Dan Bankhead, baseball player, 1947-1951

Dan Bankhead

Born: 5/3/1920 in Empire, AL, USA

Died: 5/2/1976 in Houston, TX, USA

MLB Debut: 1947-08-26 | Final Game: 1951-07-18

Bats: R | Throws: R | Height: 6'1" | Weight: 184 lbs

Full name: Daniel Robert Bankhead

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Biography

Dan Bankhead was a professional baseball pitcher who played in Major League Baseball from 1947 until 1951. Born in 1920, he made a notable entrance into the league as one of the first African American pitchers in MLB history, contributing to the breaking of racial barriers in the sport during a transformative era in baseball. Bankhead played for the Brooklyn Dodgers, where he was part of a team that included other groundbreaking players who helped to reshape the game's demographic landscape. Throughout his career, Bankhead compiled a record of 9 wins and 5 losses, with an earned run average (ERA) of 6.52. He struck out 111 batters and recorded 4 saves, showcasing his potential as a capable pitcher during a time when the game was evolving. While his statistics may not reflect the dominance seen in some of his contemporaries, Bankhead's presence on the mound was significant for the representation of African American athletes in baseball. His contributions helped pave the way for future generations of players and left a lasting impact on the sport's history.

Negro Leagues Career Statistics

Batting

PA AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO SB BA OBP SLG OPS
110.0 99.0 12.0 28.0 4.0 1.0 0 5.0 4.0 0 1.0 0.283 0.317 0.343 0.660

Pitching

W L G GS CG SHO SV IP H R ER HR BB SO ERA
101.0 0 0 72.0 40.0 0 0 0.0 317.0 200.0 29.0 12.0 0 0 0.54

Negro Leagues Season-by-Season Batting

Season PA AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO SB BA OBP SLG OPS
1940 19.0 19.0 2.0 6.0 0 0 0 2.0 0 0 0 0.316 0.316 0.316 0.632
1941 27.0 20.0 2.0 4.0 1.0 0 0 0 1.0 0 0 0.200 0.273 0.250 0.523
1942 24.0 22.0 2.0 7.0 1.0 0 0 1.0 2.0 0 1.0 0.318 0.375 0.364 0.739
1943 2.0 2.0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 .000 .000 .000
1944 5.0 5.0 4.0 4.0 0 1.0 0 0 0 0 0 0.800 0.800 1.200 2.000
1946 13.0 12.0 0 4.0 0 0 0 1.0 0 0 0 0.333 0.333 0.333 0.666
1947 20.0 19.0 2.0 3.0 2.0 0 0 1.0 1.0 0 0 0.158 0.200 0.263 0.463

Negro Leagues Season-by-Season Pitching

Season W L G GS CG SHO SV IP H R ER HR BB SO ERA
1940 13.0 0 0 11.0 7.0 0 0 0.0 62.0 50.0 4.0 5.0 0 0 0.50
1941 18.0 0 0 13.0 8.0 0 0 0.0 53.0 22.0 2.0 1.0 0 0 0.17
1942 16.0 0 0 11.0 2.0 0 0 0.0 33.0 19.0 0 0 0 0 0.00
1943 2.0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.0 4.0 3.0 0 0 0 0 0.00
1944 3.0 0 0 2.0 2.0 0 0 0.0 3.0 7.0 0 0 0 0 0.00
1946 15.0 0 0 13.0 6.0 0 0 0.0 47.0 27.0 8.0 3.0 0 0 0.79
1947 34.0 0 0 22.0 15.0 0 0 0.0 115.0 72.0 15.0 3.0 0 0 0.88

Career Pitching Statistics

W L G GS CG SHO SV IP H ER HR BB SO ERA Pitcher PIV
26 10 87 36 16 5 4 364.3 328 184 24 188 259 4.55 0

Career ERA 4.55 vs. league average 3.85 across their career seasons — 18.1% worse than league average.

Season-by-Season Pitching

Year Team Lg W L G GS CG SHO SV IP H ER BB SO ERA Lg ERA Pitcher PIV
1940 BBB NAL 4 1 8 6 4 0 0 45.3 37 18 12 23 3.57 4.21 (+15%) 1157.5
1941 BBB NAL 7 1 11 7 5 2 0 69.3 41 15 17 38 1.95 3.94 (+51%) 1914.5
1942 BBB NAL 2 1 5 4 1 1 0 25.7 26 8 14 12 2.81 3.57 (+21%) 111.8
1943 BBB NAL 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 3.0 4 2 2 2 6.00 — 0.0
1944 BBB NAL 2 0 2 1 1 1 0 9.7 6 2 3 15 1.86 3.57 (+48%) 0.0
1946 MRS NAL 1 1 3 2 0 0 0 20.3 18 10 11 24 4.43 3.59 (-23%) 738.9
1947 MRS NAL 1 1 5 3 3 0 0 37.7 35 18 19 34 4.30 3.97 (-8%) 1412.6
1947 BRO NL 0 0 4 0 0 0 1 10.0 15 8 8 6 7.20 3.97 (-81%) -381.9
1950 BRO NL 9 4 41 12 2 1 3 129.3 119 79 88 96 5.50 4.36 (-26%) -1451.3
1951 BRO NL 0 1 7 1 0 0 0 14.0 27 24 14 9 15.43 4.04 (-282%) -1683.9

Career Batting Statistics

G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB BB SO AVG OBP SLG OPS PIV
106 140 18 36 3 1 1 15 2 10 7 0.257 0.320 0.314 0.635 0.0

Career AVG .257 vs. league average .261 across their career seasons — near league average.

Career OBP .320 vs. league average .332 across their career seasons — near league average.

Career SLG .314 vs. league average .370 across their career seasons — 15.0% below league average.

Career OPS 0.635 vs. league average 0.702 across their career seasons — 9.6% below league average.

Season-by-Season Batting

Year Team Lg G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB BB SO AVG Lg AVG Lg OBP Lg SLG Lg OPS PIV
1940 BBB NAL 11 21 2 9 0 0 0 3 0 1 0 0.429 — — — — 0.0
1941 BBB NAL 11 20 2 4 1 0 0 2 0 2 0 0.200 — — — — 0.0
1942 BBB NAL 9 21 2 7 1 0 0 2 1 3 0 0.333 — — — — 0.0
1943 BBB NAL 1 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.000 — — — — 0.0
1944 BBB NAL 2 5 4 4 0 1 0 3 0 0 0 0.800 — — — — 0.0
1946 MRS NAL 4 11 0 2 0 0 0 2 0 1 0 0.182 — — — — 0.0
1947 MRS NAL 6 15 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 2 0 0.000 — — — — 0.0
1947 BRO NL 6 4 2 1 0 0 1 2 0 0 1 0.250 — — — — 0.0
1950 BRO NL 41 39 2 9 1 0 0 1 0 1 5 0.231 — — — — 0.0
1951 BRO NL 15 2 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0.000 — — — — 0.0

Postseason Statistics

Playoff Career Batting

G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO AVG
1 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000

Playoff Batting by Year

Year Round Team G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO AVG
1947 WS BRO 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000

Fielding Statistics

Career Fielding Totals by Position

Position G GS PO A E DP
1B 1 0 1 0 0 0
OF 5 3 3 0 0 0
P 87 24 17 81 4 6
SS 1 0 1 1 0 0

Season-by-Season Fielding

Year Team Pos G GS PO A E DP
1940 BBB 1B 1 0 1 0 0 0
1940 BBB OF 1 0 0 0 0 0
1940 BBB P 8 6 1 20 0 0
1941 BBB P 11 7 5 15 0 1
1942 BBB OF 4 3 3 0 0 0
1942 BBB P 5 4 2 7 0 1
1943 BBB P 1 1 0 1 0 0
1944 BBB P 2 1 0 5 0 0
1946 MRS P 3 2 1 3 0 1
1947 MRS P 5 3 0 8 0 0
1947 MRS SS 1 0 1 1 0 0
1947 BRO P 4 0 1 0 0 0
1950 BRO P 41 0 6 19 4 3
1951 BRO P 7 0 1 3 0 0

Career Games by Position

Position Games
Pitcher 87
First Base 1
Shortstop 1
Left Field 4
Center Field 1