Johnny Watwood

Outfielder · Career Stats, Bio & Records (1929-1939)

Johnny Watwood was an outfielder who played in Major League Baseball from 1929 to 1939 for the Chicago White Sox, the Boston Red Sox, and the Philadelphia Phillies, a span of 11 seasons. In 469 career games, he hit .283 with 403 hits, 5 home runs, and 158 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

AVG .283
HR 5
RBI 158
H 403
OPS .718
PIV -381
Position
Outfielder
Bats / Throws
L / L
Height / Weight
6'1" / 186 lb
Born
8/17/1905 in Alexander City, AL, USA
Died
3/1/1980 in Goodwater, AL, USA
MLB Debut
1929-04-16
Last Game
1939-05-29

Full name: John Clifford Watwood

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Career Batting Statistics

Johnny Watwood — Career Batting Statistics
G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB BB SO AVG OBP SLG OPS PIV
469 1,423 192 403 66 16 5 158 27 154 103 .283 .356 .363 .718 -381

Career AVG .283 vs. league average .280 across their career seasons — near league average.

Career OBP .356 vs. league average .343 across their career seasons — near league average.

Career SLG .363 vs. league average .400 across their career seasons — 9.4% below league average.

Career OPS .718 vs. league average .743 across their career seasons — near league average.

Season-by-Season Batting

Career Arc

Click a stat to plot it across every season.

Johnny Watwood — 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
1929 CHA AL 85 278 33 84 12 6 2 28 6 22 21 .302 .289 (+4%) .353 (+1%) .415 (-1%) .769 (avg) -35.6
1930 CHA AL 133 427 75 129 25 4 2 51 5 52 35 .302 .293 (+3%) .354 (+8%) .429 (-8%) .784 (-1%) 59.7
1931 CHA AL 128 367 51 104 16 6 1 47 9 56 30 .283 .276 (+3%) .338 (+12%) .388 (-5%) .726 (+3%) 409.7
1932 CHA AL 13 49 5 15 2 0 0 0 0 1 3 .306 — — — — -46.7
1932 BOS AL 95 266 26 66 11 0 0 30 7 20 11 .248 .275 (-10%) .335 (-10%) .391 (-26%) .726 (-19%) -46.7
1933 BOS AL 13 30 2 4 0 0 0 2 0 3 3 .133 — — — — 0.0
1939 PHI NL 2 6 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .167 — — — — 0.0
Career · 7 seasons 469 1,423 192 403 66 16 5 158 27 154 103 .283 — — — — 340

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 (470 games) →

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

Batting — Home / Away

Johnny Watwood — Batting — Home / Away
SplitGABRHHRRBIAVG
Home22066891191285.286
Away250757102212376.280

Last 10 Games — Batting

Johnny Watwood — Last 10 Games — Batting
DateTmOppResABRH2B3BHRRBIBBSO
1939-05-29 PHINY1L 401000000
1939-05-28 PHINY1L 200000000
1933-05-14 BOSDETW 000000000
1933-05-11 BOSCLEL 100000000
1933-05-07 BOSCHWL 100000000
1933-04-30 BOSNYYL 000000000
1933-04-28 BOSPHAL 010000010
1933-04-27 BOSMINL 100000000
1933-04-24 BOSPHAL 100000000
1933-04-22 BOSNYYL 400000000

Fielding Statistics

Career Fielding Totals by Position

Johnny Watwood — Career Fielding Totals by Position
Position G GS PO A E DP
1B 86 0 771 58 15 77
OF 299 0 707 29 40 4

Season-by-Season Fielding

Johnny Watwood — Season-by-Season Fielding
Year Team Pos G GS PO A E DP
1929 CHA OF 77 0 188 7 12 2
1930 CHA 1B 62 0 590 41 7 59
1930 CHA OF 52 0 117 5 4 0
1931 CHA 1B 4 0 18 1 0 1
1931 CHA OF 102 0 259 13 16 2
1932 CHA OF 13 0 23 1 1 0
1932 BOS 1B 18 0 149 16 7 17
1932 BOS OF 46 0 101 3 6 0
1933 BOS OF 9 0 19 0 1 0
1939 PHI 1B 2 0 14 0 1 0

Career Games by Position

Position Diamond

Circle size = games played at each position.

Johnny Watwood — Career Games by Position
Position Games
First Base 85
Left Field 21
Center Field 197
Right Field 90

College History

Johnny Watwood — College History
School Name City State Years Attended
Auburn University Auburn AL 1927, 1928

Most Similar Players

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

Career Spans

Johnny Watwood (highlighted) compared to peers across the same era.

  1. 98
    Jack Dalton
    .286 avg, 4 HR
  2. 89
    Vern Duncan
    .279 avg, 4 HR
  3. 87
    Country Brown
    .290 avg, 12 HR
  4. 84
    George Anderson
    .287 avg, 5 HR
  5. 82
    Guy Curtright
    .276 avg, 9 HR
  6. 81
    Otto Briggs
    .284 avg, 6 HR

Frequently Asked Questions about Johnny Watwood

What years did Johnny Watwood play?
Johnny Watwood played in Major League Baseball from 1929 to 1939.
Was Johnny Watwood a pitcher?
No. Johnny Watwood was a position player (Outfielder).
How many home runs did Johnny Watwood hit?
Johnny Watwood hit 5 career home runs with 403 hits.
What was Johnny Watwood's career batting average?
Johnny Watwood batted .283 over his career, with 403 hits in 1,423 at bats.
How many RBI did Johnny Watwood have?
Johnny Watwood drove in 158 runs in his career.
Is Johnny Watwood in the Hall of Fame?
No. Johnny Watwood has not been inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame.