Cy Williams
Outfielder · Career Stats, Bio & Records (1912-1930)
Cy Williams was an outfielder who played in Major League Baseball from 1912 to 1930 for the Chicago Cubs and the Philadelphia Phillies, a span of 19 seasons. In 2,002 career games, he hit .292 with 1,981 hits, 251 home runs, and 1,005 RBI. His career PIV — Baseball Data Hub's era-adjusted measure of offensive impact — is 24,595.
- 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
- Outfielder
- Bats / Throws
- L / L
- Height / Weight
- 6'2" / 180 lb
- Died
- 4/23/1974 in Eagle River, WI, USA
- MLB Debut
- 1912-07-18
- Last Game
- 1930-09-22
Full name: Fred Williams
Career Batting Statistics
| G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | SB | BB | SO | AVG | OBP | SLG | OPS | PIV |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2,002 | 6,780 | 1,024 | 1,981 | 306 | 74 | 251 | 1,005 | 115 | 690 | 721 | .292 | .365 | .470 | .835 | 24,595 |
Career AVG .292 vs. league average .273 across their career seasons — +6.9% above league average.
Career OBP .365 vs. league average .336 across their career seasons — +8.5% above league average.
Career SLG .470 vs. league average .374 across their career seasons — +25.6% above league average.
Career OPS .835 vs. league average .711 across their career seasons — +17.5% 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1912 | CHN | NL | 28 | 62 | 3 | 15 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 6 | 14 | .242 | .268 (-10%) | .335 (-8%) | .358 (-19%) | .694 (-14%) | -127.1 |
| 1913 | CHN | NL | 49 | 156 | 17 | 35 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 32 | 5 | 5 | 26 | .224 | .259 (-14%) | .325 (-19%) | .345 (+4%) | .670 (-7%) | -226.3 |
| 1914 | CHN | NL | 55 | 94 | 12 | 19 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 5 | 2 | 13 | 13 | .202 | .255 (-21%) | .322 (-3%) | .339 (-22%) | .661 (-13%) | -143.8 |
| 1915 | CHN | NL | 151 | 518 | 59 | 133 | 22 | 6 | 13 | 64 | 15 | 26 | 49 | .257 | .250 (+2%) | .318 (-4%) | .332 (+20%) | .651 (+8%) | 585.2 |
| 1916 | CHN | NL | 118 | 405 | 55 | 113 | 19 | 9 | 12 | 66 | 6 | 51 | 64 | .279 | .248 (+12%) | .314 (+18%) | .326 (+41%) | .640 (+30%) | 2231.6 |
| 1917 | CHN | NL | 138 | 468 | 53 | 113 | 22 | 4 | 5 | 42 | 8 | 38 | 78 | .241 | .248 (-3%) | .312 (-1%) | .323 (+4%) | .635 (+2%) | 121.0 |
| 1918 | PHI | NL | 94 | 351 | 49 | 97 | 14 | 1 | 6 | 39 | 10 | 27 | 30 | .276 | .255 (+8%) | .318 (+6%) | .326 (+14%) | .645 (+10%) | 615.8 |
| 1919 | PHI | NL | 109 | 435 | 54 | 121 | 21 | 1 | 9 | 39 | 9 | 30 | 43 | .278 | .262 (+6%) | .322 (+4%) | .347 (+13%) | .670 (+9%) | 679.5 |
| 1920 | PHI | NL | 148 | 590 | 88 | 192 | 36 | 10 | 15 | 72 | 18 | 32 | 45 | .325 | .271 (+20%) | .331 (+10%) | .363 (+37%) | .694 (+24%) | 2547.9 |
| 1921 | PHI | NL | 146 | 562 | 67 | 180 | 28 | 6 | 18 | 75 | 5 | 30 | 32 | .320 | .286 (+12%) | .344 (+4%) | .395 (+23%) | .739 (+14%) | 1514.1 |
| 1922 | PHI | NL | 151 | 584 | 98 | 180 | 30 | 6 | 26 | 92 | 11 | 74 | 49 | .308 | .285 (+8%) | .345 (+13%) | .397 (+29%) | .743 (+22%) | 2798.2 |
| 1923 | PHI | NL | 136 | 535 | 98 | 157 | 22 | 3 | 41 | 114 | 11 | 59 | 57 | .293 | .282 (+4%) | .344 (+8%) | .390 (+48%) | .734 (+29%) | 3090.6 |
| 1924 | PHI | NL | 148 | 558 | 101 | 183 | 31 | 11 | 24 | 93 | 7 | 67 | 49 | .328 | .283 (+16%) | .345 (+17%) | .389 (+42%) | .734 (+30%) | 3470.5 |
| 1925 | PHI | NL | 107 | 314 | 78 | 104 | 11 | 5 | 13 | 60 | 4 | 53 | 34 | .331 | .288 (+15%) | .349 (+25%) | .407 (+28%) | .756 (+27%) | 1891.5 |
| 1926 | PHI | NL | 107 | 336 | 63 | 116 | 13 | 4 | 18 | 53 | 2 | 38 | 35 | .345 | .279 (+23%) | .345 (+21%) | .390 (+46%) | .735 (+34%) | 2281.4 |
| 1927 | PHI | NL | 131 | 492 | 86 | 135 | 18 | 2 | 30 | 98 | 0 | 61 | 57 | .274 | .282 (-3%) | .344 (+6%) | .392 (+28%) | .736 (+18%) | 1831.8 |
| 1928 | PHI | NL | 99 | 238 | 31 | 61 | 9 | 0 | 12 | 37 | 0 | 54 | 34 | .256 | .280 (-9%) | .342 (+17%) | .395 (+13%) | .737 (+15%) | 906.1 |
| 1929 | PHI | NL | 66 | 65 | 11 | 19 | 2 | 0 | 5 | 21 | 0 | 22 | 9 | .292 | .289 (+1%) | .353 (+33%) | .415 (+33%) | .769 (+33%) | 526.5 |
| 1930 | PHI | NL | 21 | 17 | 1 | 8 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 3 | .471 | — | — | — | — | 0.0 |
| Career · 19 seasons | 2,002 | 6,780 | 1,024 | 1,981 | 306 | 74 | 251 | 1,005 | 115 | 690 | 721 | .292 | — | — | — | — | 24,595 | ||
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 (2003 games) →Per-game data from Retrosheet (regular season, through 2025).
Batting — Home / Away
| Split | G | AB | R | H | HR | RBI | AVG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Home | 1014 | 3384 | 584 | 1068 | 165 | 587 | .316 |
| Away | 989 | 3398 | 439 | 911 | 86 | 414 | .268 |
Last 10 Games — Batting
| Date | Tm | Opp | Res | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | BB | SO |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1930-09-22 | PHI | STL | L | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1930-09-16 | PHI | PIT | W | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 1930-09-08 | PHI | BRO | L | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1930-09-06 | PHI | BRO | L | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1930-08-29 | PHI | BSN | L | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| 1930-08-28 | PHI | BSN | L | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1930-08-05 | PHI | BSN | L | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 1930-08-01 | PHI | BRO | L | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 1930-07-27 | PHI | BRO | L | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 1930-07-24 | PHI | CHC | L | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Fielding Statistics
Career Fielding Totals by Position
| Position | G | GS | PO | A | E | DP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| OF | 1818 | 0 | 4180 | 226 | 123 | 40 |
Season-by-Season Fielding
| Year | Team | Pos | G | GS | PO | A | E | DP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1912 | CHN | OF | 22 | 0 | 36 | 3 | 0 | 0 |
| 1913 | CHN | OF | 44 | 0 | 77 | 4 | 2 | 0 |
| 1914 | CHN | OF | 27 | 0 | 46 | 2 | 3 | 0 |
| 1915 | CHN | OF | 149 | 0 | 347 | 14 | 12 | 2 |
| 1916 | CHN | OF | 116 | 0 | 260 | 7 | 3 | 0 |
| 1917 | CHN | OF | 136 | 0 | 340 | 23 | 15 | 4 |
| 1918 | PHI | OF | 91 | 0 | 229 | 10 | 8 | 4 |
| 1919 | PHI | OF | 108 | 0 | 278 | 13 | 9 | 2 |
| 1920 | PHI | OF | 147 | 0 | 388 | 22 | 12 | 4 |
| 1921 | PHI | OF | 146 | 0 | 382 | 29 | 9 | 5 |
| 1922 | PHI | OF | 150 | 0 | 376 | 19 | 11 | 2 |
| 1923 | PHI | OF | 135 | 0 | 350 | 9 | 7 | 3 |
| 1924 | PHI | OF | 145 | 0 | 368 | 13 | 15 | 0 |
| 1925 | PHI | OF | 96 | 0 | 173 | 12 | 2 | 3 |
| 1926 | PHI | OF | 93 | 0 | 143 | 14 | 6 | 3 |
| 1927 | PHI | OF | 130 | 0 | 241 | 22 | 8 | 8 |
| 1928 | PHI | OF | 69 | 0 | 118 | 9 | 0 | 0 |
| 1929 | PHI | OF | 11 | 0 | 27 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| 1930 | PHI | OF | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Career Games by Position
Circle size = games played at each position.
| Position | Games |
|---|---|
| Left Field | 84 |
| Center Field | 1373 |
| Right Field | 363 |
Awards & Honors
| Year | Award | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 1922 | Baseball Magazine All-Star | OF |
| 1916 | Baseball Magazine All-Star | OF |
| 1915 | Baseball Magazine All-Star | CF |
College History
| School Name | City | State | Years Attended |
|---|---|---|---|
| University of Notre Dame | South Bend | IN | 1910, 1911, 1912 |
Award Voting History
| Year | Award | League | Finish | Points Won | Points Max | Votes First |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1927 | Most Valuable Player | NL | 13th | 6.0 | 80 | 0 |
| 1924 | Most Valuable Player | NL | 22th | 1.0 | 80 | 0 |
Most Similar Players
Career comps based on counting + rate stats and primary position. Score is relative — closest peer anchors at ~98%.
Cy Williams (highlighted) compared to peers across the same era.
Compare Cy Williams
Cy Williams: the record in brief
Between the debut on July 18, 1912 and the final game on September 22, 1930, Cy Williams built the record summarized on this page. The season rows list, in order, the Chicago Cubs (1912 to 1917) and the Philadelphia Phillies (1918 to 1930). Born on December 21, 1887, in Wadena, IN, USA, Williams is listed as an outfielder and batted and threw left-handed. Size on record: 6'2" and 180 pounds. Williams's death is recorded on April 23, 1974, in Eagle River, WI, USA. Williams's full given name, per the bio, is Fred Williams.
Williams's career batting table shows 2,002 games, 6,780 at bats and 1,981 hits, a .292 average, adding 251 homers, 1,005 RBI, and 115 stolen bases. The on-base percentage is .365 and the slugging percentage .470, for an OPS of .835. Measured against the leagues Williams played in, the .292 career average compares with a .273 league average over the same seasons, 6.9% above the league. The OPS comparison is .835 to a league .711, 17.5% above average.
Frequently Asked Questions about Cy Williams
- What years did Cy Williams play?
- Cy Williams played in Major League Baseball from 1912 to 1930.
- Was Cy Williams a pitcher?
- No. Cy Williams was a position player (Outfielder).
- How many home runs did Cy Williams hit?
- Cy Williams hit 251 career home runs with 1981 hits.
- What was Cy Williams's career batting average?
- Cy Williams batted .292 over his career, with 1,981 hits in 6,780 at bats.
- How many RBI did Cy Williams have?
- Cy Williams drove in 1,005 runs in his career.
- Is Cy Williams in the Hall of Fame?
- No. Cy Williams has not been inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame.