Dave Ferriss Stats

Dave Ferriss was born on Monday, December 5, 1921, in Shaw, Mississippi. Ferriss was 23 years old when he broke into the big leagues on April 29, 1945, with the Boston Red Sox. 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 Dave Ferriss baseball stats page.

Baseball Almanac Top Quote

"The main thing I learned about Ferris (sic) is contained in a remark made by an American League hitter. This hitter said: 'I know why I can't hit Ferris. He hides the ball behind his back and he uses his glove to shield the ball from the hitter. The glove screens the ball, and the hitter doesn't get a look at the ball at all, until it is almost on top of him.'" - Author Bert Vincent Dunne in Play Ball! (Doubleday Publishers, 1947, Page 196)

Dave Ferriss

Dave

Dave "Boo" Ferriss Autograph on a 1949 Bowman Reprint Baseball Card (#211)

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Birth Name:   David Meadow Ferriss
Nickname:   Boo or Dave
Born On:   12-05-1921  (Sagittarius)
Place of Birth Data Born In:   Shaw, Mississippi
Year of Death Data Died On:   11-24-2016 (1,000 Oldest Living)
Place of Death Data Died In:   Cleveland, Mississippi
Cemetery:   Shaw Cemetery, Shaw, Mississippi
High School:   Shaw High School (Shaw, MS)
College:   Mississippi State College
Batting Stances Chart Bats:   Left   Throwing Arms Chart Throws:   Right
Player Height Chart Height:   6-02   Player Weight Chart Weight:   208
First Game:   04-29-1945 (Age 23)
Last Game:   04-18-1950
Draft:   Not Applicable / Signing Bonus = $3,000

Dave Ferriss

Dave Ferriss Pitching Stats

1945 24 Red Sox 35 31 4 21 10 .677 2.96 26 5 2 264.2 1,103 263 87 101 6 85 3 94 4 7 1 -
1946 25 Red Sox 40 35 4 25 6 .806 3.25 26 6 3 274.0 1,141 274 99 109 14 71 1 106 1 3 0 -
1947 26 Red Sox 33 28 0 12 11 .522 4.04 14 1 0 218.1 956 241 98 106 14 92 8 64 6 7 1 -
1948 27 Red Sox 31 9 13 7 3 .700 5.23 1 0 3 115.1 518 127 67 71 7 61 3 30 0 7 0 -
1949 28 Red Sox 4 0 2 0 0 .000 4.05 0 0 0 6.2 29 7 3 3 1 4 0 1 0 1 0 -
1950 29 Red Sox 1 0 1 0 0 .000 18.00 0 0 0 1.0 6 2 2 2 0 1 0 1 0 0 0 -
6 Years 144 103 24 65 30 .684 3.64 67 12 8 880.0 3,753 914 356 392 42 314 15 296 11 25 2 -

Dave Ferriss

Dave Ferriss Hitting Stats

1945 24 Red Sox 61 120 16 32 7 1 1 0 19 19 0 11 1 0 0 4 .267 .367 .367
1946 25 Red Sox 45 115 12 24 6 0 0 0 7 5 0 19 2 0 0 3 .209 .242 .261
1947 26 Red Sox 52 99 11 27 5 3 0 0 19 7 0 10 0 0 0 5 .273 .321 .384
1948 27 Red Sox 31 37 4 9 1 0 0 0 6 6 0 6 2 0 0 0 .243 .349 .270
1949 28 Red Sox 4 1 1 1 1 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1.000 1.000 2.000
1950 29 Red Sox 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 .000 .000
6 Years 194 372 44 93 20 4 1 0 52 37 0 46 5 0 0 12 .250 .318 .333

Dave Ferriss

Dave Ferriss Fielding Stats

1945 Red Sox P 35 31 794 91 2.6 89 22 67 2 10 n/a n/a n/a .978 3.03
1946 Red Sox P 40 35 822 69 1.7 68 25 43 1 5 n/a n/a n/a .986 2.23
1947 Red Sox P 33 28 655 48 1.5 46 13 33 2 2 n/a n/a n/a .958 1.90
1948 Red Sox P 31 9 346 31 1.0 31 10 21 0 1 n/a n/a n/a 1.000 2.42
1949 Red Sox P 4 0 20 1 0.3 1 1 0 0 0 n/a n/a n/a 1.000 1.35
1950 Red Sox P 1 0 3 0 0.0 0 0 0 0 0 n/a n/a n/a .000 0.00
P Totals 144 103 2,640 240 1.7 235 71 164 5 18 n/a n/a n/a .979 2.40
6 Years 144 103 2,640 240 1.7 235 71 164 5 18 n/a n/a n/a .979 2.40

Dave Ferriss

Dave Ferriss Miscellaneous Stats

1945 Red Sox 0 0 .000 26 0 n/a 120.0 10.9 6.3 1.11 3.20 2.89
1946 Red Sox 0 0 .000 5 0 n/a 0.0 6.1 16.4 1.49 3.48 2.33
1947 Red Sox 0 0 .000 19 0 n/a 0.0 9.9 5.2 0.70 2.64 3.79
1948 Red Sox 0 0 .000 0 0 n/a 0.0 6.2 6.2 0.49 2.34 4.76
1949 Red Sox 0 0 .000 0 0 n/a 0.0 0.0 1.0 0.25 1.35 5.40
1950 Red Sox 0 0 .000 0 0 n/a 0.0 0.0 0.0 1.00 9.00 9.00
6 Years 0 0 .000 50 0 n/a 372.0 8.1 7.2 0.94 3.03 3.21

Dave Ferriss

Dave Ferriss Miscellaneous Items of Interest

1945 Boston Red Sox 33 $4,800.00 n/a -
1946 Boston Red Sox 33 $15,000.00 Stats Stats
1947 Boston Red Sox 33 $20,000.00 - -
1948 Boston Red Sox 33 $15,000.00 - -
1949 Boston Red Sox 33 $15,000.00 - -
1950 Boston Red Sox 33 $12,000.00 - -

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What did Ferriss think of the Major Leagues after his career? In Baseball Digest, 'What Some Old-Timers Think of the Major Leagues Today' (November 1995, Rick Van Blair, Page 51) he said, "It was a different game when I played. They gave you the ball and you took pride in going nine innings. Relief pitchers just were not used then as they are now. It's the same game today on the field, more or less, but a little different off the field with all the money and everything."

Did you know that Dave Ferriss was the second pitcher in Boston Red Sox history to win at least twenty games during his first big league season (21-10 in 1945)? The ace who came before was Hugh Bedient, who had twenty wins and nine losses in 1912. No Boston Red Sox pitcher has matched this feat to date.

Dave Ferriss

Dave Ferriss Wins 20 | Moberly Monitor-Index (Moberly, MO) | August 14, 1946 | Page 6

Did you know that Dave Ferris was the sixth American League pitcher in history to throw a shutout in his first two starts (04-29-1945 | 05-06-1945)? Those who came before Boo were: Joe Doyle, Buck O'Brien, George Dumont, Johnny Marcum and Hal White.

Did you know that Dave Ferris also won twenty-games his second season, finishing 25-6 in 1946, becoming the first and only Boston Red Sox pitcher (and there have been more than 800 of them) in team history to accomplish the feat?

Did you know that Dave Ferris was inducted into the Boston Red Sox Hall of Fame in 2002, alongside Rick Burleson, Lefty Grove, Tex Hughson, Duffy Lewis, Jim Lonborg and Fred Lynn?

Did you know that Dave Ferris once pitched a game left-handed? The Havre Daily News (Havre, Montana, July 10, 1945, Page 5) reported, "July 10 - Rookie, right-hander Dave Ferris, who has one 14 games and lost two for the Boston Red Sox this season, is going to use a 'secret weapon' today when he meets the Braves in a war charities game. he is going to pitch left handed. Ferriss, who is ambidextrous, has been warming up as a left hander lately, but lacks the control to become a southpaw suddenly in a league game. He things, however, that eventually he may develop his left handed pitching to such an extent that he can be his own relief hurler."

Did you know that Dave Ferris turned ten double plays in 1945, the most by any Red Sox pitcher during a single season in team history. The next closest are Howard Ehmke (1923) and Bob Stanley (1980), both of which had eight.

Dave Ferriss Gillette Ad

Dave Ferriss | Gillette Razor Company Advertisement | September 1946 | Frank Williams (Artist)

Dave Ferriss made his Major League debut on April 29, 1945, throwing a complete game shutout in his first big league start. Boo allowed five hits, struck out six Philadelphia Athletics, and wore uniform #33 - the first Red Sox player in team history to wear #33.