| 1948 | DET | C | 112 | 0 | 476 | 55 | 5 | 13 |
| 1949 | DET | C | 69 | 0 | 232 | 26 | 3 | 6 |
| 1950 | DET | C | 66 | 0 | 201 | 20 | 1 | 3 |
| 1951 | DET | C | 43 | 0 | 146 | 17 | 3 | 3 |
| 1952 | DET | C | 28 | 0 | 118 | 12 | 3 | 1 |
| 1953 | DET | C | 2 | 0 | 13 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Career Games by Position
Circle size = games played at each position.
| Position | Games |
|---|---|
| Catcher | 980 |
Most Similar Players
Career comps based on counting + rate stats and primary position. Score is relative — closest peer anchors at ~98%.
Bob Swift (highlighted) compared to peers across the same era.
Bob Swift: the record in brief
Between the debut on April 16, 1940 and the final game on September 27, 1953, Bob Swift built the record summarized on this page. Swift played for the St. Louis Browns (1940 to 1942), the Philadelphia Athletics (1942 through 1943), and the Detroit Tigers (1944 through 1953). Born on March 6, 1915, in Salina, KS, USA, Swift is listed as a catcher and batted and threw right-handed. The bio gives 5-foot-11 and 180 pounds. The bio records the death on October 17, 1966, in Detroit, MI, USA. Swift's full given name, per the bio, is Robert Virgil Swift.
Swift collected 635 hits in 2,750 at bats across 1,001 games, good for a .231 batting average; the totals also include 14 home runs and 238 runs batted in. Reaching base at a .313 clip and slugging .280, Swift finished with a .592 OPS. Over the seasons Swift played, league hitters batted .261; the .231 career figure is 11.4% below that. The OPS comparison is .592 to a league .705, 16.0% below average. The highest hit total in a season was 97, in 1940.
Frequently Asked Questions about Bob Swift
- What years did Bob Swift play?
- Bob Swift played in Major League Baseball from 1940 to 1953.
- Was Bob Swift a pitcher?
- No. Bob Swift was a position player (Catcher).
- How many home runs did Bob Swift hit?
- Bob Swift hit 14 career home runs with 635 hits.
- What teams did Bob Swift play for?
- Bob Swift played for 3 teams: the St. Louis Browns (1940–1942), the Philadelphia Athletics (1942–1943), and the Detroit Tigers (1944–1953).
- What were Bob Swift's career stats?
- In 1,001 games, Bob Swift had 635 hits, 14 home runs, 238 RBI, 212 runs, and 10 stolen bases, with a .231 batting average.
- What position did Bob Swift play?
- Bob Swift played primarily as a catcher, the position where he appeared in the most games.
- How tall was Bob Swift and how much did he weigh?
- Bob Swift was listed at 5 feet 11 inches and 180 pounds.
- How many home runs did Bob Swift hit each season?
- Bob Swift's home runs by season: 0 in 1940, 0 in 1941, 1 in 1942, 1 in 1943, 1 in 1944, 0 in 1945, 2 in 1946, 1 in 1947, 4 in 1948, 2 in 1949, 2 in 1950, 0 in 1951, 0 in 1952, and 0 in 1953. His most in one season was 4, in 1948.
- What was Bob Swift's career batting average?
- Bob Swift batted .231 over his career, with 635 hits in 2,750 at bats.
- How many RBI did Bob Swift have?
- Bob Swift drove in 238 runs in his career.
- Is Bob Swift in the Hall of Fame?
- No. Bob Swift has not been inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame.