Ed Williamson

Third Baseman · Career Stats, Bio & Records (1878-1890)

Ed Williamson was a third baseman who played in Major League Baseball from 1878 to 1890 for the Indianapolis Blues, the Chicago Cubs, and the Chicago Pirates, a span of 13 seasons. In 1,201 career games, he hit .255 with 1,159 hits, 64 home runs, and 667 RBI. His career PIV — Baseball Data Hub's era-adjusted measure of offensive impact — is 12,274.

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

AVG .255
HR 64
RBI 667
H 1,159
OPS .716
PIV 12,274
Position
Third Baseman
Bats / Throws
R / R
Height / Weight
5'11" / 210 lb
Born
10/24/1857 in Philadelphia, PA, USA
Died
3/3/1894 in Mountain Valley Springs, AR, USA
MLB Debut
1878-05-01
Last Game
1890-09-27

Full name: Edward Nagle Williamson

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Career Batting Statistics

Ed Williamson — Career Batting Statistics
G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB BB SO AVG OBP SLG OPS PIV
1,201 4,553 809 1,159 228 85 64 667 88 506 532 .255 .332 .384 .716 12,274

Career AVG .255 vs. league average .253 across their career seasons — near league average.

Career OBP .332 vs. league average .303 across their career seasons — +9.7% above league average.

Career SLG .384 vs. league average .339 across their career seasons — +13.2% above league average.

Career OPS .716 vs. league average .642 across their career seasons — +11.5% above league average.

Season-by-Season Batting

Career Arc

Click a stat to plot it across every season.

Ed Williamson Stats, Bio & Career Records
Year Team Lg G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB BB SO AVG Lg AVG Lg OBP Lg SLG Lg OPS PIV
1878 IN1 NL 63 250 31 58 10 2 1 19 0 5 15 .232 .259 (-11%) .278 (-11%) .319 (-6%) .597 (-8%) -295.2
1879 CHN NL 80 320 66 94 20 13 1 36 0 24 31 .294 .255 (+15%) .270 (+27%) .328 (+36%) .599 (+32%) 1587.2
1880 CHN NL 75 311 65 78 20 2 0 31 0 15 26 .251 .244 (+3%) .267 (+7%) .319 (+3%) .586 (+5%) 250.6
1881 CHN NL 82 343 56 92 12 6 1 48 0 19 19 .268 .260 (+3%) .290 (+6%) .338 (+3%) .628 (+4%) 254.1
1882 CHN NL 83 348 66 98 27 4 3 60 0 27 21 .282 .248 (+13%) .275 (+21%) .329 (+24%) .605 (+22%) 1289.3
1883 CHN NL 98 402 83 111 49 5 2 59 0 22 48 .276 .257 (+7%) .285 (+10%) .345 (+27%) .631 (+19%) 1200.9
1884 CHN NL 107 417 84 116 18 8 27 84 0 42 56 .278 .243 (+14%) .278 (+23%) .327 (+69%) .606 (+48%) 3286.5
1885 CHN NL 113 407 87 97 16 5 3 65 0 75 60 .238 .244 (-2%) .287 (+24%) .325 (avg) .613 (+11%) 1226.1
1886 CHN NL 121 430 69 93 17 8 6 58 13 80 71 .216 .246 (-12%) .302 (+12%) .331 (+1%) .634 (+6%) 795.7
1887 CHN NL 127 439 77 117 20 14 9 78 45 73 57 .267 .270 (-2%) .331 (+14%) .373 (+17%) .705 (+15%) 1524.5
1888 CHN NL 132 452 75 113 9 14 8 73 25 65 71 .250 .238 (+5%) .290 (+21%) .319 (+20%) .610 (+21%) 1887.4
1889 CHN NL 47 173 16 41 3 1 1 30 2 23 22 .237 .263 (-10%) .334 (+2%) .357 (-21%) .691 (-10%) -181.5
1890 CHP PL 73 261 34 51 7 3 2 26 3 36 35 .195 .260 (-25%) .336 (-8%) .351 (-24%) .687 (-16%) -552.0
Career · 13 seasons 1,201 4,553 809 1,159 228 85 64 667 88 506 532 .255 — — — — 12,274

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 Pitching Statistics

Ed Williamson — Career Pitching Statistics
W L G GS CG SHO SV IP H ER HR BB SO ERA Pitcher PIV
1 1 12 1 1 0 3 35.0 38 13 1 5 7 3.34 140.3

Career ERA 3.34 vs. league average 3.29 across their career seasons — near league average.

Season-by-Season Pitching

Pitching Career Arc

Click a stat to plot it across every season.

Ed Williamson — Season-by-Season Pitching
Year Team Lg W L G GS CG SHO SV IP H ER BB SO ERA Lg ERA Pitcher PIV
1881 CHN NL 1 1 3 1 1 0 0 18.0 14 4 0 2 2.00 2.77 (+28%) 140.3
1882 CHN NL 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 3.0 9 2 1 0 6.00 — 0.0
1883 CHN NL 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 1.0 1 1 1 1 9.00 — 0.0
1884 CHN NL 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 2.0 8 4 2 0 18.00 — 0.0
1885 CHN NL 0 0 2 0 0 0 2 6.0 2 0 0 3 0.00 — 0.0
1886 CHN NL 0 0 2 0 0 0 1 3.0 2 0 0 1 0.00 — 0.0
1887 CHN NL 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 2.0 2 2 1 0 9.00 — 0.0
Career · 7 seasons 1 1 12 1 1 0 3 35.0 38 13 5 7 3.34 — 140

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

Ed Williamson — Playoff Career Batting
G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO AVG
13 41 3 3 0 1 0 3 8 5 .073

Playoff Batting by Year

Ed Williamson — Playoff Batting by Year
Year Round Team G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO AVG
1886 WS CHN 6 18 2 1 0 1 0 3 4 5 .056
1885 WS CHN 7 23 1 2 0 0 0 0 4 0 .087

Playoff Career Pitching

Ed Williamson — Playoff Career Pitching
W L G GS SV IP H ER BB SO ERA
0 1 2 0 0 2.0 4 1 1 2 4.50

Playoff Pitching by Year

Ed Williamson — Playoff Pitching by Year
Year Round Team W L G GS SV IP H ER BB SO ERA
1886 WS CHN 0 1 2 0 0 2.0 4 1 1 2 4.50

Fielding Statistics

Career Fielding Totals by Position

Ed Williamson — Career Fielding Totals by Position
Position G GS PO A E DP
1B 6 0 77 1 3 2
2B 7 0 18 28 5 4
3B 716 0 878 1719 401 119
C 34 0 124 54 20 3
P 12 0 2 7 0 0
SS 450 0 490 1286 255 129

Season-by-Season Fielding

Ed Williamson — Season-by-Season Fielding
Year Team Pos G GS PO A E DP
1878 IN1 3B 63 0 88 128 33 6
1879 CHN 1B 6 0 77 1 3 2
1879 CHN 3B 70 0 84 193 41 13
1879 CHN C 4 0 22 5 5 0
1880 CHN 2B 3 0 7 11 1 2
1880 CHN 3B 63 0 83 143 27 5
1880 CHN C 11 0 57 22 6 2
1881 CHN 2B 4 0 11 17 4 2
1881 CHN 3B 76 0 117 194 31 10
1881 CHN C 1 0 0 0 0 0
1881 CHN P 3 0 1 2 0 0
1881 CHN SS 2 0 6 7 1 1
1882 CHN 3B 83 0 108 210 43 16
1882 CHN P 1 0 0 1 0 0
1883 CHN 3B 97 0 111 252 87 20
1883 CHN C 3 0 4 5 1 0
1883 CHN P 1 0 0 0 0 0
1884 CHN 3B 99 0 121 250 60 25
1884 CHN C 10 0 34 20 7 1
1884 CHN P 2 0 0 1 0 0
1885 CHN 3B 113 0 113 258 45 18
1885 CHN C 1 0 6 1 0 0
1885 CHN P 2 0 1 2 0 0
1886 CHN C 4 0 1 1 1 0
1886 CHN P 2 0 0 0 0 0
1886 CHN SS 121 0 161 355 78 36
1887 CHN P 1 0 0 1 0 0
1887 CHN SS 127 0 133 361 61 31
1888 CHN SS 132 0 120 375 65 48
1889 CHN SS 47 0 48 130 33 7
1890 CHP 3B 52 0 53 91 34 6
1890 CHP SS 21 0 22 58 17 6

Career Games by Position

Position Diamond

Circle size = games played at each position.

Ed Williamson Stats, Bio & Career Records
Position Games
Pitcher 12
Catcher 34
First Base 6
Second Base 7
Third Base 716
Shortstop 450

Most Similar Players

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

Career Spans

Ed Williamson (highlighted) compared to peers across the same era.

  1. 98
    John Morrill
    .260 avg, 43 HR
  2. 97
    Luis Alicea
    .260 avg, 47 HR
  3. 97
    Billy Rogell
    .267 avg, 42 HR
  4. 95
    Don Hoak
    .265 avg, 89 HR
  5. 94
    Babe Dahlgren
    .261 avg, 82 HR
  6. 93
    Jerry Priddy
    .265 avg, 61 HR

Ed Williamson: the record in brief

Between the debut on May 1, 1878 and the final game on September 27, 1890, Ed Williamson built the record summarized on this page. By club, Williamson's seasons break down as the Indianapolis Blues (1878), the Chicago White Stockings (1879 through 1889), and the Chicago Pirates (1890). Born on October 24, 1857, in Philadelphia, PA, USA, Williamson is listed as a third baseman and batted and threw right-handed. Size on record: 5'11" and 210 pounds. The bio records the death on March 3, 1894, in Mountain Valley Springs, AR, USA. The given name on file is Edward Nagle Williamson.

Across 1,201 games at the plate, Williamson's career line reads 1,159 hits in 4,553 at bats for a .255 average, adding 64 homers, 667 runs batted in, and 88 stolen bases. On-base and slugging figures of .332 and .384 give Williamson a career OPS of .716. The .255 career average is close to the .253 the league hit across the same seasons.

Frequently Asked Questions about Ed Williamson

What years did Ed Williamson play?
Ed Williamson played in Major League Baseball from 1878 to 1890.
Was Ed Williamson a pitcher?
No. Ed Williamson was a position player (Third Baseman), though he did pitch in 12 career games.
How many home runs did Ed Williamson hit?
Ed Williamson hit 64 career home runs with 1159 hits.
What was Ed Williamson's career batting average?
Ed Williamson batted .255 over his career, with 1,159 hits in 4,553 at bats.
How many RBI did Ed Williamson have?
Ed Williamson drove in 667 runs in his career.
What was Ed Williamson's career ERA?
Ed Williamson finished with a 3.34 career ERA, going 1-1 with 7 strikeouts.