Grover Alexander Stats

Grover Alexander was born on Saturday, February 26, 1887, in Elba, Nebraska. Alexander was 24 years old when he broke into the big leagues on April 15, 1911, with the Philadelphia Phillies. His biographical data, year-by-year hitting stats, fielding stats, pitching stats (where applicable), career totals, uniform numbers, salary data and miscellaneous items-of-interest are presented by Baseball Almanac on this comprehensive Grover Alexander baseball stats page.

Baseball Almanac Top Quote

"He (Grover Alexander) could pitch into a tin can. His control was always remarkable — the finest I have ever seen." - Rice, Grantland. Sportswriter. Winningest Pitchers: Baseball's 300-Game Winners. Westcott, Rich. Author. Temple University Publishers. 1 July 2002. Page 89. [Grover Alexander Quotes]

Grover Alexander



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Birth Name:   Grover Cleveland Alexander
Nickname:   Pete or Old Pete or Ole' Pete
Born On:   02-26-1887  (Pisces)
Place of Birth Data Born In:   Elba, Nebraska
Year of Death Data Died On:   11-04-1950 (1,000 Oldest Living)
Place of Death Data Died In:   St. Paul, Nebraska
Cemetery:   Elmwood Cemetery, St. Paul, Nebraska Click For Grave Photo
High School:   St. Paul High School (St. Paul, NE)
College:   None Attended
Batting Stances Chart Bats:   Right   Throwing Arms Chart Throws:   Right
Player Height Chart Height:   6-01   Player Weight Chart Weight:   185
First Game:   04-15-1911 (Age 24)
Last Game:   05-28-1930
Draft:   Not Applicable

Grover Alexander

Grover Alexander Pitching Stats

1911 24 Phillies 48 37 11 28 13 .683 2.57 31 7 3 367.0 1,475 285 105 133 5 129 - 227 4 8 1 -
1912 25 Phillies 46 34 10 19 17 .528 2.81 25 3 3 310.1 1,290 289 97 133 11 105 - 195 5 6 0 -
1913 26 Phillies 47 36 9 22 8 .733 2.79 23 9 2 306.1 1,234 288 95 106 9 75 - 159 3 3 0 -
1914 27 Phillies 46 39 7 27 15 .643 2.38 32 6 1 355.0 1,459 327 94 133 8 76 - 214 1 11 0 -
1915 28 Phillies 49 42 7 31 10 .756 1.22 36 12 3 376.1 1,435 253 51 86 3 64 - 241 2 10 0 -
1916 29 Phillies 48 45 3 33 12 .733 1.55 38 16 3 389.0 1,500 323 67 90 6 50 - 167 3 10 0 -
1917 30 Phillies 45 44 0 30 13 .698 1.83 34 8 0 388.0 1,529 336 79 107 4 56 - 200 2 6 0 -
1918 31 Cubs 3 3 0 2 1 .667 1.73 3 0 0 26.0 98 19 5 7 0 3 - 15 0 1 0 0
1919 32 Cubs 30 27 3 16 11 .593 1.72 20 9 1 235.0 906 180 45 51 3 38 - 121 1 0 0 -
1920 33 Cubs 46 40 6 27 14 .659 1.91 33 7 5 363.1 1,447 335 77 96 8 69 - 173 3 1 0 -
1921 34 Cubs 31 29 1 15 13 .536 3.39 21 3 1 252.0 1,033 286 95 110 10 33 - 77 1 1 0 -
1922 35 Cubs 33 31 2 16 13 .552 3.63 20 1 1 245.2 1,014 283 99 111 8 34 - 48 4 3 0 -
1923 36 Cubs 39 36 2 22 12 .647 3.19 26 3 2 305.0 1,246 308 108 128 17 30 - 72 2 0 0 -
1924 37 Cubs 21 20 0 12 5 .706 3.03 12 0 0 169.1 708 183 57 82 9 25 - 33 1 1 0 -
1925 38 Cubs 32 30 1 15 11 .577 3.39 20 1 0 236.0 977 270 89 106 14 29 - 63 1 3 0 -
1926 39 Cubs 7 7 0 3 3 .500 3.46 4 0 0 52.0 218 55 20 26 0 7 - 12 0 0 0 0
1926 39 Cardinals 23 16 7 9 7 .563 2.91 11 2 2 148.1 597 136 48 57 8 24 - 35 0 2 0 -
1927 40 Cardinals 37 30 4 21 10 .677 2.52 22 2 3 268.0 1,082 261 75 94 11 38 - 48 1 1 0 -
1928 41 Cardinals 34 31 2 16 9 .640 3.36 18 1 2 243.2 1,009 262 91 106 15 37 - 59 3 2 0 -
1929 42 Cardinals 22 19 3 9 8 .529 3.89 8 0 0 132.0 562 149 57 65 10 23 - 33 2 1 0 -
1930 43 Phillies 9 3 2 0 3 .000 9.14 0 0 0 21.2 109 40 22 24 5 6 - 6 0 0 0 -
20 Years 696 599 80 373 208 .642 2.56 437 90 32 5,190.0 20,928 4,868 1,476 1,851 164 951 - 2,198 39 70 1 0

Grover Alexander

Grover Alexander Hitting Stats

1911 24 Phillies 50 138 12 24 5 1 0 0 9 2 0 27 0 0 0 0 .174 .186 .225
1912 25 Phillies 46 102 7 19 4 0 2 0 13 6 0 14 9 0 0 0 .186 .231 .284
1913 26 Phillies 47 103 9 13 4 1 0 0 4 3 0 21 3 0 0 0 .126 .151 .184
1914 27 Phillies 48 137 18 32 3 0 0 0 7 3 0 12 2 0 1 0 .234 .255 .255
1915 28 Phillies 49 130 9 22 3 0 1 0 8 6 0 23 5 0 0 0 .169 .206 .215
1916 29 Phillies 49 138 10 33 7 4 0 0 9 5 0 15 3 0 0 0 .239 .266 .348
1917 30 Phillies 47 139 17 30 8 2 1 0 13 3 0 23 7 0 0 0 .216 .232 .324
1918 31 Cubs 3 10 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 .100 .100 .100
1919 32 Cubs 30 70 6 12 1 0 0 0 4 10 0 18 4 0 0 0 .171 .275 .186
1920 33 Cubs 46 118 9 27 4 1 1 0 14 11 0 26 6 0 0 0 .229 .295 .305
1921 34 Cubs 31 95 8 29 3 1 1 0 14 2 0 13 5 0 0 0 .305 .320 .389
1922 35 Cubs 33 85 4 15 1 0 0 0 11 6 0 16 4 0 0 0 .176 .231 .188
1923 36 Cubs 39 111 10 24 3 1 1 0 10 1 0 11 7 0 0 0 .216 .223 .288
1924 37 Cubs 21 65 3 15 2 0 1 0 10 2 0 8 4 0 0 0 .231 .254 .308
1925 38 Cubs 32 79 7 19 4 1 2 0 12 1 0 5 9 0 0 0 .241 .250 .392
1926 39 Cubs 7 15 1 7 2 0 0 0 3 0 0 1 3 0 0 0 .467 .467 .600
1926 39 Cardinals 23 50 1 6 1 0 0 0 3 2 0 14 3 0 0 0 .120 .154 .140
1927 40 Cardinals 37 94 7 23 3 1 0 0 6 5 0 14 3 0 0 0 .245 .283 .298
1928 41 Cardinals 34 86 13 25 2 0 1 0 11 4 0 8 8 0 0 0 .291 .322 .349
1929 42 Cardinals 22 41 2 2 0 0 0 0 2 3 0 5 3 0 1 0 .049 .133 .049
1930 43 Phillies 9 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 .333 .000
20 Years 703 1,810 154 378 60 13 11 0 163 77 0 276 88 0 2 0 .209 .242 .275

Grover Alexander

Grover Alexander Fielding Stats

1911 Phillies P 48 37 1,101 110 2.3 106 11 95 4 3 n/a n/a n/a .964 2.60
1912 Phillies P 46 34 931 88 1.9 85 10 75 3 1 n/a n/a n/a .966 2.47
1913 Phillies P 47 36 919 92 2.0 92 10 82 0 3 n/a n/a n/a 1.000 2.70
1914 Phillies LF 1 0 5 0 0.0 0 0 0 0 0 n/a n/a n/a .000 0.00
1914 Phillies P 46 39 1,065 123 2.7 120 18 102 3 1 n/a n/a n/a .976 3.04
1915 Phillies P 49 42 1,129 145 3.0 142 22 120 3 4 n/a n/a n/a .979 3.40
1916 Phillies P 48 45 1,167 120 2.5 119 17 102 1 3 n/a n/a n/a .992 2.75
1917 Phillies P 45 44 1,164 133 3.0 132 24 108 1 3 n/a n/a n/a .992 3.06
1918 Cubs P 3 3 78 8 2.7 8 0 8 0 0 n/a n/a n/a 1.000 2.77
1919 Cubs P 30 27 705 91 3.0 91 6 85 0 2 n/a n/a n/a 1.000 3.49
1920 Cubs P 46 40 1,090 115 2.5 113 8 105 2 2 n/a n/a n/a .983 2.80
1921 Cubs P 31 29 756 73 2.4 71 11 60 2 4 n/a n/a n/a .973 2.54
1922 Cubs P 33 31 737 78 2.4 78 9 69 0 5 n/a n/a n/a 1.000 2.86
1923 Cubs P 39 36 915 102 2.6 101 11 90 1 6 n/a n/a n/a .990 2.98
1924 Cubs P 21 20 508 59 2.8 57 4 53 2 2 n/a n/a n/a .966 3.03
1925 Cubs P 32 30 708 52 1.6 52 7 45 0 4 n/a n/a n/a 1.000 1.98
1926 Cubs P 7 7 156 20 2.9 20 1 19 0 0 n/a n/a n/a 1.000 3.46
1926 Cardinals P 23 16 445 43 1.9 41 2 39 2 1 n/a n/a n/a .953 2.49
1927 Cardinals P 37 30 804 74 2.0 74 8 66 0 1 n/a n/a n/a 1.000 2.49
1928 Cardinals P 34 31 731 61 1.8 61 4 57 0 3 n/a n/a n/a 1.000 2.25
1929 Cardinals P 22 19 396 44 2.0 43 5 38 1 2 n/a n/a n/a .977 2.93
1930 Phillies P 9 3 65 2 0.2 2 1 1 0 0 n/a n/a n/a 1.000 0.83
P Totals 696 599 15,570 1,633 2.3 1,608 189 1,419 25 50 n/a n/a n/a .985 2.79
LF Totals 1 0 5 0 0.0 0 0 0 0 0 n/a n/a n/a .000 0.00
20 Years 697 599 15,575 1,633 2.3 1,608 189 1,419 25 50 n/a n/a n/a .985 2.79

Grover Alexander

Grover Alexander Miscellaneous Stats

1911 Phillies 1 0 1.000 0 0 n/a 0.0 5.1 15.3 1.76 5.57 3.16
1912 Phillies 0 0 .000 0 0 n/a 51.0 7.3 7.8 1.86 5.66 3.05
1913 Phillies 0 0 .000 0 0 n/a 0.0 4.9 25.8 2.12 4.67 2.20
1914 Phillies 0 0 .000 0 0 n/a 0.0 11.4 19.6 2.82 5.43 1.93
1915 Phillies 0 1 .000 0 0 n/a 130.0 5.7 16.3 3.77 5.76 1.53
1916 Phillies 1 0 1.000 0 0 n/a 0.0 9.2 15.3 3.34 3.86 1.16
1917 Phillies 1 0 1.000 0 0 n/a 139.0 6.0 10.7 3.57 4.64 1.30
1918 Cubs 0 0 .000 0 0 n/a 0.0 5.0 0.0 5.00 5.19 1.04
1919 Cubs 0 0 .000 0 0 n/a 0.0 3.9 17.5 3.18 4.63 1.46
1920 Cubs 0 0 .000 0 0 n/a 118.0 4.5 8.4 2.51 4.29 1.71
1921 Cubs 0 1 .000 0 0 n/a 95.0 7.3 6.8 2.33 2.75 1.18
1922 Cubs 0 0 .000 0 0 n/a 0.0 5.3 7.7 1.41 1.76 1.25
1923 Cubs 0 0 .000 0 0 n/a 111.0 10.1 11.1 2.40 2.12 0.89
1924 Cubs 0 1 .000 0 0 n/a 65.0 8.1 6.5 1.32 1.75 1.33
1925 Cubs 0 2 .000 0 0 n/a 39.5 15.8 6.6 2.17 2.40 1.11
1926 Cubs 0 0 .000 0 0 n/a 0.0 15.0 5.0 1.71 2.08 1.21
1926 Cardinals 0 0 .000 0 0 n/a 0.0 3.6 16.7 1.46 2.12 1.46
1927 Cardinals 0 0 .000 0 0 n/a 0.0 6.7 15.7 1.26 1.61 1.28
1928 Cardinals 0 0 .000 0 0 n/a 86.0 10.8 7.8 1.59 2.18 1.37
1929 Cardinals 0 0 .000 0 0 n/a 0.0 8.2 20.5 1.43 2.25 1.57
1930 Phillies 0 0 .000 0 0 n/a 0.0 0.0 0.0 1.00 2.49 2.49
20 Years 3 5 .375 0 0 n/a 164.5 6.6 11.1 2.31 3.81 1.65

Grover Alexander

Grover Alexander Miscellaneous Items of Interest

1911 Philadelphia Phillies n/a $1,500.00 n/a -
1912 Philadelphia Phillies n/a $2,000.00 n/a -
1913 Philadelphia Phillies n/a $4,500.00 n/a -
1914 Philadelphia Phillies n/a $7,000.00 n/a -
1915 Philadelphia Phillies n/a $7,000.00 n/a Stats
1916 Philadelphia Phillies n/a $7,000.00 n/a -
1917 Philadelphia Phillies n/a $12,500.00 n/a -
1918 Chicago Cubs n/a $8,000.00 n/a -
1919 Chicago Cubs n/a $11,400.00 n/a -
1920 Chicago Cubs n/a $12,000.00 n/a -
1921 Chicago Cubs n/a $12,000.00 n/a -
1922 Chicago Cubs n/a $12,000.00 n/a -
1923 Chicago Cubs n/a $12,000.00 n/a -
1924 Chicago Cubs n/a $12,000.00 n/a -
1925 Chicago Cubs n/a $9,000.00 n/a -
1926 Chicago Cubs n/a $12,000.00 n/a Stats
1926 St. Louis Cardinals n/a "     "     n/a Stats
1927 St. Louis Cardinals n/a $14,500.00 n/a -
1928 St. Louis Cardinals n/a $15,000.00 n/a Stats
1929 St. Louis Cardinals n/a $7,500.00 n/a -
1930 Philadelphia Phillies n/a $7,500.00 n/a -

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baseball almanac fast facts

Grover Cleveland Alexander was a Major League Baseball player who pitched for the Philadelphia Phillies (1911-1917), Chicago Cubs (1918-1926), St. Louis Cardinals (1926-1929), and Philadelphia Phillies (1930). Old Pete, his nickname, was not just one of the best pitchers to ever put on a pair of cleats, he was one of the greatest players in Major League Baseball history:

Grover Alexander was drafted into the United States Army during World War I and spent most of the 1918 season in France as a Sergeant with the 342nd Field Artillery? During combat, a shell exploded near him causing partial hearing loss and triggering the onset of epilepsy. Following his return from the War, Alexander suffered from shell shock and was plagued with epileptic seizures, which only exacerbated the problems he already was experiencing with alcohol.

Ty Cobb once commented (Cobb: A Biography, Algonquin Books, 01/03/1996, Al Stump, Page 16), "Grover Cleveland Alexander wasn't drunk out there on the mound, the way people thought. He was an epileptic. Old Pete would fall down with a seizure between innings, then go back and pitch another shutout."

Grover Alexander Baseball Card

Grover Alexander | 1972 Fleer Baseball Card (#13)
Baseball Almanac Research Library

Did you know that Grover Alexander holds the National League records for most shutouts in a career (90), most shutouts in a season (16), and most seasons leading his league in shutouts (7)? [Shutout Records] Join Baseball Almanac as we share some additional numbers of interest from "the back of his baseball card:"

3 - Grover Alexander was a Triple Crown Pitcher three times, tied for the most in baseball history. A Triple Crown of Pitching is "awarded" to the pitcher who leads, or ties, his league in three major pitching areas: 1: wins 2: strikeouts and 3: earned run average. [Triple Crown of Pitching]

8 - Grover Alexander won 8 games on Opening Day, the most by any pitcher in the National League, one shy of the Major League record set by Walter Johnson, who had 9 Opening Day wins, all in the American League. [Most Wins on Opening Day]

12 - Grover Alexander was ranked the twelfth greatest by The Sporting News when they released their list of the 100 Greatest Baseball Players in the history of baseball.

373 - Grover Alexander won 373 games in the National League, tied with Christy Mathewson - no pitcher has ever won more in the senior circuit. [Wins Records]

1981 - Grover Alexander was added to the Philadelphia Phillies Wall of Fame in 1981. His plaque reads. "Three-time 30-game winner, earning 31, 33, 30 victories from 1915-1917. In those three years was 1.22, 1.55, 1.83. Broke in with Phillies with 28 wins. Set Major League record in 1916 with 16 shutouts. With Phillies, led National League in innings pitched six times, working more than 300 innings every year. Led NL in wins, strikeouts, complete games, shutouts each five times. Phillies record: 190-91, club-record 61 shutouts. Ranks second in complete games, third in wins, innings pitched. Entered Baseball Hall of Fame in 1938.

Grover Alexander Hall of Fame Plaque

Grover Alexander | National Baseball Hall of Fame Plaque | Class of 1938 (HOF)

The Baseball Writers' Association of America passed over Grover Alexander in 1936 (24.3%) and 1937 (62.2%). In 1938, Old Pete was selected by 80.92% of the writers (19.08% of the writers chose not to vote for him), making him the fourth pitcher with a plaque in Cooperstown, joining Walter Johnson (Class of 1936, 83.63%), Christy Mathewson (Class of 1936, 90.71%), and Cy Young (Class of 1937, 76.12%).