HOW MANY GAMES DID SATCHEL WIN? 

By

  John B Holway

 

Old’ Satch said he pitched in 3,000 games in his life and won 2,000 of them.

Presumably he rounded it off because the family goat ate the bible that contained the correct total.

 

After 30-year search of all available records, I say he won l60 in the Negro Leagues.

 

The Hall of Fame has just completed a $250,000 study that says he won 103.

 

Which one is right?

 

The correct answer is:  None of the above.

 

Which one is closest to right?

 

The correct answer is”  No one knows.

 

This is a perfect example of how men of good will can count the same numbers and come up with wildly different totals.

 

Next question:  How many home runs did Josh Gibson hit?

 

962?

 

224?

 

115?

 

For years we (myself included) have repeated the story that Josh hit 75 in 1931.  Phil Dixon has found just about every game Gibson played that year, including against every semipro team.  With only one or two dates left missing, Phil reports, Josh hit about 34.

 

HALL OF FAMERS COMPARED

 

                                                         Hall of Fame                   Holway

                                                  AB        BA       HR          AB          BA       HR

Cool Papa Bell                         3444      .317       36         4757        .326       74

Willard Brown                                        .351                   1488         .344

Roy Campanella                         366      .324                     682         .309

Oscar Charleston                      3027      .348     128        4949         .349     195

Ray Dandridge                           710       .315                   1034         .338

Martin Dihigo                           1404       .307                   1901         .280

Josh Gibson                              1855      .359     115        2857         .353      224

Monte Irvin                                587      .358                    1063         .356

Fats Jenkins                                           .325                    2834         .325

Judy Johnson                            2983     .293                    3721         .284

Buck Leonard                          1472     .320        60         2178         .343       95

Pop Lloyd                                1692     .343                    3144         .344

Biz Mackey                                           .329                     3998         .320

Alejandro Oms                                      .320                    1321         .329

Jackie Robinson                          53      .424                      142         .345

Bullet Rogan                             2022    .338       45          2088         .347       72

Louis Santop                                        .317                     1126         .311

Turkey Stearnes                       3514     .345     183         3795         .351            232

Willie Wells                              2879    .310       98          3910         .301            139

 

HoF figures for Charleston and Lloyd do not include pre-1920 seasons.

 

Home runs

Bell                                            36                                  74

Charleston                                128                               195

Gibson                                     115                                224

Leonard                                     60                                  95

Rogan                                        45                                  72

Stearnes                                   183                                232

Wells                                          98                                139

 

Won – Lost

Cool Papa Bell**                       20 -  13               6 -    2

Ray Brown                               105 -  44           148 -   

Andy Cooper                           116 –  57           131 - 63       

Leon Day                                   37 –  19             65 -  35

Martin Dihigo                             26  -  19             26 -  30

Bill Foster                                 143 – 63            134 - 63

Satchel Paige                            103  - 61            160 - 91

Bullet Rogan                             116  - 50            155 – 65

Hilton Smith                                 71 -  31              74 - 30

Joe Williams*                              30  - 33            106 – 51

*Williams’ totals do in include pre-1920.

 

**Cool Papa’s brother, Fred, also pitched for St Louis.  Papers often referred to “p, Bell,” without giving a first name.  I've broken those seasons down into three categories:  Cool Papa Bell, Fred Bell, and “Bell.”

 

Far from settling the controversy, the pot has merely been heated to a boil.

 

I am sure that I have made some mistakes.  When you're juggling thousands of numbers, there's no way a human can avoid making some.  That's why they put rubber mats under spittoons.  And, boy, have I made a bunch of mistakes in my long and checkered life.  I welcome all to go over my data and help me find every error we can.