Chicken Wolf

Outfielder · Career Stats, Bio & Records (1882-1892)

Chicken Wolf was an outfielder who played in Major League Baseball from 1882 to 1892 for the Louisville Colonels and the St. Louis Cardinals, a span of 11 seasons. In 1,196 career games, he hit .290 with 1,439 hits, 18 home runs, and 592 RBI. His career PIV — Baseball Data Hub's era-adjusted measure of offensive impact — is 8,060.

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 .290
HR 18
RBI 592
H 1,439
OPS .715
PIV 8,060
Position
Outfielder
Bats / Throws
R / R
Height / Weight
5'9" / 190 lb
Born
5/12/1862 in Louisville, KY, USA
Died
5/16/1903 in Louisville, KY, USA
MLB Debut
1882-05-02
Last Game
1892-08-21

Full name: William Van Winkle Wolf

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Career Batting Statistics

Chicken Wolf — Career Batting Statistics
G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB BB SO AVG OBP SLG OPS PIV
1,196 4,959 779 1,439 212 109 18 592 186 229 120 .290 .327 .388 .715 8,060

Career AVG .290 vs. league average .252 across their career seasons — +15.0% above league average.

Career OBP .327 vs. league average .309 across their career seasons — +5.7% above league average.

Career SLG .388 vs. league average .340 across their career seasons — +14.0% above league average.

Career OPS .715 vs. league average .649 across their career seasons — +10.1% above league average.

Season-by-Season Batting

Career Arc

Click a stat to plot it across every season.

Chicken Wolf 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
1882 LS2 AA 78 318 46 95 11 8 0 0 0 9 0 .299 .248 (+20%) .275 (+15%) .329 (+16%) .605 (+16%) 750.9
1883 LS2 AA 98 389 59 102 17 9 1 0 0 5 0 .262 .257 (+2%) .285 (-5%) .345 (+4%) .631 (avg) -78.1
1884 LS2 AA 110 486 79 146 24 11 3 73 0 4 0 .300 .243 (+23%) .278 (+11%) .327 (+26%) .606 (+19%) 1370.4
1885 LS2 AA 112 483 79 141 23 17 1 52 0 11 0 .292 .244 (+20%) .287 (+7%) .325 (+28%) .613 (+18%) 1227.1
1886 LS2 AA 130 545 93 148 17 12 3 61 23 27 0 .272 .246 (+10%) .302 (+2%) .331 (+9%) .634 (+6%) 479.5
1887 LS2 AA 137 569 103 160 27 13 2 102 45 34 19 .281 .270 (+4%) .331 (avg) .373 (+3%) .705 (+1%) 85.3
1888 LS2 AA 128 538 80 154 28 11 0 67 41 25 30 .286 .238 (+20%) .290 (+10%) .319 (+19%) .610 (+15%) 1201.5
1889 LS2 AA 130 546 72 159 20 9 3 57 18 29 34 .291 .263 (+10%) .334 (avg) .357 (+5%) .691 (+3%) 149.0
1890 LS2 AA 134 543 100 197 29 11 4 98 46 43 0 .363 .260 (+39%) .336 (+25%) .351 (+36%) .687 (+31%) 3289.2
1891 LS2 AA 136 528 67 135 16 8 1 81 13 42 36 .256 .254 (+1%) .331 (-3%) .343 (-6%) .675 (-5%) -414.8
1892 SLN NL 3 14 1 2 0 0 0 1 0 0 1 .143 — — — — 0.0
Career · 11 seasons 1,196 4,959 779 1,439 212 109 18 592 186 229 120 .290 — — — — 8,060

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

Chicken Wolf — Career Pitching Statistics
W L G GS CG SHO SV IP H ER HR BB SO ERA Pitcher PIV
0 0 3 0 0 0 0 10.0 19 12 0 3 2 10.80 0.0

Career ERA 10.80 vs. league average 3.12 across their career seasons — 246.2% worse than league average.

Season-by-Season Pitching

Pitching Career Arc

Click a stat to plot it across every season.

Chicken Wolf — Season-by-Season Pitching
Year Team Lg W L G GS CG SHO SV IP H ER BB SO ERA Lg ERA Pitcher PIV
1882 LS2 AA 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 6.0 11 6 3 1 9.00 — 0.0
1885 LS2 AA 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 1.0 1 1 0 1 9.00 — 0.0
1886 LS2 AA 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 3.0 7 5 0 0 15.00 — 0.0
Career · 3 seasons 0 0 3 0 0 0 0 10.0 19 12 3 2 10.80 — 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.

Postseason Statistics

Playoff Career Batting

Chicken Wolf — Playoff Career Batting
G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO AVG
7 25 4 9 3 1 0 8 3 0 .360

Playoff Batting by Year

Chicken Wolf — Playoff Batting by Year
Year Round Team G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO AVG
1890 WS LS2 7 25 4 9 3 1 0 8 3 0 .360

Fielding Statistics

Career Fielding Totals by Position

Chicken Wolf — Career Fielding Totals by Position
Position G GS PO A E DP
1B 43 0 361 13 20 31
2B 15 0 34 44 9 3
3B 26 0 28 54 15 2
C 39 0 133 45 25 3
OF 1040 0 1642 228 167 42
P 3 0 1 2 1 0
SS 64 0 107 194 67 16

Season-by-Season Fielding

Chicken Wolf — Season-by-Season Fielding
Year Team Pos G GS PO A E DP
1882 LS2 1B 1 0 13 0 2 0
1882 LS2 OF 70 0 71 21 10 2
1882 LS2 P 1 0 0 0 0 0
1882 LS2 SS 9 0 14 24 9 1
1883 LS2 2B 1 0 0 0 0 0
1883 LS2 C 20 0 84 25 11 1
1883 LS2 OF 78 0 157 29 23 6
1883 LS2 SS 5 0 3 12 8 2
1884 LS2 1B 1 0 16 0 0 0
1884 LS2 3B 1 0 0 0 2 0
1884 LS2 C 11 0 37 13 6 0
1884 LS2 OF 101 0 173 26 26 4
1884 LS2 SS 1 0 1 4 1 0
1885 LS2 3B 1 0 1 3 1 0
1885 LS2 C 2 0 2 1 1 1
1885 LS2 OF 111 0 180 19 18 4
1885 LS2 P 1 0 1 0 0 0
1886 LS2 1B 8 0 64 3 5 7
1886 LS2 2B 1 0 0 4 1 0
1886 LS2 C 3 0 6 3 4 1
1886 LS2 OF 122 0 197 28 16 5
1886 LS2 P 1 0 0 2 1 0
1887 LS2 1B 11 0 95 4 9 6
1887 LS2 OF 128 0 207 27 15 5
1888 LS2 1B 1 0 3 0 0 0
1888 LS2 3B 4 0 7 15 2 0
1888 LS2 C 3 0 4 3 3 0
1888 LS2 OF 85 0 113 19 17 4
1888 LS2 SS 39 0 62 131 41 9
1889 LS2 1B 16 0 135 5 3 14
1889 LS2 2B 13 0 34 40 8 3
1889 LS2 3B 7 0 7 12 6 0
1889 LS2 OF 88 0 159 16 10 2
1889 LS2 SS 10 0 27 23 8 4
1890 LS2 3B 12 0 11 22 4 1
1890 LS2 OF 123 0 199 16 14 5
1891 LS2 1B 5 0 35 1 1 4
1891 LS2 3B 1 0 2 2 0 1
1891 LS2 OF 131 0 185 27 18 5
1892 SLN OF 3 0 1 0 0 0

Career Games by Position

Position Diamond

Circle size = games played at each position.

Chicken Wolf Stats, Bio & Career Records
Position Games
Pitcher 3
Catcher 39
First Base 43
Second Base 15
Third Base 26
Shortstop 64
Left Field 17
Center Field 3
Right Field 1024

Most Similar Players

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

Career Spans

Chicken Wolf (highlighted) compared to peers across the same era.

  1. 98
    Duff Cooley
    .294 avg, 26 HR
  2. 93
    Les Mann
    .282 avg, 44 HR
  3. 90
    Hi Myers
    .281 avg, 32 HR
  4. 90
    Lou Finney
    .287 avg, 31 HR
  5. 89
    Lance Johnson
    .291 avg, 34 HR
  6. 88
    Jack McCarthy
    .287 avg, 8 HR

Chicken Wolf: the record in brief

Chicken Wolf played a first major league game on May 2, 1882 and a last one on August 21, 1892. Club by club, the record runs the Louisville Eclipse (1882 to 1884), the Louisville Colonels (1885 through 1891), and the St. Louis Browns (1892). At 5-foot-9 and 190 pounds, Wolf is listed as an outfielder. Wolf both batted and threw right-handed, per the bio block. The recorded birth is May 12, 1862, in Louisville, KY, USA. Wolf's death is recorded on May 16, 1903, in Louisville, KY, USA. The given name on file is William Van Winkle Wolf.

Wolf collected 1,439 hits in 4,959 at bats across 1,196 games, good for a .290 batting average, adding 18 homers, 592 runs batted in, and 186 stolen bases. Reaching base at a .327 clip and slugging .388, Wolf finished with a .715 OPS. The league as a whole hit .252 across Wolf's seasons, which puts the .290 career mark 15.0% above average.

Frequently Asked Questions about Chicken Wolf

What years did Chicken Wolf play?
Chicken Wolf played in Major League Baseball from 1882 to 1892.
Was Chicken Wolf a pitcher?
No. Chicken Wolf was a position player (Outfielder), though he did pitch in 3 career games.
How many home runs did Chicken Wolf hit?
Chicken Wolf hit 18 career home runs with 1439 hits.
What was Chicken Wolf's career batting average?
Chicken Wolf batted .290 over his career, with 1,439 hits in 4,959 at bats.
How many RBI did Chicken Wolf have?
Chicken Wolf drove in 592 runs in his career.
What was Chicken Wolf's career ERA?
Chicken Wolf finished with a 10.80 career ERA, going 0-0 with 2 strikeouts.