Ripper Collins was born on Wednesday, March 30, 1904, in Altoona, Pennsylvania. Collins was 27 years old when he broke into the big leagues on April 18, 1931, with the St. Louis Cardinals. 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 Ripper Collins baseball stats page.
"One of the most popular members of the Cardinals' famed 'Gas House Gang' teams of the early 1930s, James 'Ripper' Collins spent eight long years in the minor leagues before he finally arrived in St. Louis in 1931. Once he did, however, Collins quickly established himself as one of the team's most potent batsmen, rivaling Joe Medwick during his six seasons in St. Louis, the switch-hitting Collins batted over .300 four times, led the Cardinals in home runs three times, and topped them in RBIs twice. In helping St. Louis win two world championships, Collins also earned All-Star honors twice and one top-ten finish in the National League Most Valuable Player voting." - Author Robert W. Cohen in The 50 Greatest Players in St. Louis Cardinals History (Scarecrow Press, August 22, 2013, "No. 41 Ripper Collins", Page 283)
Ripper Collins |
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Ripper CollinsRipper Collins Pitching Stats |
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| Year | Age | Team | G | GS | GF | W | L | PCT | ERA | CG | SHO | SV | IP | BFP | H | ER | R | HR | BB | IBB | SO | WP | HB | BK | HLD |
| - | - | Did Not Pitch | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Career | G | GS | GF | W | L | PCT | ERA | CG | SHO | SV | IP | BFP | H | ER | R | HR | BB | IBB | SO | WP | HB | BK | HLD | ||
Ripper CollinsRipper Collins Hitting Stats |
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| Year | Age | Team | G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | GRSL | RBI | BB | IBB | SO | SH | SF | HBP | GIDP | AVG | OBP | SLG |
| 1931 | 27 | Cardinals | 89 | 279 | 34 | 84 | 20 | 10 | 4 | 0 | 59 | 18 | 0 | 24 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 1 | .301 | .350 | .487 |
| 1932 | 28 | Cardinals | 149 | 549 | 82 | 153 | 28 | 8 | 21 | 0 | 91 | 38 | 0 | 67 | 8 | 0 | 3 | 7 | .279 | .329 | .474 |
| 1933 | 29 | Cardinals | 132 | 493 | 66 | 153 | 26 | 7 | 10 | 0 | 68 | 38 | 0 | 49 | 8 | 0 | 3 | 13 | .310 | .363 | .452 |
| 1934 | 30 | Cardinals | 154 | 600 | 116 | 200 | 40 | 12 | 35 | 0 | 128 | 57 | 2 | 50 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 11 | .333 | .393 | .615 |
| 1935 | 31 | Cardinals | 150 | 578 | 109 | 181 | 36 | 10 | 23 | 1 | 122 | 65 | 2 | 45 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 5 | .313 | .385 | .529 |
| 1936 | 32 | Cardinals | 103 | 277 | 48 | 81 | 15 | 3 | 13 | 1 | 48 | 48 | 1 | 30 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 4 | .292 | .399 | .509 |
| 1937 | 33 | Cubs | 115 | 456 | 77 | 125 | 16 | 5 | 16 | 0 | 71 | 32 | 1 | 46 | 10 | 0 | 5 | 14 | .274 | .329 | .436 |
| 1938 | 34 | Cubs | 143 | 490 | 78 | 131 | 22 | 8 | 13 | 0 | 61 | 54 | 9 | 48 | 8 | 0 | 3 | 13 | .267 | .344 | .424 |
| 1941 | 37 | Pirates | 49 | 62 | 5 | 13 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 11 | 6 | 1 | 14 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .210 | .279 | .306 |
| Career | G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | GRSL | RBI | BB | IBB | SO | SH | SF | HBP | GIDP | AVG | OBP | SLG | ||
| 9 Years | 1,084 | 3,784 | 615 | 1,121 | 205 | 65 | 135 | 2 | 659 | 356 | 16 | 373 | 42 | 0 | 23 | 68 | .296 | .360 | .492 | ||
Ripper CollinsRipper Collins Fielding Stats |
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| Team | POS | G | GS | OUTS | TC | TC/G | CH | PO | A | E | DP | PB | CASB | CACS | FLD% | RF |
| 1931 Cardinals | 1B | 68 | 62 | 1,616 | 608 | 8.9 | 605 | 563 | 42 | 3 | 54 | n/a | n/a | n/a | .995 | 10.11 |
| 1931 Cardinals | LF | 1 | 1 | 27 | 3 | 3.0 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | n/a | n/a | n/a | 1.000 | 3.00 |
| 1931 Cardinals | RF | 2 | 0 | 17 | 7 | 3.5 | 6 | 6 | 0 | 1 | 0 | n/a | n/a | n/a | .857 | 9.53 |
| 1932 Cardinals | 1B | 81 | 79 | 2,093 | 748 | 9.2 | 747 | 701 | 46 | 1 | 72 | n/a | n/a | n/a | .999 | 9.64 |
| 1932 Cardinals | LF | 14 | 13 | 339 | 219 | 15.6 | 215 | 214 | 1 | 4 | 0 | n/a | n/a | n/a | .982 | 17.12 |
| 1932 Cardinals | RF | 46 | 45 | 1,194 | 189 | 4.1 | 188 | 182 | 6 | 1 | 2 | n/a | n/a | n/a | .995 | 4.25 |
| 1933 Cardinals | 1B | 123 | 123 | 3,296 | 1,140 | 9.3 | 1,133 | 1,054 | 79 | 7 | 82 | n/a | n/a | n/a | .994 | 9.28 |
| 1934 Cardinals | 1B | 154 | 154 | 4,158 | 1,412 | 9.2 | 1,399 | 1,289 | 110 | 13 | 115 | n/a | n/a | n/a | .991 | 9.08 |
| 1935 Cardinals | 1B | 150 | 150 | 4,016 | 1,382 | 9.2 | 1,364 | 1,269 | 95 | 18 | 107 | n/a | n/a | n/a | .987 | 9.17 |
| 1936 Cardinals | 1B | 61 | 58 | 1,580 | 517 | 8.5 | 512 | 475 | 37 | 5 | 48 | n/a | n/a | n/a | .990 | 8.75 |
| 1936 Cardinals | LF | 1 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | n/a | n/a | n/a | .000 | 0.00 |
| 1936 Cardinals | RF | 8 | 8 | 105 | 15 | 1.9 | 14 | 13 | 1 | 1 | 0 | n/a | n/a | n/a | .933 | 3.60 |
| 1937 Cubs | 1B | 111 | 111 | 2,940 | 1,159 | 10.4 | 1,148 | 1,068 | 80 | 11 | 94 | n/a | n/a | n/a | .991 | 10.54 |
| 1938 Cubs | 1B | 135 | 133 | 3,428 | 1,381 | 10.2 | 1,375 | 1,264 | 111 | 6 | 118 | n/a | n/a | n/a | .996 | 10.83 |
| 1941 Pirates | 1B | 11 | 4 | 105 | 76 | 6.9 | 72 | 64 | 8 | 4 | 5 | n/a | n/a | n/a | .947 | 18.51 |
| 1941 Pirates | RF | 3 | 2 | 48 | 2 | 0.7 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | n/a | n/a | n/a | 1.000 | 1.13 |
| Career | POS | G | GS | OUTS | TC | TC/G | CH | PO | A | E | DP | PB | CASB | CACS | FLD% | RF |
| 1B Totals | 894 | 874 | 23,232 | 8,423 | 9.4 | 8,355 | 7,747 | 608 | 68 | 695 | n/a | n/a | n/a | .992 | 9.71 | |
| RF Totals | 59 | 55 | 1,364 | 213 | 3.6 | 210 | 203 | 7 | 3 | 2 | n/a | n/a | n/a | .986 | 4.16 | |
| LF Totals | 16 | 14 | 372 | 222 | 13.9 | 218 | 217 | 1 | 4 | 0 | n/a | n/a | n/a | .982 | 15.82 | |
| 9 Years | 969 | 943 | 24,968 | 8,858 | 9.1 | 8,783 | 8,167 | 616 | 75 | 697 | n/a | n/a | n/a | .992 | 9.50 | |
Ripper CollinsRipper Collins Miscellaneous Stats |
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| Baserunning Statistics | Other Positions | Common Hitting Ratios | Common Pitching Ratios | |||||||||
| Team | SB | CS | SB% | PH | PR | DH | AB/HR | AB/K | AB/RBI | K/BB | K/9 | BB/9 |
| 1931 Cardinals | 1 | 2 | .333 | 19 | 0 | n/a | 69.8 | 11.6 | 4.7 | - | - | - |
| 1932 Cardinals | 4 | 0 | 1.000 | 9 | 0 | n/a | 26.1 | 8.2 | 6.0 | - | - | - |
| 1933 Cardinals | 7 | 0 | 1.000 | 9 | 0 | n/a | 49.3 | 10.1 | 7.3 | - | - | - |
| 1934 Cardinals | 2 | 3 | .400 | 0 | 0 | n/a | 17.1 | 12.0 | 4.7 | - | - | - |
| 1935 Cardinals | 0 | 0 | .000 | 0 | 0 | n/a | 25.1 | 12.8 | 4.7 | - | - | - |
| 1936 Cardinals | 1 | 0 | 1.000 | 33 | 0 | n/a | 21.3 | 9.2 | 5.8 | - | - | - |
| 1937 Cubs | 2 | 3 | .400 | 4 | 0 | n/a | 28.5 | 9.9 | 6.4 | - | - | - |
| 1938 Cubs | 1 | 0 | 1.000 | 8 | 0 | n/a | 37.7 | 10.2 | 8.0 | - | - | - |
| 1941 Pirates | 0 | 0 | .000 | 35 | 0 | n/a | 0.0 | 4.4 | 5.6 | - | - | - |
| Career | SB | CS | SB% | PH | PR | DH | AB/HR | AB/K | AB/RBI | K/BB | K/9 | BB/9 |
| 9 Years | 18 | 8 | .692 | 117 | 0 | n/a | 28.0 | 10.1 | 5.7 | - | - | - |
Ripper CollinsRipper Collins Miscellaneous Items of Interest |
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| Team | Roster | Uniform Numbers | Salary | All-Star | World Series |
| 1931 St. Louis Cardinals | n/a | Undetermined | n/a | Stats |
| 1932 St. Louis Cardinals | 8 | Undetermined | n/a | - |
| 1933 St. Louis Cardinals | 12 | Undetermined | - | - |
| 1934 St. Louis Cardinals | 12 | Undetermined | - | Stats |
| 1935 St. Louis Cardinals | 12 | Undetermined | Stats | - |
| 1936 St. Louis Cardinals | 12 | Undetermined | Stats | - |
| 1937 Chicago Cubs | 3 | Undetermined | Stats | - |
| 1938 Chicago Cubs | 3 | Undetermined | - | Stats |
| 1941 Pittsburgh Pirates | 2 | Undetermined | - | - |
| Ripper Collins Stats by Baseball Almanac | ||||

The fewest putouts at first base in a complete game in either league is zero and Ripper Collins is the only Major League player in history to take part in two such contests - August 21, 1935 and June 29, 1937. [Putout Records for First Basemen]

Ripper Collins | 1988 Conlon National All-Stars (#3) | Photoshop by Baseball Almanac, Inc.
Did you know that the most runs scored in a single game by a St. Louis Cardinals player is five, accomplished ten times? The record setters are: Rogers Hornsby (April 18, 1925), Taylor Douthit (September 16, 1926), George Watkins (May 7, 1930), Ripper Collins (July 6, 1934), Stan Musial (May 19, 1948), Solly Hemus (May 20, 1953), Wally Moon (May 12, 1954), Lou Brock (August 22, 1971), Garry Templeton (April 27, 1977) and J.D. Drew (May 1, 1999) - the only instance where the Cardinals lost, was in the game where Ripper scored five times.
Did you know that Ripper Collins (200 hits in 1934), Frankie Frisch (208 hits in 1927), Garry Templeton (200 hits in 1977 & 211 hits in 1979) and Willie McGee (216 hits in 1985) are the only St. Louis Cardinals switch hitters with 200-hit seasons?
Did you know that Ripper Collins is the only St. Louis Cardinals switch hitter in team history with a 120+ RBI season? In 1934, Ripper drove in a franchise record 128 RBI and a year later (in 1935) he had his second 120+ RBI season (122 RBI).
Did you know that Ripper Collins is their only St. Louis Cardinals switch hitter to lead the National League in home runs (Home Run Champions)? In 1934, Ripper hit a career high 35 homers, tops in the National League, and the first Cardinal switch-hitter to eclipse the 30-homer plateau (since matched by Lance Berkman in 2011, and Carlos Beltran in 2012).

Ripper Collins | 1994 Conlon Baseball Card (#1237) | Baseball Almanac Collection
When Ripper Collins took the field on April 12, 1932, he was wearing #8, the first St. Louis Cardinals player to wear the number.