Joe Williams
Pitcher · Career Stats, Hall of Fame Bio & Records (Final season: 1932)
Joe Williams was a pitcher who played in Major League Baseball for 5 teams, including the Chicago Giants. Across 207 career appearances, he went 109-59 with a 2.57 ERA and 1,033 strikeouts. He also batted .297 with 15 home runs. Joe Williams was inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1999. His totals include Negro Leagues seasons, which MLB recognized as major league in 2020. His career PIV — Baseball Data Hub's era-adjusted measure of offensive impact — is 802.
- 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
- 6'3" / 190 lb
- Died
- 2/25/1951 in New York, NY, USA
- Last Game
- 1932-09-28
- Hall of Fame
- Inducted 1999 (Veterans)
Full name: Joseph 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.
Negro Leagues Season-by-Season Batting
| Season | PA | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | BB | SO | SB | BA | OBP | SLG | OPS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1925 | 4.0 | 3.0 | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | .250 | .000 | .250 |
| 1926 | 5.0 | 5.0 | 0 | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .200 | .200 | .200 | .400 |
| 1927 | 5.0 | 5.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | .000 | .000 | .000 |
| 1939 | 7.0 | 7.0 | 0 | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | .143 | .143 | .143 | .286 |
| Listed seasons · 4 | 21 | 20 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | .100 | — | — | — |
Negro Leagues Season-by-Season Pitching
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1910 | COG | WES | 5 | 2 | 8 | 6 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 57.0 | 44 | 12 | 8 | 45 | 1.89 | 2.79 (+32%) | 2302.9 |
| 1911 | COG | WES | 3 | 5 | 10 | 10 | 6 | 2 | 0 | 68.0 | 74 | 31 | 25 | 52 | 4.10 | 3.37 (-22%) | 988.8 |
| 1912 | NLG | EAS | 7 | 2 | 11 | 10 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 86.7 | 76 | 21 | 15 | 61 | 2.18 | 3.36 (+35%) | 2496.6 |
| 1913 | NLG | EAS | 9 | 2 | 14 | 11 | 11 | 3 | 1 | 101.3 | 111 | 21 | 25 | 70 | 1.87 | 3.07 (+39%) | 2565.2 |
| 1914 | NLG | EAS | 5 | 3 | 10 | 8 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 68.7 | 68 | 18 | 21 | 43 | 2.36 | 2.93 (+19%) | 991.3 |
| 1915 | NLG | EAS | 6 | 1 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 55.7 | 49 | 13 | 10 | 34 | 2.10 | 2.90 (+27%) | 1486.4 |
| 1916 | NLG | EAS | 5 | 2 | 9 | 6 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 63.3 | 70 | 11 | 17 | 37 | 1.56 | 2.78 (+44%) | 829.1 |
| 1917 | NLG | EAS | 10 | 0 | 12 | 9 | 9 | 1 | 0 | 101.0 | 88 | 19 | 31 | 70 | 1.69 | 2.69 (+37%) | 2183.5 |
| 1918 | NLG | EAS | 10 | 6 | 16 | 14 | 14 | 1 | 0 | 134.7 | 128 | 17 | 32 | 93 | 1.14 | 2.83 (+60%) | 3694.5 |
| 1919 | NLG | EAS | 9 | 3 | 13 | 11 | 11 | 2 | 1 | 102.7 | 93 | 33 | 20 | 88 | 2.89 | 3.09 (+6%) | 3853.9 |
| 1920 | NLG | EAS | 1 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 26.0 | 27 | 5 | 2 | 15 | 1.73 | 3.45 (+50%) | 1029.5 |
| 1921 | NLG | EAS | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1.0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 9.00 | — | 0.0 |
| 1922 | NLG | IND | 2 | 3 | 6 | 6 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 49.0 | 42 | 12 | 10 | 36 | 2.20 | 4.18 (+47%) | 2279.8 |
| 1923 | NLG | ECL | 3 | 3 | 8 | 7 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 53.7 | 61 | 26 | 8 | 33 | 4.36 | 4.03 (-8%) | 1684.5 |
| 1924 | BRG | ECL | 3 | 8 | 15 | 12 | 8 | 1 | 1 | 96.0 | 107 | 43 | 16 | 53 | 4.03 | 4.13 (+2%) | 3659.9 |
| 1928 | HG | EAS | 3 | 1 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 28.0 | 32 | 14 | 5 | 16 | 4.50 | 4.13 (-9%) | 505.9 |
| 1929 | HG | ANL | 6 | 7 | 19 | 15 | 14 | 0 | 1 | 138.7 | 144 | 51 | 28 | 88 | 3.31 | 4.60 (+28%) | 4279.2 |
| 1930 | HG | IND | 11 | 5 | 17 | 15 | 13 | 1 | 0 | 131.3 | 104 | 41 | 22 | 116 | 2.81 | 4.80 (+41%) | 6058.4 |
| 1931 | HG | IND | 6 | 2 | 11 | 11 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 78.3 | 59 | 21 | 25 | 54 | 2.41 | 4.10 (+41%) | 2345.8 |
| 1932 | DW | EWL | 1 | 0 | 4 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 27.0 | 29 | 10 | 5 | 11 | 3.33 | 4.13 (+19%) | 703.8 |
| 1932 | HG | EWL | 4 | 1 | 8 | 6 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 49.0 | 48 | 13 | 14 | 17 | 2.39 | 4.13 (+42%) | 1035.4 |
| Career · 21 seasons | 109 | 59 | 207 | 172 | 140 | 14 | 5 | 1,517.0 | 1,456 | 433 | 339 | 1,033 | 2.57 | — | 44,974 | ||
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 256 | 728 | 99 | 216 | 31 | 6 | 15 | 121 | 13 | 60 | 3 | .297 | .353 | .418 | .770 | 802 |
Career AVG .297 vs. league average .271 across their career seasons — +9.7% above league average.
Career OBP .353 vs. league average .334 across their career seasons — +5.7% above league average.
Career SLG .418 vs. league average .369 across their career seasons — +13.1% above league average.
Career OPS .770 vs. league average .703 across their career seasons — +9.5% 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1910 | COG | WES | 9 | 23 | 4 | 6 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 0 | .261 | — | — | — | — | 0.0 |
| 1911 | COG | WES | 15 | 50 | 6 | 11 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 7 | 1 | 3 | 0 | .220 | .266 (-17%) | .336 (-21%) | .356 (-10%) | .693 (-16%) | -131.7 |
| 1912 | NLG | EAS | 11 | 40 | 5 | 13 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 11 | 0 | 1 | 0 | .325 | — | — | — | — | 0.0 |
| 1913 | NLG | EAS | 15 | 49 | 5 | 9 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 8 | 1 | 2 | 0 | .184 | — | — | — | — | -177.5 |
| 1914 | NLG | EAS | 10 | 25 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0 | .160 | — | — | — | — | 0.0 |
| 1915 | NLG | EAS | 7 | 22 | 6 | 12 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 0 | .545 | — | — | — | — | 0.0 |
| 1916 | NLG | EAS | 12 | 34 | 6 | 11 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 6 | 1 | 4 | 0 | .324 | — | — | — | — | 0.0 |
| 1917 | NLG | EAS | 23 | 67 | 15 | 27 | 4 | 1 | 3 | 17 | 1 | 10 | 0 | .403 | .248 (+62%) | .312 (+54%) | .323 (+94%) | .635 (+74%) | 763.1 |
| 1918 | NLG | EAS | 21 | 73 | 11 | 29 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 9 | 0 | 7 | 0 | .397 | .255 (+56%) | .318 (+41%) | .326 (+51%) | .645 (+46%) | 518.3 |
| 1919 | NLG | EAS | 15 | 54 | 7 | 21 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 13 | 2 | 5 | 0 | .389 | .262 (+48%) | .322 (+39%) | .347 (+49%) | .670 (+44%) | 385.1 |
| 1920 | NLG | EAS | 5 | 20 | 1 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | .250 | — | — | — | — | 0.0 |
| 1921 | NLG | EAS | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | — | — | — | — | 0.0 |
| 1922 | NLG | IND | 7 | 21 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 0 | .143 | — | — | — | — | 0.0 |
| 1923 | NLG | ECL | 16 | 28 | 4 | 10 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 9 | 1 | 3 | 0 | .357 | — | — | — | — | 0.0 |
| 1924 | BRG | ECL | 20 | 43 | 1 | 11 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 6 | 0 | 2 | 1 | .256 | — | — | — | — | 0.0 |
| 1928 | HG | EAS | 4 | 10 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | .300 | — | — | — | — | 0.0 |
| 1929 | HG | ANL | 20 | 57 | 6 | 8 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 0 | .140 | .289 (-51%) | .353 (-52%) | .415 (-62%) | .769 (-57%) | -554.1 |
| 1930 | HG | IND | 18 | 48 | 6 | 15 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 10 | 1 | 3 | 2 | .312 | — | — | — | — | -1.1 |
| 1931 | HG | IND | 13 | 31 | 4 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 0 | 3 | 0 | .323 | — | — | — | — | 0.0 |
| 1932 | DW | EWL | 5 | 10 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | .200 | — | — | — | — | 0.0 |
| 1932 | HG | EWL | 8 | 22 | 5 | 6 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | .273 | — | — | — | — | 0.0 |
| Career · 21 seasons | 256 | 728 | 99 | 216 | 31 | 6 | 15 | 121 | 13 | 60 | 3 | .297 | — | — | — | — | 802 | ||
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
Per-game data from Retrosheet (regular season, through 2025).
Batting — Home / Away
| Split | G | AB | R | H | HR | RBI | AVG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Away | 1 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 3 | .667 |
Pitching — Home / Away
| Split | G | IP | H | ER | BB | SO | ERA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Away | 1 | 9.0 | 9 | 3 | 1 | 4 | 3.00 |
Last 1 Games — Batting
| Date | Tm | Opp | Res | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | BB | SO |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1924-08-03 | BRG | BLS | W | 3 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 0 |
Last 1 Games — Pitching
| Date | Tm | Opp | Dec | IP | H | R | ER | BB | SO | HR |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1924-08-03 | BRG | BLS | W | 9.0 | 9 | 5 | 3 | 1 | 4 | 0 |
Fielding Statistics
Career Fielding Totals by Position
| Position | G | GS | PO | A | E | DP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1B | 27 | 5 | 212 | 7 | 5 | 12 |
| OF | 11 | 4 | 9 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| P | 207 | 98 | 56 | 451 | 31 | 6 |
Season-by-Season Fielding
| Year | Team | Pos | G | GS | PO | A | E | DP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1910 | COG | 1B | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1910 | COG | P | 8 | 0 | 4 | 27 | 1 | 0 |
| 1911 | COG | 1B | 8 | 0 | 65 | 1 | 2 | 2 |
| 1911 | COG | P | 10 | 0 | 2 | 23 | 1 | 0 |
| 1912 | NLG | P | 11 | 0 | 5 | 25 | 1 | 0 |
| 1913 | NLG | OF | 2 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 1913 | NLG | P | 14 | 0 | 1 | 26 | 0 | 0 |
| 1914 | NLG | P | 10 | 0 | 0 | 17 | 3 | 0 |
| 1915 | NLG | P | 7 | 0 | 2 | 16 | 1 | 0 |
| 1916 | NLG | OF | 4 | 4 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1916 | NLG | P | 9 | 6 | 2 | 23 | 1 | 0 |
| 1917 | NLG | 1B | 8 | 0 | 51 | 2 | 3 | 4 |
| 1917 | NLG | OF | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1917 | NLG | P | 12 | 0 | 2 | 29 | 2 | 0 |
| 1918 | NLG | 1B | 4 | 0 | 37 | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| 1918 | NLG | OF | 2 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 1918 | NLG | P | 16 | 0 | 11 | 36 | 3 | 1 |
| 1919 | NLG | 1B | 4 | 3 | 38 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| 1919 | NLG | P | 13 | 11 | 6 | 44 | 3 | 1 |
| 1920 | NLG | 1B | 2 | 2 | 20 | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| 1920 | NLG | P | 3 | 3 | 0 | 9 | 2 | 0 |
| 1921 | NLG | P | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1922 | NLG | P | 6 | 6 | 1 | 21 | 0 | 0 |
| 1923 | NLG | P | 8 | 7 | 0 | 13 | 2 | 0 |
| 1924 | BRG | P | 15 | 12 | 5 | 33 | 4 | 0 |
| 1928 | HG | P | 4 | 3 | 0 | 6 | 1 | 0 |
| 1929 | HG | P | 19 | 15 | 7 | 36 | 3 | 4 |
| 1930 | HG | P | 17 | 15 | 3 | 32 | 1 | 0 |
| 1931 | HG | P | 11 | 11 | 2 | 20 | 2 | 0 |
| 1932 | DW | P | 4 | 3 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 0 |
| 1932 | HG | P | 8 | 6 | 2 | 11 | 0 | 0 |
Career Games by Position
Circle size = games played at each position.
| Position | Games |
|---|---|
| Pitcher | 207 |
| First Base | 27 |
| Right Field | 11 |
Most Similar Players
Career comps based on counting + rate stats and primary position. Score is relative — closest peer anchors at ~98%.
Compare Joe Williams
See Joe Williams in Another Era
Frequently Asked Questions about Joe Williams
- Was Joe Williams a pitcher?
- Yes. Joe Williams pitched in the major leagues, recording 109 wins and 1033 strikeouts.
- How many home runs did Joe Williams hit?
- Joe Williams hit 15 career home runs with 216 hits.
- Is Joe Williams in the Hall of Fame?
- Yes. Joe Williams was inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1999.
- What was Joe Williams's career batting average?
- Joe Williams batted .297 over his career, with 216 hits in 728 at bats.
- How many RBI did Joe Williams have?
- Joe Williams drove in 121 runs in his career.
- What was Joe Williams's career ERA?
- Joe Williams finished with a 2.57 career ERA, going 109-59 with 1,033 strikeouts.