Johnny Wright
Pitcher · Career Stats, Bio & Records
Johnny Wright was a pitcher who played in Major League Baseball for 5 teams, including the Newark Eagles. Across 109 career appearances, he went 44-23 with a 3.24 ERA and 347 strikeouts. He also batted .140 with 0 home runs. Johnny Wright was a 3-time All-Star. 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 15137.5.
- 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
- 5'11" / 175 lb
- Died
- 5/10/1990 in Jackson, MS, USA
- Awards
- 3× All-Star
Full name: John Richard Wright
Negro Leagues Career Statistics
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-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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1937 | NE | NN2 | 2 | 1 | 6 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 32.0 | 40 | 19 | 9 | 19 | 5.34 | 4.34 (-23%) | 210.2 |
| 1938 | NE | NN2 | 1 | 2 | 7 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 35.1 | 27 | 18 | 21 | 17 | 4.58 | 4.35 (-5%) | -16.7 |
| 1939 | NE | NN2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 9.0 | 8 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 3.00 | 4.28 (+30%) | 0.0 |
| 1939 | TC2 | NN2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1.1 | 6 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 33.75 | — | 0.0 |
| 1939 | TC | NAL | 1 | 3 | 5 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 28.1 | 31 | 13 | 7 | 13 | 4.13 | 4.28 (+4%) | 992.1 |
| 1940 | TIC | NAL | 1 | 6 | 7 | 7 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 52.2 | 41 | 15 | 10 | 29 | 2.56 | 4.21 (+39%) | 2091.6 |
| 1941 | HG | NN2 | 6 | 0 | 10 | 5 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 55.2 | 38 | 17 | 20 | 29 | 2.75 | 3.94 (+30%) | 227.3 |
| 1942 | HG | NN2 | 4 | 2 | 17 | 7 | 4 | 0 | 3 | 78.0 | 75 | 30 | 22 | 43 | 3.46 | 3.57 (+3%) | 1813.5 |
| 1943 | HG | NN2 | 18 | 3 | 31 | 23 | 15 | 3 | 1 | 189.0 | 169 | 53 | 43 | 99 | 2.52 | 3.50 (+28%) | 5410.8 |
| 1944 | HG | NN2 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 14.1 | 15 | 11 | 5 | 9 | 6.91 | 3.57 (-93%) | 397.4 |
| 1945 | HG | NN2 | 4 | 0 | 6 | 5 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 43.2 | 37 | 7 | 10 | 22 | 1.44 | 3.67 (+61%) | 1172.8 |
| 1945 | NE | NN2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2.0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0.00 | — | 0.0 |
| 1947 | HG | NN2 | 4 | 5 | 14 | 11 | 7 | 1 | 0 | 89.2 | 86 | 36 | 28 | 63 | 3.61 | 3.97 (+9%) | 2838.5 |
| Career · 13 seasons | 44 | 23 | 109 | 73 | 45 | 8 | 4 | 631.0 | 573 | 227 | 180 | 347 | 3.24 | — | 15,138 | ||
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 112 | 243 | 20 | 34 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 12 | 1 | 10 | 8 | .140 | .174 | .169 | .343 | -352 |
Career AVG .140 vs. league average .265 across their career seasons — 47.1% below league average.
Career OBP .174 vs. league average .333 across their career seasons — 47.8% below league average.
Career SLG .169 vs. league average .373 across their career seasons — 54.8% below league average.
Career OPS .343 vs. league average .706 across their career seasons — 51.5% below 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1937 | NE | NN2 | 6 | 11 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .091 | — | — | — | — | 0.0 |
| 1938 | NE | NN2 | 7 | 13 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | .077 | — | — | — | — | 0.0 |
| 1939 | NE | NN2 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .250 | — | — | — | — | 0.0 |
| 1939 | TC2 | NN2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | — | — | — | — | 0.0 |
| 1939 | TC | NAL | 5 | 10 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | .200 | — | — | — | — | 0.0 |
| 1940 | TIC | NAL | 8 | 20 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | .050 | — | — | — | — | 0.0 |
| 1941 | HG | NN2 | 10 | 20 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | .000 | — | — | — | — | 0.0 |
| 1942 | HG | NN2 | 18 | 27 | 2 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | .185 | — | — | — | — | 0.0 |
| 1943 | HG | NN2 | 32 | 76 | 10 | 14 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 3 | 5 | .184 | .255 (-28%) | .324 (-34%) | .346 (-24%) | .671 (-29%) | -352.3 |
| 1944 | HG | NN2 | 3 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | — | — | — | — | 0.0 |
| 1945 | HG | NN2 | 6 | 21 | 3 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 3 | .190 | — | — | — | — | 0.0 |
| 1945 | NE | NN2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | — | — | — | — | 0.0 |
| 1947 | HG | NN2 | 14 | 34 | 1 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .147 | — | — | — | — | 0.0 |
| Career · 13 seasons | 112 | 243 | 20 | 34 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 12 | 1 | 10 | 8 | .140 | — | — | — | — | -352 | ||
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
Playoff Batting by Year
| Year | Round | Team | G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | BB | SO | AVG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1945 | NWS | HG | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | .000 |
| 1943 | NWS | HG | 5 | 10 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | .300 |
| 1942 | NWS | HG | 2 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 |
Playoff Career Pitching
| W | L | G | GS | SV | IP | H | ER | BB | SO | ERA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2 | 3 | 8 | 5 | 0 | 46.0 | 47 | 14 | 16 | 36 | 2.74 |
Playoff Pitching by Year
Game Log & Splits
View full game log (208 games) →Per-game data from Retrosheet (regular season, through 2025).
Batting — Home / Away
| Split | G | AB | R | H | HR | RBI | AVG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Home | 60 | 85 | 9 | 13 | 0 | 4 | .153 |
| Away | 47 | 76 | 5 | 7 | 0 | 1 | .092 |
Pitching — Home / Away
| Split | G | IP | H | ER | BB | SO | ERA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Home | 56 | 334.2 | 237 | 48 | 66 | 118 | 1.29 |
| Away | 45 | 237.0 | 273 | 37 | 61 | 97 | 1.41 |
Last 10 Games — Batting
| Date | Tm | Opp | Res | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | BB | SO |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1949-08-08 | NY6 | IN9 | W | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 1947-09-02 | HOM | BLG | L | 4 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1947-08-29 | HOM | NW2 | W | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1947-08-19 | HOM | BLG | L | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1947-07-20 | HOM | NY6 | L | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1947-07-16 | HOM | NW2 | W | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1947-07-13 | HOM | NW2 | W | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1947-07-04 | HOM | BLG | W | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1947-06-27 | HOM | PH5 | W | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1947-06-26 | HOM | PH5 | L | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Last 10 Games — Pitching
| Date | Tm | Opp | Dec | IP | H | R | ER | BB | SO | HR |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1949-08-08 | NY6 | IN9 | W | 7.1 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 5 | 0 |
| 1947-09-02 | HOM | BLG | — | 8.0 | 10 | 8 | 0 | 5 | 6 | 0 |
| 1947-08-29 | HOM | NW2 | W | 9.0 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 4 | 0 |
| 1947-08-19 | HOM | BLG | L | 8.0 | 9 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 5 | 0 |
| 1947-07-20 | HOM | NY6 | L | 7.0 | 11 | 7 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 1 |
| 1947-07-16 | HOM | NW2 | — | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1947-07-13 | HOM | NW2 | W | 9.0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 5 | 0 |
| 1947-07-04 | HOM | BLG | W | 7.0 | 7 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1947-06-27 | HOM | PH5 | W | 9.0 | 8 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1947-06-26 | HOM | PH5 | — | 0.1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
Fielding Statistics
Career Fielding Totals by Position
| Position | G | GS | PO | A | E | DP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| OF | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| P | 109 | 73 | 9 | 151 | 6 | 4 |
Season-by-Season Fielding
| Year | Team | Pos | G | GS | PO | A | E | DP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1937 | NE | P | 6 | 4 | 1 | 8 | 0 | 0 |
| 1938 | NE | P | 7 | 4 | 1 | 9 | 1 | 0 |
| 1939 | NE | P | 1 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 |
| 1939 | TC2 | P | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1939 | TC | P | 5 | 3 | 0 | 8 | 1 | 0 |
| 1940 | TIC | OF | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1940 | TIC | P | 7 | 7 | 0 | 11 | 0 | 0 |
| 1941 | HG | P | 10 | 5 | 2 | 15 | 0 | 1 |
| 1942 | HG | OF | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1942 | HG | P | 17 | 7 | 0 | 16 | 1 | 1 |
| 1943 | HG | P | 31 | 23 | 3 | 39 | 2 | 2 |
| 1944 | HG | P | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 1945 | HG | P | 6 | 5 | 1 | 13 | 0 | 0 |
| 1945 | NE | P | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| 1947 | HG | P | 14 | 11 | 1 | 25 | 1 | 0 |
Career Games by Position
Circle size = games played at each position.
| Position | Games |
|---|---|
| Pitcher | 109 |
| Center Field | 2 |
Most Similar Players
Career comps based on counting + rate stats and primary position. Score is relative — closest peer anchors at ~98%.
Johnny Wright: the record in brief
The season rows for Johnny Wright begin in 1937. Wright played for the Newark Eagles (1937 to 1945), the Toledo Crawfords (1939), the Toledo-Indianapolis Crawfords (1940), and the Homestead Grays (1941 to 1947). Wright, born on November 28, 1916, in New Orleans, LA, USA, is listed as a pitcher and threw and hit right-handed. Size on record: 175 pounds on a 5-foot-11 frame. Wright's death is recorded on May 10, 1990, in Jackson, MS, USA. Wright's full given name, per the bio, is John Richard Wright.
Wright went 44-23 with a 3.24 ERA in 109 games, 73 of them starts. Wright had 347 strikeouts, 45 complete games, and 8 shutouts. That 3.24 ERA compares with a 3.94 league average across the same seasons, 17.8% better. 1943 brought Wright a season-high 18 wins. Among the heaviest workloads, the lowest ERA was 2.52 in 1943, when the league's was 3.50. Wright's career Pitcher PIV, which scores run prevention against each season's league, is 15,137.5.
Frequently Asked Questions about Johnny Wright
- Was Johnny Wright a pitcher?
- Yes. Johnny Wright pitched in the major leagues, recording 44 wins and 347 strikeouts.
- How many home runs did Johnny Wright hit?
- Johnny Wright hit 0 career home runs with 34 hits.
- What teams did Johnny Wright play for?
- Johnny Wright played for 3 teams: the Newark Eagles (1937–1939, 1945), the Toledo-Indianapolis Crawfords (1939–1940), and the Homestead Grays (1941–1945, 1947).
- What awards did Johnny Wright win?
- Johnny Wright was selected to 3 All-Star Games.
- What were Johnny Wright's career stats?
- In 109 games, Johnny Wright went 44-23 with a 3.24 ERA, 347 strikeouts, 631.0 innings pitched, and 4 saves. At the plate he had 34 hits and 0 home runs.
- What position did Johnny Wright play?
- Johnny Wright played primarily as a pitcher, the position where he appeared in the most games.
- How tall was Johnny Wright and how much did he weigh?
- Johnny Wright was listed at 5 feet 11 inches and 175 pounds.
- What was Johnny Wright's career ERA?
- Johnny Wright finished with a 3.24 career ERA, going 44-23 with 347 strikeouts.
- How many strikeouts did Johnny Wright have?
- Johnny Wright recorded 347 career strikeouts.
- Is Johnny Wright in the Hall of Fame?
- No. Johnny Wright has not been inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame.
- How many All-Star Games did Johnny Wright make?
- Johnny Wright was selected to 3 All-Star Games.