Bill Nicholson was born on Friday, December 11, 1914, in Chestertown, Maryland. Nicholson was 21 years old when he broke into the big leagues on June 13, 1936, with the Philadelphia Athletics. 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 Bill Nicholson baseball stats page.
"We all respected Bill Nicholson. He had been through what we hoped to go through. When he said something, we listened. He knew the pitchers in the league and would tell us what to expect in certain situations. He was a man's man." - Putsy Caballero in Baseball Players of the 1950s: A Biographical Dictionary of All 1,560 Major Leaguers (Rich Marazzi, McFarland Publishing, 11/30/2000, Page 251)
Bill 'Swish' Nicholson Autograph on a 1979 Diamond Greats Baseball Card (#111)
Bill NicholsonBill Nicholson 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 |
Bill NicholsonBill Nicholson Hitting Stats |
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Yr | Age | Team | G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | GRSL | RBI | BB | IBB | SO | SH | SF | HBP | GIDP | AVG | OBP | SLG |
1936 | 22 | Athletics | 11 | 12 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | .000 | .000 |
1939 | 25 | Cubs | 58 | 220 | 37 | 65 | 12 | 5 | 5 | 0 | 38 | 20 | 1 | 29 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | .295 | .354 | .464 |
1940 | 26 | Cubs | 135 | 491 | 78 | 146 | 27 | 7 | 25 | 2 | 98 | 50 | 1 | 67 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 7 | .297 | .366 | .534 |
1941 | 27 | Cubs | 147 | 532 | 74 | 135 | 26 | 1 | 26 | 2 | 98 | 82 | 1 | 91 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 8 | .254 | .357 | .453 |
1942 | 28 | Cubs | 152 | 588 | 83 | 173 | 22 | 11 | 21 | 0 | 78 | 76 | 6 | 80 | 1 | 0 | 8 | 7 | .294 | .382 | .476 |
1943 | 29 | Cubs | 154 | 608 | 95 | 188 | 30 | 9 | 29 | 0 | 128 | 71 | 11 | 86 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 7 | .309 | .386 | .531 |
1944 | 30 | Cubs | 156 | 582 | 116 | 167 | 35 | 8 | 33 | 2 | 122 | 93 | 17 | 71 | 5 | 0 | 6 | 3 | .287 | .391 | .545 |
1945 | 31 | Cubs | 151 | 559 | 82 | 136 | 28 | 4 | 13 | 0 | 88 | 92 | 14 | 73 | 3 | 0 | 6 | 9 | .243 | .356 | .377 |
1946 | 32 | Cubs | 105 | 296 | 36 | 65 | 13 | 2 | 8 | 1 | 41 | 44 | 9 | 44 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 4 | .220 | .325 | .358 |
1947 | 33 | Cubs | 148 | 487 | 69 | 119 | 28 | 1 | 26 | 1 | 75 | 87 | 13 | 83 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 4 | .244 | .364 | .466 |
1948 | 34 | Cubs | 143 | 494 | 68 | 129 | 24 | 5 | 19 | 0 | 67 | 81 | 14 | 60 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 5 | .261 | .371 | .445 |
1949 | 35 | Phillies | 98 | 299 | 42 | 70 | 8 | 3 | 11 | 0 | 40 | 45 | 2 | 53 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 1 | .234 | .344 | .391 |
1950 | 36 | Phillies | 41 | 58 | 3 | 13 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 10 | 8 | 0 | 16 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | .224 | .318 | .448 |
1951 | 37 | Phillies | 85 | 170 | 23 | 41 | 9 | 2 | 8 | 0 | 30 | 25 | 2 | 24 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | .241 | .340 | .459 |
1952 | 38 | Phillies | 55 | 88 | 17 | 24 | 3 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 19 | 14 | 0 | 26 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0 | .273 | .390 | .511 |
1953 | 39 | Phillies | 38 | 62 | 12 | 13 | 5 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 16 | 12 | 1 | 20 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | .210 | .338 | .419 |
Career | G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | GRSL | RBI | BB | IBB | SO | SH | SF | HBP | GIDP | AVG | OBP | SLG | ||
16 Years | 1,677 | 5,546 | 837 | 1,484 | 272 | 60 | 235 | 8 | 948 | 800 | 92 | 828 | 20 | 1 | 52 | 61 | .268 | .365 | .465 |
Bill NicholsonBill Nicholson Fielding Stats |
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Team | POS | G | GS | OUTS | TC | TC/G | CH | PO | A | E | DP | PB | CASB | CACS | FLD% | RF |
1936 Athletics | RF | 1 | 0 | 18 | 1 | 1.0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | n/a | n/a | n/a | 1.000 | 1.50 |
1939 Cubs | RF | 58 | 58 | 1,455 | 134 | 2.3 | 128 | 123 | 5 | 6 | 0 | n/a | n/a | n/a | .955 | 2.38 |
1940 Cubs | LF | 29 | 27 | 669 | 61 | 2.1 | 57 | 56 | 1 | 4 | 0 | n/a | n/a | n/a | .934 | 2.30 |
1940 Cubs | RF | 95 | 94 | 2,436 | 197 | 2.1 | 188 | 179 | 9 | 9 | 2 | n/a | n/a | n/a | .954 | 2.08 |
1941 Cubs | LF | 2 | 2 | 48 | 3 | 1.5 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | n/a | n/a | n/a | 1.000 | 1.69 |
1941 Cubs | RF | 141 | 141 | 3,597 | 302 | 2.1 | 300 | 290 | 10 | 2 | 2 | n/a | n/a | n/a | .993 | 2.25 |
1942 Cubs | RF | 151 | 151 | 153 | 350 | 2.3 | 345 | 327 | 18 | 5 | 2 | n/a | n/a | n/a | .986 | 60.88 |
1943 Cubs | RF | 154 | 154 | 462 | 364 | 2.4 | 356 | 340 | 16 | 8 | 2 | n/a | n/a | n/a | .978 | 20.81 |
1944 Cubs | RF | 156 | 156 | 468 | 330 | 2.1 | 323 | 305 | 18 | 7 | 4 | n/a | n/a | n/a | .979 | 18.63 |
1945 Cubs | RF | 151 | 149 | 390 | 315 | 2.1 | 312 | 300 | 12 | 3 | 4 | n/a | n/a | n/a | .990 | 21.60 |
1946 Cubs | RF | 80 | 75 | 1,971 | 188 | 2.4 | 183 | 179 | 4 | 5 | 1 | n/a | n/a | n/a | .973 | 2.51 |
1947 Cubs | RF | 140 | 140 | 3,633 | 291 | 2.1 | 288 | 281 | 7 | 3 | 1 | n/a | n/a | n/a | .990 | 2.14 |
1948 Cubs | RF | 136 | 135 | 3,531 | 256 | 1.9 | 251 | 244 | 7 | 5 | 1 | n/a | n/a | n/a | .980 | 1.92 |
1949 Phillies | RF | 91 | 79 | 2,175 | 196 | 2.2 | 195 | 185 | 10 | 1 | 1 | n/a | n/a | n/a | .995 | 2.42 |
1950 Phillies | RF | 15 | 10 | 279 | 21 | 1.4 | 20 | 20 | 0 | 1 | 0 | n/a | n/a | n/a | .952 | 1.94 |
1951 Phillies | RF | 41 | 33 | 978 | 77 | 1.9 | 76 | 75 | 1 | 1 | 0 | n/a | n/a | n/a | .987 | 2.10 |
1952 Phillies | RF | 19 | 13 | 432 | 33 | 1.7 | 33 | 33 | 0 | 0 | 0 | n/a | n/a | n/a | 1.000 | 2.06 |
1953 Phillies | RF | 12 | 10 | 279 | 13 | 1.1 | 13 | 13 | 0 | 0 | 0 | n/a | n/a | n/a | 1.000 | 1.26 |
Career | POS | G | GS | OUTS | TC | TC/G | CH | PO | A | E | DP | PB | CASB | CACS | FLD% | RF |
RF Totals | 1,441 | 1,398 | 22,257 | 3,068 | 2.1 | 3,012 | 2,895 | 117 | 56 | 20 | n/a | n/a | n/a | .982 | 3.65 | |
LF Totals | 31 | 29 | 717 | 64 | 2.1 | 60 | 59 | 1 | 4 | 0 | n/a | n/a | n/a | .938 | 2.26 | |
16 Years | 1,472 | 1,427 | 22,974 | 3,132 | 2.1 | 3,072 | 2,954 | 118 | 60 | 20 | n/a | n/a | n/a | .981 | 3.61 |
Bill NicholsonBill Nicholson 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 |
1936 Athletics | 0 | 0 | .000 | 10 | 0 | n/a | 0.0 | 2.4 | 0.0 | - | - | - |
1939 Cubs | 0 | 1 | .000 | 0 | 0 | n/a | 44.0 | 7.6 | 5.8 | - | - | - |
1940 Cubs | 2 | 3 | .400 | 12 | 0 | n/a | 19.6 | 7.3 | 5.0 | - | - | - |
1941 Cubs | 1 | 1 | .500 | 4 | 0 | n/a | 20.5 | 5.8 | 5.4 | - | - | - |
1942 Cubs | 8 | 0 | 1.000 | 1 | 0 | n/a | 28.0 | 7.4 | 7.5 | - | - | - |
1943 Cubs | 4 | 1 | .800 | 0 | 0 | n/a | 21.0 | 7.1 | 4.8 | - | - | - |
1944 Cubs | 3 | 1 | .750 | 0 | 0 | n/a | 17.6 | 8.2 | 4.8 | - | - | - |
1945 Cubs | 4 | 0 | 1.000 | 0 | 0 | n/a | 43.0 | 7.7 | 6.4 | - | - | - |
1946 Cubs | 1 | 4 | .200 | 25 | 0 | n/a | 37.0 | 6.7 | 7.2 | - | - | - |
1947 Cubs | 1 | 8 | .111 | 8 | 0 | n/a | 18.7 | 5.9 | 6.5 | - | - | - |
1948 Cubs | 2 | 6 | .250 | 7 | 0 | n/a | 26.0 | 8.2 | 7.4 | - | - | - |
1949 Phillies | 1 | 0 | 1.000 | 10 | 0 | n/a | 27.2 | 5.6 | 7.5 | - | - | - |
1950 Phillies | 0 | 0 | .000 | 27 | 0 | n/a | 19.3 | 3.6 | 5.8 | - | - | - |
1951 Phillies | 0 | 1 | .000 | 47 | 0 | n/a | 21.3 | 7.1 | 5.7 | - | - | - |
1952 Phillies | 0 | 0 | .000 | 38 | 0 | n/a | 14.7 | 3.4 | 4.6 | - | - | - |
1953 Phillies | 0 | 0 | .000 | 26 | 1 | n/a | 31.0 | 3.1 | 3.9 | - | - | - |
Career | SB | CS | SB% | PH | PR | DH | AB/HR | AB/K | AB/RBI | K/BB | K/9 | BB/9 |
16 Years | 27 | 26 | .509 | 215 | 1 | n/a | 23.6 | 6.7 | 5.9 | - | - | - |
Bill NicholsonBill Nicholson Miscellaneous Items of Interest |
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Team [Click for Roster] | Uniform Numbers | Salary | All-Star | World Series |
1936 Philadelphia Athletics | 21 | $1,200.00 | - | - |
1939 Chicago Cubs | 8 | $4,200.00 | - | - |
1940 Chicago Cubs | 8 | Undetermined | Stats | - |
1941 Chicago Cubs | 8 | Undetermined | Stats | - |
1942 Chicago Cubs | 8 | Undetermined | - | - |
1943 Chicago Cubs | 43 | Undetermined | Stats | - |
1944 Chicago Cubs | 43 | Undetermined | Stats | - |
1945 Chicago Cubs | 43 | Undetermined | n/a | Stats |
1946 Chicago Cubs | 43 | Undetermined | - | - |
1947 Chicago Cubs | 43 | Undetermined | - | - |
1948 Chicago Cubs | 43 | Undetermined | - | - |
1949 Philadelphia Phillies | 12 | Undetermined | - | - |
1950 Philadelphia Phillies | 12 | Undetermined | - | - |
1951 Philadelphia Phillies | 12 | $10,000.00 | - | - |
1952 Philadelphia Phillies | 12 | Undetermined | - | - |
1953 Philadelphia Phillies | 12 | Undetermined | - | - |
Bill Nicholson Stats by Baseball Almanac |
William Beck Nicholson was a Major League Baseball player with the Philadelphia Athletics (1936), Chicago Cubs (1939-1948), and Philadelphia Phillies
Bill Nicholson was the National League (NL) home run champion with the Chicago Cubs in 1943 and 1944 . No Cubbie has hit the most homers in the NL in back-to-back seasons since Swish! Cubs who led the senior circuit in home runs in consecutive seasons before Nicholson were Frank Schulte ( 1910 , 1911 ) and Hack Wilson ( 1926 , 1927 , 1928 ). [ Home Run Champions ]
Did you know that Bill Nicholson also led the National League in runs batted in (RBI) during the same two seasons ( 1943 & 1944 ) he led the league in home runs, capturing two legs of the Triple Crown in consecutive seasons? Did you know that Big Bill was the first player in National League history to lead the circuit in home runs and runs batted in for two successive seasons?
On July 23, 1944 , Bill Nicholson was given an intentional walk with the bases loaded , only the fourth instance in baseball history. The New York Giants were beating the Chicago Cubs , 10-7, in the top of the eighth with the bases loaded, none out, and Nicholson — who had homered four times (once in Game 1 , three times in Game 2 ) already that day — was waiting at the plate to set a Major League record. New York Giants ' manager Mel Ott ordered Ewald Pyle to walk Nicholson, bringing up Dom Dallessandro , Andy Pafko , and Don Johnson . The Chicago Cubs tied the game up by the time the inning was over, but New York went on to win, 12-10.
Bill Nicholson Baseball Record | The Pantagraph | July 24, 1944 | Page 7