Cotton Williams
Pitcher · Career Stats, Bio & Records
Cotton Williams was a pitcher who played in Major League Baseball for the Newark Eagles. Across 37 career appearances, he went 6-10 with a 4.62 ERA and 91 strikeouts. He also batted .258 with 1 home runs. His totals include Negro Leagues seasons, which MLB recognized as major league in 2020. His career Pitcher PIV — Baseball Data Hub's era-adjusted measure of pitching impact — is 3822.3.
- 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
- Position
- Pitcher
- Bats / Throws
- R / R
- Height / Weight
- 5'9" / 165 lb
- Died
- 12/28/2000 in Philadelphia, PA, USA
Full name: Robert A. Williams
Negro Leagues Career Statistics
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-by-Season Pitching
Click a stat to plot it across every season.
| Year | Team | Lg | W | L | G | GS | CG | SHO | SV | IP | H | ER | BB | SO | ERA | Lg ERA | Pitcher PIV |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1943 | NE | NN2 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 27.0 | 21 | 9 | 3 | 13 | 3.00 | 3.50 (+14%) | 276.3 |
| 1945 | NE | NN2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4.1 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 4.15 | — | 0.0 |
| 1946 | NE | NN2 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 26.2 | 41 | 24 | 13 | 7 | 8.10 | 3.59 (-126%) | 44.9 |
| 1947 | NE | NN2 | 4 | 2 | 10 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 51.1 | 54 | 20 | 11 | 29 | 3.51 | 3.97 (+12%) | 1882.7 |
| 1948 | NE | NN2 | 1 | 7 | 15 | 8 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 72.0 | 84 | 38 | 29 | 40 | 4.75 | 4.10 (-16%) | 1618.3 |
| Career · 5 seasons | 6 | 10 | 37 | 16 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 181.1 | 203 | 93 | 58 | 91 | 4.62 | — | 3,822 | ||
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
| G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | SB | BB | SO | AVG | OBP | SLG | OPS | PIV |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 83 | 213 | 32 | 55 | 5 | 4 | 1 | 24 | 0 | 15 | 0 | .258 | .313 | .333 | .646 | -272 |
Career AVG .258 vs. league average .260 across their career seasons — near league average.
Career OBP .313 vs. league average .332 across their career seasons — 5.7% below league average.
Career SLG .333 vs. league average .363 across their career seasons — 8.2% below league average.
Career OPS .646 vs. league average .695 across their career seasons — 7.0% 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1943 | NE | NN2 | 19 | 64 | 8 | 15 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 2 | 0 | .234 | .255 (-8%) | .324 (-17%) | .346 (-14%) | .671 (-16%) | -165.6 |
| 1945 | NE | NN2 | 14 | 52 | 9 | 15 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 6 | 0 | 7 | 0 | .288 | .260 (+11%) | .328 (+13%) | .354 (+8%) | .683 (+11%) | 102.7 |
| 1946 | NE | NN2 | 6 | 10 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | .100 | — | — | — | — | 0.0 |
| 1947 | NE | NN2 | 15 | 26 | 5 | 10 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 2 | 0 | .385 | — | — | — | — | 0.0 |
| 1948 | NE | NN2 | 29 | 61 | 9 | 14 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 3 | 0 | .230 | .263 (-13%) | .340 (-19%) | .379 (-22%) | .719 (-20%) | -209.4 |
| Career · 5 seasons | 83 | 213 | 32 | 55 | 5 | 4 | 1 | 24 | 0 | 15 | 0 | .258 | — | — | — | — | -272 | ||
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
| Year | Round | Team | G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | BB | SO | AVG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1946 | NWS | NE | 2 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | .000 |
Playoff Career Pitching
| W | L | G | GS | SV | IP | H | ER | BB | SO | ERA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3.2 | 11 | 8 | 1 | 1 | 19.64 |
Playoff Pitching by Year
Game Log & Splits
View full game log (143 games) →Per-game data from Retrosheet (regular season, through 2025).
Batting — Home / Away
| Split | G | AB | R | H | HR | RBI | AVG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Home | 44 | 93 | 13 | 22 | 3 | 8 | .237 |
| Away | 53 | 121 | 18 | 38 | 2 | 10 | .314 |
Pitching — Home / Away
| Split | G | IP | H | ER | BB | SO | ERA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Home | 24 | 113.1 | 106 | 27 | 28 | 11 | 2.14 |
| Away | 22 | 83.1 | 99 | 16 | 22 | 33 | 1.73 |
Last 10 Games — Batting
| Date | Tm | Opp | Res | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | BB | SO |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1949-08-11 | HOE | KCM | W | 5 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 1949-08-10 | HOE | KCM | W | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1949-08-08 | HOE | KCM | L | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1949-07-17 | HOE | IN9 | L | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1949-06-15 | HOE | MEM | W | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1949-06-02 | HOE | PH5 | L | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1949-05-30 | HOE | PH5 | W | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1949-05-30 | HOE | PH5 | L | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1949-05-15 | HOE | KCM | L | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1949-05-05 | HOE | BIR | L | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Last 10 Games — Pitching
| Date | Tm | Opp | Dec | IP | H | R | ER | BB | SO | HR |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1949-08-08 | HOE | KCM | L | 8.0 | 9 | 5 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 0 |
| 1949-07-17 | HOE | IN9 | L | 8.0 | 14 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1949-06-15 | HOE | MEM | — | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1949-06-02 | HOE | PH5 | — | 3.0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 0 |
| 1949-05-05 | HOE | BIR | — | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1948-09-05 | NW2 | NY5 | L | 9.0 | 10 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 |
| 1948-08-23 | NW2 | BLG | — | 5.0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 1948-08-19 | NW2 | BLG | L | 3.2 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 1948-08-14 | NW2 | BLG | W | 7.0 | 8 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 7 | 0 |
| 1948-07-18 | NW2 | PH5 | — | 5.1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
Fielding Statistics
Career Fielding Totals by Position
| Position | G | GS | PO | A | E | DP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2B | 4 | 1 | 4 | 7 | 0 | 2 |
| 3B | 10 | 10 | 15 | 14 | 2 | 1 |
| OF | 20 | 16 | 27 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
| P | 37 | 16 | 3 | 53 | 2 | 4 |
| SS | 7 | 7 | 15 | 14 | 4 | 1 |
Season-by-Season Fielding
| Year | Team | Pos | G | GS | PO | A | E | DP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1943 | NE | 2B | 3 | 1 | 3 | 6 | 0 | 2 |
| 1943 | NE | OF | 6 | 6 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1943 | NE | P | 5 | 2 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 0 |
| 1943 | NE | SS | 6 | 6 | 14 | 10 | 4 | 1 |
| 1945 | NE | 2B | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 1945 | NE | 3B | 9 | 9 | 14 | 12 | 2 | 1 |
| 1945 | NE | OF | 3 | 3 | 6 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 1945 | NE | P | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| 1945 | NE | SS | 1 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 0 |
| 1946 | NE | P | 6 | 2 | 0 | 9 | 0 | 0 |
| 1947 | NE | 3B | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| 1947 | NE | P | 10 | 4 | 3 | 14 | 1 | 1 |
| 1948 | NE | OF | 11 | 7 | 13 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| 1948 | NE | P | 15 | 8 | 0 | 23 | 0 | 3 |
Career Games by Position
Circle size = games played at each position.
| Position | Games |
|---|---|
| Pitcher | 37 |
| Second Base | 4 |
| Third Base | 10 |
| Shortstop | 7 |
| Left Field | 16 |
| Right Field | 4 |
Cotton Williams: the record in brief
Cotton Williams's record on this page is drawn from the season tables, which run from 1943 to 1948. The team column never changes: it is the Newark Eagles from 1943 to 1948. Williams played primarily as a pitcher and batted and threw right-handed. The bio adds a birth date on January 18, 1917, in MD, USA and a listed size of 5 feet, 9 inches and 165 pounds. The bio records the death on December 28, 2000, in Philadelphia, PA, USA. The bio lists the given name Robert A.
Across 37 games (16 starts), Williams recorded 6 wins against 10 losses with a 4.62 ERA. Also on Williams's record: 91 strikeouts. The league ERA over Williams's seasons was 3.76, so the 4.62 figure ran 22.6% worse than average. In 1947, one of the busiest seasons, Williams posted a 3.51 ERA; the league figure that year was 3.97. Pitcher PIV, the site's era-adjusted run-prevention measure, totals 3,822.3 for Williams's career.
Frequently Asked Questions about Cotton Williams
- Was Cotton Williams a pitcher?
- Yes. Cotton Williams pitched in the major leagues, recording 6 wins and 91 strikeouts.
- How many home runs did Cotton Williams hit?
- Cotton Williams hit 1 career home run with 55 hits.
- What teams did Cotton Williams play for?
- Cotton Williams played for one team, the Newark Eagles (1943, 1945–1948).
- What were Cotton Williams's career stats?
- In 37 games, Cotton Williams went 6-10 with a 4.62 ERA, 91 strikeouts, 181.1 innings pitched, and 2 saves. At the plate he had 55 hits and 1 home runs.
- What position did Cotton Williams play?
- Cotton Williams played primarily as a pitcher, the position where he appeared in the most games.
- How tall was Cotton Williams and how much did he weigh?
- Cotton Williams was listed at 5 feet 9 inches and 165 pounds.
- What was Cotton Williams's career ERA?
- Cotton Williams finished with a 4.62 career ERA, going 6-10 with 91 strikeouts.
- How many strikeouts did Cotton Williams have?
- Cotton Williams recorded 91 career strikeouts.
- Is Cotton Williams in the Hall of Fame?
- No. Cotton Williams has not been inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame.