John Williams

Pitcher · Career Stats, Bio & Records

John Williams was a pitcher who played in Major League Baseball for the Dayton Marcos and the St. Louis Stars. Across 111 career appearances, he went 44-30 with a 4.37 ERA and 293 strikeouts. He also batted .259 with 9 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 2021.4.

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

W–L 44–30
ERA 4.37
WHIP 1.44
SO 293
Pitcher PIV 2021.4
Position
Pitcher
Bats / Throws
— / R
Born
12/3/1904 in South Bend, IN, USA

Full name: John Wesley Williams

📊 Compare This Player 📈 View Career Timeline

Negro Leagues Career Statistics

Batting

John Williams — Batting
PA AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO SB BA OBP SLG OPS
13.0 12.0 2.0 0 0 0 0 0 1.0 0 0 .000 .077 .000 .077

Pitching

John Williams — Pitching
W L GS CG GF SV IP H R ER HR BB SO ERA WHIP
1 2 4 1 2 0 28.1 32 24 0 1 13 7 0.00 1.59

Career Pitching Statistics

John Williams — Career Pitching Statistics
W L G GS CG SHO SV IP H ER HR BB SO ERA Pitcher PIV
44 30 111 73 42 4 6 621.7 686 302 41 207 293 4.37 2021.4

Career ERA 4.37 vs. league average 4.34 across their career seasons — near league average.

Season-by-Season Pitching

Pitching Career Arc

Click a stat to plot it across every season.

John Williams — Season-by-Season Pitching
Year Team Lg W L G GS CG SHO SV IP H ER BB SO ERA Lg ERA Pitcher PIV
1926 DM NNL 1 10 16 10 6 0 0 78.7 110 55 39 40 6.29 4.11 (-53%) -984.3
1927 SLS NNL 7 4 20 11 5 0 1 106.3 111 44 39 63 3.72 4.08 (+9%) 38.9
1928 SLS NNL 8 5 22 15 6 1 2 119.0 137 68 33 60 5.14 4.13 (-24%) 1660.0
1929 SLS NNL 19 6 34 24 17 2 2 210.0 204 72 48 72 3.09 4.60 (+33%) 2346.6
1930 SLS NNL 9 5 19 13 8 1 1 107.7 124 63 48 58 5.27 4.80 (-10%) -1039.8
Career · 5 seasons 44 30 111 73 42 4 6 621.2 686 302 207 293 4.37 — 2,021

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

John Williams — Career Batting Statistics
G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB BB SO AVG OBP SLG OPS PIV
196 502 75 130 18 12 9 67 5 24 3 .259 .297 .396 .693 -1,038

Career AVG .259 vs. league average .285 across their career seasons — 9.2% below league average.

Career OBP .297 vs. league average .348 across their career seasons — 14.7% below league average.

Career SLG .396 vs. league average .404 across their career seasons — near league average.

Career OPS .693 vs. league average .752 across their career seasons — 7.9% below league average.

Season-by-Season Batting

Career Arc

Click a stat to plot it across every season.

John Williams — 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
1926 DM NNL 25 46 4 3 0 0 2 4 0 4 0 .065 — — — — -419.7
1927 SLS NNL 23 46 10 13 0 2 3 9 0 2 0 .283 — — — — 0.0
1928 SLS NNL 30 57 12 15 1 2 0 5 0 1 1 .263 .280 (-6%) .342 (-16%) .395 (-11%) .737 (-13%) -139.0
1929 SLS NNL 59 161 20 39 7 5 1 14 2 7 0 .242 .289 (-16%) .353 (-21%) .415 (-12%) .769 (-16%) -495.2
1930 SLS NNL 59 192 29 60 10 3 3 35 3 10 2 .312 .293 (+6%) .354 (-1%) .429 (+3%) .784 (+1%) 15.7
Career · 5 seasons 196 502 75 130 18 12 9 67 5 24 3 .259 — — — — -1,038

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

John Williams — Playoff Career Batting
G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO AVG
3 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 .000

Playoff Batting by Year

John Williams — Playoff Batting by Year
Year Round Team G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO AVG
1930 NNC SLS 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 .000
1928 NNC SLS 2 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 .000

Playoff Career Pitching

John Williams — Playoff Career Pitching
W L G GS SV IP H ER BB SO ERA
1 1 2 1 0 12.0 12 4 4 3 3.00

Playoff Pitching by Year

John Williams — Playoff Pitching by Year
Year Round Team W L G GS SV IP H ER BB SO ERA
1928 NNC SLS 1 1 2 1 0 12.0 12 4 4 3 3.00

Game Log & Splits

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

Batting — Home / Away

John Williams — Batting — Home / Away
SplitGABRHHRRBIAVG
Away230000.000

Pitching — Home / Away

John Williams — Pitching — Home / Away
SplitGIPHERBBSOERA
Away12.000000.00

Last 2 Games — Batting

John Williams — Last 2 Games — Batting
DateTmOppResABRH2B3BHRRBIBBSO
1929-06-09 SSNCAGW 000000000
1926-07-13 DAYCAGL 300000000

Last 1 Games — Pitching

John Williams — Last 1 Games — Pitching
DateTmOppDecIPHRERBBSOHR
1929-06-09 SSNCAG — 2.0020000

Fielding Statistics

Career Fielding Totals by Position

John Williams — Career Fielding Totals by Position
Position G GS PO A E DP
1B 5 5 43 1 1 0
3B 1 1 2 0 0 0
C 1 1 3 1 1 0
OF 69 54 85 5 3 0
P 111 73 20 222 16 13

Season-by-Season Fielding

John Williams — Season-by-Season Fielding
Year Team Pos G GS PO A E DP
1926 DM 1B 5 5 43 1 1 0
1926 DM OF 2 0 0 0 0 0
1926 DM P 16 10 6 32 6 1
1927 SLS OF 2 2 5 0 0 0
1927 SLS P 20 11 0 41 4 1
1928 SLS OF 5 3 2 0 1 0
1928 SLS P 22 15 1 38 1 1
1929 SLS C 1 1 3 1 1 0
1929 SLS OF 25 16 22 1 1 0
1929 SLS P 34 24 10 76 3 8
1930 SLS 3B 1 1 2 0 0 0
1930 SLS OF 35 33 56 4 1 0
1930 SLS P 19 13 3 35 2 2

Career Games by Position

Position Diamond

Circle size = games played at each position.

John Williams — Career Games by Position
Position Games
Pitcher 111
Catcher 1
First Base 5
Third Base 1
Left Field 50
Center Field 12
Right Field 7

Most Similar Players

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

  1. 98
    Robert Poindexter
    35-50, 4.37 ERA
  2. 92
    Mike Harkey
    36-36, 4.49 ERA
  3. 90
    Ralph Birkofer
    31-28, 4.19 ERA
  4. 89
    Allen Ripley
    23-27, 4.52 ERA
  5. 86
    Albert Williams
    35-38, 4.24 ERA
  6. 85
    Andy Porter
    45-33, 4.24 ERA

Frequently Asked Questions about John Williams

Was John Williams a pitcher?
Yes. John Williams pitched in the major leagues, recording 44 wins and 293 strikeouts.
How many home runs did John Williams hit?
John Williams hit 9 career home runs with 130 hits.
What was John Williams's career batting average?
John Williams batted .259 over his career, with 130 hits in 502 at bats.
How many RBI did John Williams have?
John Williams drove in 67 runs in his career.
What was John Williams's career ERA?
John Williams finished with a 4.37 career ERA, going 44-30 with 293 strikeouts.
How many strikeouts did John Williams have?
John Williams recorded 293 career strikeouts.