Ed Walsh was born on Thursday, May 19, 1881, in Plains, Pennsylvania. Walsh was 22 years old when he broke into the big leagues on May 7, 1904, with the Chicago White 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 Ed Walsh baseball stats page.
"I think the ball disintegrated on the way to the plate and the catcher put it back together again. I swear, when it went past the plate it was just the spit." - Hall of Fame Outfielder Sam Crawford (National Baseball Hall of Fame, 1965, Source)
Ed Walsh |
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| Biographical Data | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Ed WalshEd Walsh 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 |
| 1904 | 23 | White Sox | 18 | 8 | 10 | 6 | 3 | .667 | 2.60 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 110.2 | 453 | 90 | 32 | 45 | 1 | 32 | - | 57 | 5 | 3 | 0 | - |
| 1905 | 24 | White Sox | 22 | 13 | 7 | 8 | 3 | .727 | 2.17 | 9 | 1 | 0 | 136.2 | 556 | 121 | 33 | 53 | 0 | 29 | - | 71 | 7 | 3 | 0 | - |
| 1906 | 25 | White Sox | 41 | 31 | 8 | 17 | 13 | .567 | 1.88 | 24 | 10 | 2 | 278.1 | 1,100 | 215 | 58 | 83 | 1 | 58 | - | 171 | 11 | 7 | 0 | - |
| 1907 | 26 | White Sox | 56 | 46 | 10 | 24 | 18 | .571 | 1.60 | 37 | 5 | 4 | 422.1 | 1,663 | 341 | 75 | 120 | 3 | 87 | - | 206 | 14 | 8 | 0 | - |
| 1908 | 27 | White Sox | 66 | 49 | 15 | 40 | 15 | .727 | 1.42 | 42 | 11 | 6 | 464.0 | 1,799 | 343 | 73 | 112 | 2 | 56 | - | 269 | 10 | 9 | 2 | - |
| 1909 | 28 | White Sox | 31 | 28 | 2 | 15 | 11 | .577 | 1.41 | 20 | 8 | 2 | 230.1 | 897 | 166 | 36 | 52 | 0 | 50 | - | 127 | 4 | 4 | 3 | - |
| 1910 | 29 | White Sox | 45 | 36 | 7 | 18 | 20 | .474 | 1.27 | 33 | 7 | 5 | 369.2 | 1,386 | 242 | 52 | 90 | 5 | 61 | - | 258 | 6 | 4 | 2 | - |
| 1911 | 30 | White Sox | 56 | 37 | 19 | 27 | 18 | .600 | 2.22 | 33 | 5 | 4 | 368.2 | 1,480 | 327 | 91 | 125 | 4 | 72 | - | 255 | 8 | 7 | 1 | - |
| 1912 | 31 | White Sox | 62 | 41 | 18 | 27 | 17 | .614 | 2.15 | 32 | 6 | 10 | 393.0 | 1,564 | 332 | 94 | 125 | 6 | 94 | - | 254 | 10 | 1 | 5 | - |
| 1913 | 32 | White Sox | 16 | 14 | 2 | 8 | 3 | .727 | 2.58 | 7 | 1 | 1 | 97.2 | 426 | 91 | 28 | 37 | 1 | 39 | - | 34 | 7 | 4 | 0 | - |
| 1914 | 33 | White Sox | 8 | 5 | 2 | 2 | 3 | .400 | 2.82 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 44.2 | 183 | 33 | 14 | 19 | 0 | 20 | - | 15 | 1 | 1 | 0 | - |
| 1915 | 34 | White Sox | 3 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 1.000 | 1.33 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 27.0 | 107 | 19 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 7 | - | 12 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1916 | 35 | White Sox | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | .000 | 2.70 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3.1 | 17 | 4 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 3 | - | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | - |
| 1917 | 36 | Braves | 4 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 1 | .000 | 3.50 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 18.0 | 82 | 22 | 7 | 9 | 0 | 9 | - | 4 | 1 | 1 | 1 | - |
| Career | G | GS | GF | W | L | PCT | ERA | CG | SHO | SV | IP | BFP | H | ER | R | HR | BB | IBB | SO | WP | HB | BK | HLD | ||
| 14 Years | 430 | 315 | 102 | 195 | 126 | .607 | 1.82 | 250 | 57 | 35 | 2,964.1 | 11,713 | 2,346 | 598 | 877 | 23 | 617 | - | 1,736 | 84 | 52 | 14 | 0 | ||
Ed WalshEd Walsh 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 |
| 1904 | 23 | White Sox | 18 | 41 | 5 | 9 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 3 | - | 10 | 1 | - | 0 | - | .220 | .273 | .366 |
| 1905 | 24 | White Sox | 29 | 58 | 5 | 9 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 4 | - | 20 | 1 | - | 1 | - | .155 | .222 | .190 |
| 1906 | 25 | White Sox | 42 | 99 | 12 | 14 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 3 | - | 28 | 3 | - | 1 | - | .141 | .175 | .212 |
| 1907 | 26 | White Sox | 57 | 154 | 7 | 25 | 8 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 44 | 1 | - | 1 | - | .162 | .168 | .260 |
| 1908 | 27 | White Sox | 66 | 157 | 10 | 27 | 7 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 10 | 7 | - | 38 | 8 | - | 2 | - | .172 | .217 | .248 |
| 1909 | 28 | White Sox | 32 | 84 | 5 | 18 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 11 | 6 | - | 26 | 1 | - | 0 | - | .214 | .267 | .274 |
| 1910 | 29 | White Sox | 52 | 138 | 12 | 30 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 5 | - | 32 | 5 | - | 0 | - | .217 | .245 | .283 |
| 1911 | 30 | White Sox | 63 | 155 | 22 | 34 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 9 | 1 | - | 29 | 3 | - | 1 | - | .219 | .229 | .239 |
| 1912 | 31 | White Sox | 62 | 136 | 12 | 33 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 12 | 14 | - | 41 | 4 | - | 0 | - | .243 | .313 | .287 |
| 1913 | 32 | White Sox | 17 | 32 | 1 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | - | 7 | 1 | - | 0 | - | .156 | .182 | .188 |
| 1914 | 33 | White Sox | 10 | 16 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | - | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | - | .063 | .118 | .125 |
| 1915 | 34 | White Sox | 5 | 11 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | - | .364 | .364 | .364 |
| 1916 | 35 | White Sox | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | - | .000 | .000 | .000 |
| 1917 | 36 | Braves | 4 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | - | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | - | .250 | .500 | .250 |
| Career | G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | GRSL | RBI | BB | IBB | SO | SH | SF | HBP | GIDP | AVG | OBP | SLG | ||
| 14 Years | 459 | 1,085 | 92 | 210 | 38 | 10 | 3 | 0 | 68 | 46 | 0 | 282 | 30 | 0 | 7 | - | .194 | .231 | .255 | ||
Ed WalshEd Walsh Fielding Stats |
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| Team | POS | G | GS | OUTS | TC | TC/G | CH | PO | A | E | DP | PB | CASB | CACS | FLD% | RF |
| 1904 White Sox | P | 18 | 8 | 332 | 44 | 2.4 | 43 | 8 | 35 | 1 | 2 | n/a | n/a | n/a | .977 | 3.50 |
| 1905 White Sox | CF | 1 | 0 | 14 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | n/a | n/a | n/a | .000 | 0.00 |
| 1905 White Sox | LF | 1 | 0 | 15 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | n/a | n/a | n/a | .000 | 0.00 |
| 1905 White Sox | P | 22 | 13 | 410 | 51 | 2.3 | 50 | 9 | 41 | 1 | 1 | n/a | n/a | n/a | .980 | 3.29 |
| 1905 White Sox | RF | 3 | 0 | 70 | 6 | 2.0 | 5 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 0 | n/a | n/a | n/a | .833 | 1.93 |
| 1906 White Sox | P | 41 | 31 | 835 | 144 | 3.5 | 138 | 30 | 108 | 6 | 2 | n/a | n/a | n/a | .958 | 4.46 |
| 1907 White Sox | P | 56 | 46 | 1,267 | 266 | 4.8 | 262 | 35 | 227 | 4 | 2 | n/a | n/a | n/a | .985 | 5.58 |
| 1908 White Sox | P | 66 | 49 | 1,392 | 237 | 3.6 | 231 | 41 | 190 | 6 | 9 | n/a | n/a | n/a | .975 | 4.48 |
| 1909 White Sox | LF | 1 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | n/a | n/a | n/a | .000 | 0.00 |
| 1909 White Sox | P | 31 | 28 | 691 | 117 | 3.8 | 116 | 23 | 93 | 1 | 2 | n/a | n/a | n/a | .991 | 4.53 |
| 1910 White Sox | P | 45 | 36 | 1,109 | 184 | 4.1 | 175 | 21 | 154 | 9 | 5 | n/a | n/a | n/a | .951 | 4.26 |
| 1911 White Sox | P | 56 | 37 | 1,106 | 194 | 3.5 | 186 | 27 | 159 | 8 | 5 | n/a | n/a | n/a | .959 | 4.54 |
| 1912 White Sox | P | 62 | 41 | 1,179 | 177 | 2.9 | 162 | 22 | 140 | 15 | 3 | n/a | n/a | n/a | .915 | 3.71 |
| 1913 White Sox | P | 16 | 14 | 293 | 41 | 2.6 | 38 | 6 | 32 | 3 | 1 | n/a | n/a | n/a | .927 | 3.50 |
| 1914 White Sox | P | 8 | 5 | 134 | 23 | 2.9 | 22 | 7 | 15 | 1 | 0 | n/a | n/a | n/a | .957 | 4.43 |
| 1915 White Sox | P | 3 | 3 | 81 | 7 | 2.3 | 7 | 3 | 4 | 0 | 0 | n/a | n/a | n/a | 1.000 | 2.33 |
| 1916 White Sox | P | 2 | 1 | 10 | 2 | 1.0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | n/a | n/a | n/a | 1.000 | 5.40 |
| 1917 Braves | P | 4 | 3 | 54 | 9 | 2.3 | 8 | 1 | 7 | 1 | 0 | n/a | n/a | n/a | .889 | 4.00 |
| Career | POS | G | GS | OUTS | TC | TC/G | CH | PO | A | E | DP | PB | CASB | CACS | FLD% | RF |
| P Totals | 430 | 315 | 8,893 | 1,496 | 3.5 | 1,440 | 233 | 1,207 | 56 | 32 | n/a | n/a | n/a | .963 | 4.37 | |
| RF Totals | 3 | 0 | 70 | 6 | 2.0 | 5 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 0 | n/a | n/a | n/a | .833 | 1.93 | |
| LF Totals | 2 | 0 | 21 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | n/a | n/a | n/a | .000 | 0.00 | |
| CF Totals | 1 | 0 | 14 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | n/a | n/a | n/a | .000 | 0.00 | |
| 14 Years | 436 | 315 | 8,998 | 1,502 | 3.4 | 1,445 | 237 | 1,208 | 57 | 32 | n/a | n/a | n/a | .962 | 4.34 | |
Ed WalshEd Walsh 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 |
| 1904 White Sox | 1 | 0 | 1.000 | 0 | 0 | n/a | 41.0 | 4.1 | 10.3 | 1.78 | 4.64 | 2.60 |
| 1905 White Sox | 0 | 0 | .000 | 0 | 0 | n/a | 0.0 | 2.9 | 29.0 | 2.45 | 4.68 | 1.91 |
| 1906 White Sox | 0 | 0 | .000 | 0 | 0 | n/a | 0.0 | 3.5 | 24.8 | 2.95 | 5.53 | 1.88 |
| 1907 White Sox | 2 | 0 | 1.000 | 0 | 0 | n/a | 154.0 | 3.5 | 15.4 | 2.37 | 4.39 | 1.85 |
| 1908 White Sox | 2 | 0 | 1.000 | 0 | 0 | n/a | 157.0 | 4.1 | 15.7 | 4.80 | 5.22 | 1.09 |
| 1909 White Sox | 4 | 0 | 1.000 | 0 | 0 | n/a | 0.0 | 3.2 | 7.6 | 2.54 | 4.96 | 1.95 |
| 1910 White Sox | 5 | 0 | 1.000 | 0 | 0 | n/a | 0.0 | 4.3 | 34.5 | 4.23 | 6.28 | 1.49 |
| 1911 White Sox | 0 | 0 | .000 | 0 | 0 | n/a | 0.0 | 5.3 | 17.2 | 3.54 | 6.23 | 1.76 |
| 1912 White Sox | 0 | 1 | .000 | 0 | 0 | n/a | 0.0 | 3.3 | 11.3 | 2.70 | 5.82 | 2.15 |
| 1913 White Sox | 0 | 0 | .000 | 0 | 0 | n/a | 0.0 | 4.6 | 16.0 | 0.87 | 3.13 | 3.59 |
| 1914 White Sox | 0 | 0 | .000 | 0 | 0 | n/a | 0.0 | 4.0 | 0.0 | 0.75 | 3.02 | 4.03 |
| 1915 White Sox | 0 | 0 | .000 | 0 | 0 | n/a | 0.0 | 11.0 | 0.0 | 1.71 | 4.00 | 2.33 |
| 1916 White Sox | 0 | 0 | .000 | 0 | 0 | n/a | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 1.00 | 8.10 | 8.10 |
| 1917 Braves | 0 | 0 | .000 | 0 | 0 | n/a | 0.0 | 2.0 | 0.0 | 0.44 | 2.00 | 4.50 |
| Career | SB | CS | SB% | PH | PR | DH | AB/HR | AB/K | AB/RBI | K/BB | K/9 | BB/9 |
| 14 Years | 14 | 1 | .933 | 0 | 0 | n/a | 361.7 | 3.8 | 16.0 | 2.81 | 5.27 | 1.87 |
Ed WalshEd Walsh Miscellaneous Items of Interest |
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| Team | Roster | Uniform Numbers | Salary | All-Star | World Series |
| 1904 Chicago White Sox | n/a | $1,800.00 | n/a | n/a |
| 1905 Chicago White Sox | n/a | $1,800.00 | n/a | - |
| 1906 Chicago White Sox | n/a | $1,800.00 | n/a | Stats |
| 1907 Chicago White Sox | n/a | $3,500.00 | n/a | - |
| 1908 Chicago White Sox | n/a | $7,000.00 | n/a | - |
| 1909 Chicago White Sox | n/a | $7,000.00 | n/a | - |
| 1910 Chicago White Sox | n/a | Undetermined | n/a | - |
| 1911 Chicago White Sox | n/a | Undetermined | n/a | - |
| 1912 Chicago White Sox | n/a | $8,000.00 | n/a | - |
| 1913 Chicago White Sox | n/a | Undetermined | n/a | - |
| 1914 Chicago White Sox | n/a | $6,000.00 | n/a | - |
| 1915 Chicago White Sox | n/a | Undetermined | n/a | - |
| 1916 Chicago White Sox | n/a | Undetermined | n/a | - |
| 1917 Boston Braves | n/a | Undetermined | n/a | - |
| Ed Walsh Stats by Baseball Almanac | ||||

Denny McLain was the last pitcher to record a thirty-win season, accomplishing the feat in 1968, when he won thirty-one games (lost six, had a 1.96 ERA). Ed Walsh was the last pitcher to record a forty-win season, accomplishing the feat in 1908, when he won forty games (lost fifteen, had a 1.42 ERA).
Neither McLain or Walsh led their league in ERA during their remarkable winning seasons. McLain (1.96 ERA) finished fourth in the American League, behind Dave McNally (1.95 ERA), Sam McDowell (1.81 ERA) and Luis Tiant (1.60 ERA). Walsh (1.42 ERA) finished third in the American League, behind Cy Young (1.26 ERA) and Addie Joss (1.16 ERA).
Ed Walsh might not have won the ERA title in 1908, but Big Ed did finish his career with two ERA championships (1907 & 1910, the first Chicago White Sox right-handed pitcher to lead the league and their first two-time league leader), two strikeout championships (1908 & 1911, the first Chicago White Sox pitcher to ever lead the league and their first two-time league leader), and after hanging up his cleats, his career earned run average is the lowest in Major League history (#1 on the Top 1,000).
Ed Walsh was not elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame by the Baseball Writers Association of America (BBWAA)! The ballot totals from the BBWAA were 1936 (8.8%), 1937 (27.9%), 1938 (42.0%), 1939 (48.2%), 1942 (48.5%), 1945 (55.5%), and 1946 (40.3%). After his appearance on the final ballot, the Old Timers Committee inducted him into Cooperstown in 1946.

Ed Walsh | National Baseball Hall of Fame Plaque | Class of 1946 (HOF)
Did you know that Ed Walsh is one of nine American League pitchers to throw two complete games on the same exact day and win each one of them? Did you know he did it twice? In 1999, Baseball Almanac started a baseball feats section and one of our first pitching pages was the 2 Complete Game Victories by 1 Pitcher in 1 Day list, which shows Walsh winning 10-5 and 3-1 on September 26, 1905, and winner 5-1 and 2-0 on September 29, 1908 (no bullpen relief in any of the four games).