What years did Jim Willis play?

Jim Willis played in Major League Baseball from 1953 to 1954.

Was Jim Willis a pitcher?

Yes. Jim Willis pitched in the major leagues, recording 2 wins and 20 strikeouts.

How many home runs did Jim Willis hit?

Jim Willis hit 0 career home runs.

What was Jim Willis's career batting average?

Jim Willis batted .000 over his career, with 0 hits in 14 at bats.

How many RBI did Jim Willis have?

Jim Willis drove in 1 runs in his career.

What was Jim Willis's career ERA?

Jim Willis finished with a 3.39 career ERA, going 2-2 with 20 strikeouts.

Jim Willis

Pitcher · Career Stats, Bio & Records (1953-1954)

Jim Willis was a pitcher who played in Major League Baseball from 1953 to 1954 for the Chicago Cubs, a span of 2 seasons. Across 27 career appearances, he went 2-2 with a 3.39 ERA and 20 strikeouts. His totals include Negro Leagues seasons, which MLB recognized as major league in 2020.

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 October 12, 2026

W–L 2–2

ERA 3.39

WHIP 1.42

SO 20

Pitcher PIV -182.3

Position: Pitcher
Bats / Throws: L / R
Height / Weight: 6'3" / 175 lb
Born: 3/20/1927 in Doyline, LA, USA
MLB Debut: 1953-04-22
Last Game: 1954-06-05

Full name: James Gladden Willis

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Negro Leagues Career Statistics

Batting

Jim Willis — Batting
PA	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	SO	SB	BA	OBP	SLG	OPS
71.0	69.0	5.0	14.0	1.0	0	0	2.0	0	0	0	.203	.203	.217	.420

Pitching

Jim Willis — Pitching
W	L	GS	CG	GF	SV	IP	H	R	ER	HR	BB	SO	ERA	WHIP
9	16	20	15	13	3	180.0	201	111	39	12	39	48	1.95	1.33

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

Jim Willis — Negro Leagues Season-by-Season Batting
Season	PA	AB	R	H	2B	RBI	BA	OBP	SLG	OPS
1930	6.0	6.0	0	1.0	0	0	.167	.167	.167	.334
1932	6.0	6.0	0	1.0	0	0	.167	.167	.167	.334
1933	8.0	8.0	1.0	1.0	0	0	.125	.125	.125	.250
1934	4.0	4.0	0	0	0	0	.000	.000	.000	.000
1935	2.0	2.0	0	0	0	0	.000	.000	.000	.000
1936	36.0	34.0	2.0	8.0	1.0	2.0	.235	.235	.265	.500
1937	6.0	6.0	2.0	3.0	0	0	.500	.500	.500	1.000
1939	3.0	3.0	0	0	0	0	.000	.000	.000	.000
Listed seasons · 8	71	69	5	14	1	2	.203	—	—	—

Negro Leagues Season-by-Season Pitching

Jim Willis — Negro Leagues Season-by-Season Pitching
Season	W	L	GS	CG	GF	SV	IP	H	R	ER	HR	BB	SO	ERA	WHIP
1930	1	1	2	2	0	0	16.0	15	5	0	0	5	5	0.00	1.25
1932	2	2	3	2	1	0	29.2	33	19	0	5	3	8	0.00	1.21
1933	0	2	1	1	1	0	6.0	7	5	1	3	0	6	1.50	1.17
1934	2	2	3	3	1	0	23.2	24	12	1	1	2	5	0.38	1.10
1935	0	0	1	0	0	0	3.0	2	2	0	1	5	1	0.00	2.33
1936	4	7	9	7	7	3	86.2	92	42	30	2	19	19	3.12	1.28
1937	0	1	0	0	2	0	11.1	22	23	6	0	3	3	4.76	2.21
1939	0	0	0	0	1	0	3.2	6	3	1	0	2	1	2.46	2.18
Listed seasons · 8	9	15	19	15	13	3	180.0	201	111	39	12	39	48	1.95	1.33

Career Pitching Statistics

Jim Willis — Career Pitching Statistics
W	L	G	GS	CG	SHO	SV	IP	H	ER	HR	BB	SO	ERA	Pitcher PIV
2	2	27	4	2	0	0	66.1	59	25	2	35	20	3.39	-182.3

Career ERA 3.39 vs. league average 4.02 across their career seasons — 15.6% better than league average.

Season-by-Season Pitching

Pitching Career Arc

Click a stat to plot it across every season.

Jim Willis — Season-by-Season Pitching
Year	Team	Lg	W	L	G	GS	CG	IP	H	ER	BB	SO	ERA	Lg ERA	Pitcher PIV
1953	CHN	NL	2	1	13	3	2	43.1	37	15	17	15	3.12	4.14 (+25%)	605.6
1954	CHN	NL	0	1	14	1	0	23.0	22	10	18	5	3.91	3.90 (avg)	-787.9
Career · 2 seasons			2	2	27	4	2	66.1	59	25	35	20	3.39	—	-182

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

Jim Willis — Career Batting Statistics
G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	SB	BB	SO	AVG	OBP	SLG	OPS	PIV
27	14	1	0	0	0	0	1	0	1	6	.000	.067	.000	.067	0

Career AVG .000 vs. league average .263 across their career seasons — 100.0% below league average.

Career OBP .067 vs. league average .334 across their career seasons — 80.1% below league average.

Career SLG .000 vs. league average .394 across their career seasons — 100.0% below league average.

Career OPS .067 vs. league average .728 across their career seasons — 90.8% below league average.

Season-by-Season Batting

Career Arc

Click a stat to plot it across every season.

Jim Willis — Season-by-Season Batting
Year	Team	Lg	G	AB	R	RBI	BB	SO	AVG	Lg AVG	Lg OBP	Lg SLG	Lg OPS	PIV
1953	CHN	NL	13	9	1	1	1	3	.000	—	—	—	—	0.0
1954	CHN	NL	14	5	0	0	0	3	.000	—	—	—	—	0.0
Career · 2 seasons			27	14	1	1	1	6	.000	—	—	—	—	0

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 (54 games) →

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

Batting — Home / Away

Jim Willis — Batting — Home / Away
Split	G	AB	R	H	HR	RBI	AVG
Home	14	10	1	0	0	1	.000
Away	13	4	0	0	0	0	.000

Pitching — Home / Away

Jim Willis — Pitching — Home / Away
Split	G	IP	H	ER	BB	SO	ERA
Home	14	40.2	33	10	14	13	2.21
Away	13	25.2	26	15	21	7	5.26

Last 10 Games — Batting

Jim Willis — Last 10 Games — Batting
Date	Tm	Opp	Res	AB	SO
1954-06-05	CHC	BRO	L	0	0
1954-05-25	CHC	STL	L	0	0
1954-05-23	CHC	ATL	L	0	0
1954-05-22	CHC	ATL	L	0	0
1954-05-19	CHC	BRO	W	0	0
1954-05-16	CHC	PIT	L	2	1
1954-05-14	CHC	NY1	L	0	0
1954-05-12	CHC	PHI	L	1	1
1954-05-08	CHC	ATL	L	0	0
1954-05-05	CHC	BRO	L	2	1

Last 10 Games — Pitching

Jim Willis — Last 10 Games — Pitching
Date	Tm	Opp	Dec	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO	HR
1954-06-05	CHC	BRO	—	1.1	2	0	0	0	0	0
1954-05-25	CHC	STL	—	1.2	1	1	1	1	0	0
1954-05-23	CHC	ATL	—	1.1	2	1	1	1	0	0
1954-05-22	CHC	ATL	—	0.1	0	0	0	0	0	0
1954-05-19	CHC	BRO	—	0.0	0	1	1	2	0	0
1954-05-16	CHC	PIT	L	4.0	4	3	3	6	0	0
1954-05-14	CHC	NY1	—	0.2	1	0	0	1	0	0
1954-05-12	CHC	PHI	—	4.0	6	1	1	0	2	1
1954-05-08	CHC	ATL	—	1.0	0	0	0	0	0	0
1954-05-05	CHC	BRO	—	5.1	6	3	3	4	1	0

Fielding Statistics

Career Fielding Totals by Position

Jim Willis — Career Fielding Totals by Position
Position	G	GS	PO	A	E	DP
P	27	1	4	20	0	1

Season-by-Season Fielding

Jim Willis — Season-by-Season Fielding
Year	Team	Pos	G	GS	PO	A	E	DP
1953	CHN	P	13	0	4	12	0	0
1954	CHN	P	14	1	0	8	0	1

Career Games by Position

Position Diamond

Circle size = games played at each position.

Jim Willis — Career Games by Position
Position	Games
Pitcher	27

College History

Jim Willis — College History
School Name	City	State	Years Attended
Northwestern State University of Louisiana	Natchitoches	LA	1947, 1948, 1949

Jim Willis: the record in brief

According to the bio, Jim Willis debuted on April 22, 1953 and played a final game on June 5, 1954. The team column never changes: it is the Chicago Cubs from 1953 to 1954. Willis played primarily as a pitcher and hit left-handed while throwing right-handed. Born on March 20, 1927, in Doyline, LA, USA, Willis was listed at 6-foot-3 and 175 pounds. Jim Willis was the playing name; the full given name is James Gladden.

Willis pitched in 27 games, starting 4, and finished with a 2-2 record and 3.39 ERA. Willis had 20 strikeouts. That 3.39 ERA compares with a 4.02 league average across the same seasons, 15.6% better. 1953 was Willis's sharpest full season, a 3.12 ERA against the league's 4.14.

Willis's separate Negro Leagues table shows a .203 average on 14 hits. Pitching in the Negro Leagues, Willis went 9-16 with a 1.95 ERA. Those Negro Leagues figures come from surviving box scores and are shown in their own table, apart from the season rows.

Frequently Asked Questions about Jim Willis

What years did Jim Willis play?: Jim Willis played in Major League Baseball from 1953 to 1954.
Was Jim Willis a pitcher?: Yes. Jim Willis pitched in the major leagues, recording 2 wins and 20 strikeouts.
How many home runs did Jim Willis hit?: Jim Willis hit 0 career home runs.
What was Jim Willis's career batting average?: Jim Willis batted .000 over his career, with 0 hits in 14 at bats.
How many RBI did Jim Willis have?: Jim Willis drove in 1 runs in his career.
What was Jim Willis's career ERA?: Jim Willis finished with a 3.39 career ERA, going 2-2 with 20 strikeouts.