Bobby Williams
Shortstop · Career Stats, Bio & Records
Bobby Williams was a shortstop who played in Major League Baseball for 7 teams, including the Chicago American Giants. In 562 career games, he hit .222 with 431 hits, 3 home runs, and 227 RBI. His totals include Negro Leagues seasons, which MLB recognized as major league in 2020.
- 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
- Shortstop
- Bats / Throws
- R / R
- Height / Weight
- 5'5" / 140 lb
- Died
- 12/30/1978 in Pittsburgh, PA, USA
Full name: Robert Lawns Williams
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.
Career Batting Statistics
| G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | SB | BB | SO | AVG | OBP | SLG | OPS | PIV |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 562 | 1,945 | 274 | 431 | 55 | 21 | 3 | 227 | 66 | 152 | 23 | .222 | .284 | .276 | .560 | -6,434 |
Career AVG .222 vs. league average .280 across their career seasons — 20.7% below league average.
Career OBP .284 vs. league average .341 across their career seasons — 16.7% below league average.
Career SLG .276 vs. league average .387 across their career seasons — 28.7% below league average.
Career OPS .560 vs. league average .729 across their career seasons — 23.1% 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1918 | CAG | WES | 11 | 35 | 5 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 3 | 0 | .171 | — | — | — | — | 0.0 |
| 1919 | CAG | WES | 41 | 147 | 13 | 33 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 16 | 1 | 12 | 0 | .224 | .262 (-14%) | .322 (-12%) | .347 (-24%) | .670 (-18%) | -392.1 |
| 1920 | CAG | NNL | 51 | 180 | 20 | 40 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 22 | 8 | 15 | 1 | .222 | .271 (-18%) | .331 (-14%) | .363 (-28%) | .694 (-21%) | -570.2 |
| 1921 | CAG | NNL | 73 | 240 | 33 | 47 | 6 | 6 | 0 | 18 | 14 | 23 | 5 | .196 | .286 (-32%) | .344 (-20%) | .395 (-31%) | .739 (-26%) | -1033.7 |
| 1922 | CAG | NNL | 73 | 253 | 42 | 57 | 10 | 3 | 0 | 26 | 10 | 21 | 5 | .225 | .285 (-21%) | .345 (-15%) | .397 (-27%) | .743 (-21%) | -876.1 |
| 1923 | CAG | NNL | 75 | 264 | 30 | 66 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 37 | 9 | 11 | 0 | .250 | .282 (-12%) | .344 (-17%) | .390 (-27%) | .734 (-23%) | -957.9 |
| 1924 | CAG | NNL | 76 | 277 | 57 | 75 | 6 | 7 | 1 | 50 | 15 | 22 | 10 | .271 | .283 (-5%) | .345 (-3%) | .389 (-9%) | .734 (-7%) | -288.1 |
| 1925 | CAG | NNL | 84 | 302 | 43 | 63 | 11 | 0 | 2 | 36 | 6 | 21 | 0 | .209 | .288 (-28%) | .349 (-26%) | .407 (-35%) | .756 (-31%) | -1540.4 |
| 1926 | ABC | NNL | 4 | 18 | 1 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | .278 | — | — | — | — | 0.0 |
| 1928 | CAG | NNL | 24 | 72 | 9 | 12 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 8 | 0 | .167 | .280 (-41%) | .342 (-19%) | .395 (-51%) | .737 (-36%) | -396.1 |
| 1928 | CTG | NNL | 9 | 31 | 2 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 1 | .258 | — | — | — | — | -396.1 |
| 1928 | NLG | ECL | 9 | 37 | 5 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 1 | .135 | — | — | — | — | -396.1 |
| 1929 | ACB | ANL | 14 | 37 | 5 | 7 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 5 | 0 | .189 | — | — | — | — | 0.0 |
| 1932 | PC | IND | 17 | 51 | 9 | 7 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 4 | 0 | .137 | .275 (-50%) | .335 (-40%) | .391 (-50%) | .726 (-46%) | -378.9 |
| 1934 | CRS | NN2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | — | — | — | — | 0.0 |
| Career · 15 seasons | 562 | 1,945 | 274 | 431 | 55 | 21 | 3 | 227 | 66 | 152 | 23 | .222 | — | — | — | — | -7,226 | ||
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 (11 games) →Per-game data from Retrosheet (regular season, through 2025).
Batting — Home / Away
| Split | G | AB | R | H | HR | RBI | AVG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Home | 9 | 28 | 4 | 6 | 0 | 7 | .214 |
| Away | 2 | 9 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 0 | .333 |
Last 10 Games — Batting
| Date | Tm | Opp | Res | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | BB | SO |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1924-08-18 | CAG | DT1 | W | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1924-05-18 | CAG | CUW | W | 4 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 1 |
| 1921-07-10 | CAG | SLG | W | 3 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 |
| 1921-07-10 | CAG | SLG | W | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 1921-06-20 | CAG | CG1 | W | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| 1921-06-19 | CAG | CG1 | W | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 1921-06-13 | CAG | IN4 | W | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1921-05-09 | CAG | KCM | W | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 1921-05-08 | CAG | KCM | L | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 1921-05-07 | CAG | KCM | W | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Fielding Statistics
Career Fielding Totals by Position
| Position | G | GS | PO | A | E | DP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2B | 4 | 2 | 5 | 6 | 1 | 1 |
| 3B | 35 | 28 | 38 | 54 | 10 | 5 |
| OF | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| SS | 521 | 426 | 694 | 1302 | 225 | 147 |
Season-by-Season Fielding
| Year | Team | Pos | G | GS | PO | A | E | DP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1918 | CAG | SS | 11 | 0 | 17 | 39 | 6 | 4 |
| 1919 | CAG | SS | 41 | 41 | 75 | 132 | 27 | 20 |
| 1920 | CAG | SS | 51 | 50 | 94 | 141 | 22 | 12 |
| 1921 | CAG | SS | 73 | 73 | 98 | 202 | 32 | 18 |
| 1922 | CAG | 3B | 3 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 0 |
| 1922 | CAG | SS | 71 | 71 | 118 | 189 | 38 | 23 |
| 1923 | CAG | SS | 75 | 75 | 90 | 253 | 43 | 23 |
| 1924 | CAG | SS | 76 | 76 | 145 | 236 | 37 | 33 |
| 1925 | CAG | 3B | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1925 | CAG | SS | 82 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1926 | ABC | SS | 4 | 4 | 3 | 13 | 2 | 3 |
| 1928 | CAG | 3B | 14 | 12 | 17 | 20 | 7 | 2 |
| 1928 | CAG | OF | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1928 | CAG | SS | 9 | 9 | 15 | 17 | 4 | 2 |
| 1928 | CTG | 3B | 4 | 4 | 5 | 7 | 0 | 0 |
| 1928 | CTG | SS | 5 | 5 | 9 | 19 | 4 | 0 |
| 1928 | NLG | SS | 9 | 9 | 12 | 32 | 4 | 3 |
| 1929 | ACB | 2B | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1929 | ACB | 3B | 5 | 4 | 9 | 11 | 0 | 1 |
| 1929 | ACB | SS | 8 | 7 | 13 | 15 | 6 | 3 |
| 1932 | PC | 2B | 3 | 2 | 5 | 6 | 1 | 1 |
| 1932 | PC | 3B | 7 | 7 | 5 | 14 | 1 | 2 |
| 1932 | PC | SS | 6 | 6 | 5 | 14 | 0 | 3 |
| 1934 | CRS | 3B | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Career Games by Position
Circle size = games played at each position.
| Position | Games |
|---|---|
| Second Base | 4 |
| Third Base | 35 |
| Shortstop | 521 |
| Left Field | 1 |
Most Similar Players
Career comps based on counting + rate stats and primary position. Score is relative — closest peer anchors at ~98%.
Bobby Williams: the record in brief
The season rows for Bobby Williams begin in 1918. Williams played for the Chicago American Giants (1918 through 1928), the Indianapolis ABCs (1926), the Cleveland Tigers (1928), the New York Lincoln Giants (1928), the Atlantic City Bacharach Giants (1929), the Pittsburgh Crawfords (1932), and the Cleveland Red Sox (1934). Williams played primarily as a shortstop and both batted and threw right-handed. The bio adds a birth date on September 30, 1895, in New Orleans, LA, USA and a listed size of 5'5" and 140 pounds. Williams died on December 30, 1978, in Pittsburgh, PA, USA. Williams's full given name, per the bio, is Robert Lawns Williams.
In 562 games and 1,945 at bats, Williams batted .222 with 431 hits; the totals also include 3 home runs, 227 runs batted in, and 66 stolen bases. On-base and slugging figures of .284 and .276 give Williams a career OPS of .560. Williams's .222 average ran 20.7% below the .280 that the league posted over the same seasons. In OPS terms, Williams's .560 stands 23.1% below the league's .729. The highest hit total in a season was 75, in 1924.
Frequently Asked Questions about Bobby Williams
- Was Bobby Williams a pitcher?
- No. Bobby Williams was a position player (Shortstop).
- How many home runs did Bobby Williams hit?
- Bobby Williams hit 3 career home runs with 431 hits.
- What teams did Bobby Williams play for?
- Bobby Williams played for 7 teams: the Chicago American Giants (1918–1925, 1928), the Indianapolis ABCs (1926), the Cleveland Tigers (1928), the New York Lincoln Giants (1928), the Atlantic City Bacharach Giants (1929), the Pittsburgh Crawfords (1932), and the Cleveland Red Sox (1934).
- What were Bobby Williams's career stats?
- In 562 games, Bobby Williams had 431 hits, 3 home runs, 227 RBI, 274 runs, and 66 stolen bases, with a .222 batting average.
- What position did Bobby Williams play?
- Bobby Williams played primarily as a shortstop, the position where he appeared in the most games.
- How tall was Bobby Williams and how much did he weigh?
- Bobby Williams was listed at 5 feet 5 inches and 140 pounds.
- How many home runs did Bobby Williams hit each season?
- Bobby Williams's home runs by season: 0 in 1918, 0 in 1919, 0 in 1920, 0 in 1921, 0 in 1922, 0 in 1923, 1 in 1924, 2 in 1925, 0 in 1926, 0 in 1928, 0 in 1929, 0 in 1932, and 0 in 1934. His most in one season was 2, in 1925.
- What was Bobby Williams's career batting average?
- Bobby Williams batted .222 over his career, with 431 hits in 1,945 at bats.
- How many RBI did Bobby Williams have?
- Bobby Williams drove in 227 runs in his career.
- Is Bobby Williams in the Hall of Fame?
- No. Bobby Williams has not been inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame.