MLB players born in 1878
83 MLB players on file were born in 1878. Jimmy Sheckard leads them with 43.3 career WAR. The first born in 1878 to play in the MLB was Larry Battam, in 1895. Every season since 1876 is on file.
Former MLB players born in 1878 (83)
| Player | Pos | Years | Seasons | Career | Born |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jimmy Sheckard | — | 1897–1913 | 17 | 2,084 H · 56 HR · 43.3 WAR | — |
| Bill Bradley | — | 1899–1915 | 14 | 1,471 H · 33 HR · 34.6 WAR | — |
| Mike Donlin | — | 1899–1914 | 12 | 1,282 H · 51 HR · 28.6 WAR | — |
| George Stovall | — | 1904–1915 | 12 | 1,382 H · 15 HR · 10.7 WAR | — |
| Jack Pfiester | P | 1903–1911 | 8 | 71 W · 503 SO · 10.2 WAR | — |
| Harry Bay | — | 1901–1907 | 7 | 722 H · 5 HR · 10.2 WAR | — |
| Homer Smoot | — | 1902–1906 | 5 | 763 H · 15 HR · 9.9 WAR | — |
| Tom Hughes | P | 1900–1913 | 13 | 131 W · 1,368 SO · 7.7 WAR | — |
| Bob Wicker | P | 1901–1906 | 6 | 64 W · 472 SO · 6.9 WAR | — |
| Bill Coughlin | — | 1899–1908 | 9 | 972 H · 15 HR · 6.8 WAR | — |
| Admiral Schlei | — | 1904–1911 | 8 | 455 H · 6 HR · 6.5 WAR | — |
| Otto Hess | P | 1902–1915 | 10 | 70 W · 580 SO · 5.7 WAR | — |
| Spike Shannon | — | 1904–1908 | 5 | 677 H · 3 HR · 5.0 WAR | — |
| Charlie Chech | P | 1905–1909 | 4 | 33 W · 187 SO · 3.9 WAR | — |
| Jack Harper | P | 1899–1906 | 8 | 80 W · 466 SO · 2.8 WAR | — |
| Larry Schlafly | — | 1902–1914 | 4 | 158 H · 5 HR · 2.4 WAR | — |
| Shad Barry | — | 1899–1908 | 10 | 1,073 H · 10 HR · 2.1 WAR | — |
| Frank Roth | — | 1903–1910 | 6 | 196 H · 1 HR · 2.1 WAR | — |
| Erve Beck | — | 1899–1902 | 3 | 265 H · 9 HR · 2.1 WAR | — |
| Highball Wilson | P | 1899–1904 | 4 | 14 W · 86 SO · 2.0 WAR | — |
| Pop Foster | — | 1898–1901 | 4 | 260 H · 10 HR · 2.0 WAR | — |
| Clarence Currie | P | 1902–1903 | 2 | 15 W · 111 SO · 1.8 WAR | — |
| Cy Morgan | P | 1903–1913 | 10 | 78 W · 667 SO · 1.3 WAR | — |
| Billy Maloney | — | 1901–1908 | 6 | 585 H · 6 HR · 1.3 WAR | — |
| George Winter | P | 1901–1908 | 8 | 83 W · 568 SO · 0.9 WAR | — |
| Bert Husting | P | 1900–1902 | 3 | 24 W · 122 SO · 0.7 WAR | — |
| Len Swormstedt | P | 1901–1906 | 3 | 3 W · 22 SO · 0.7 WAR | — |
| Walter Clarkson | P | 1904–1908 | 5 | 18 W · 178 SO · 0.5 WAR | — |
| Jim McGinley | P | 1904–1905 | 2 | 2 W · 6 SO · 0.4 WAR | — |
| Harry Hinchman | — | 1907 | 1 | 11 H · 0 HR · 0.4 WAR | — |
| Bill Kay | — | 1907 | 1 | 20 H · 0 HR · 0.3 WAR | — |
| Warren Gill | — | 1908 | 1 | 17 H · 0 HR · 0.3 WAR | — |
| George Hildebrand | — | 1902 | 1 | 9 H · 0 HR · 0.2 WAR | — |
| Charlie Starr | — | 1905–1909 | 3 | 79 H · 0 HR · 0.1 WAR | — |
| Hub Hart | — | 1905–1907 | 3 | 27 H · 0 HR · 0.1 WAR | — |
| Doc Amole | P | 1897–1898 | 2 | 4 W · 30 SO | — |
| Fred Holmes | — | 1903–1904 | 2 | 1 H · 0 HR | — |
| Bill Richardson | — | 1901 | 1 | 11 H · 2 HR | — |
| Charlie Graham | — | 1906 | 1 | 21 H · 1 HR | — |
| Frank Mahar | — | 1902 | 1 | 0 H · 0 HR | — |
| John Kalahan | — | 1903 | 1 | 0 H · 0 HR | — |
| Larry Battam | — | 1895 | 1 | 1 H · 0 HR | — |
| Larry Hoffman | — | 1901 | 1 | 7 H · 0 HR | — |
| Pete Loos | P | 1901 | 1 | 0 W · 0 SO | — |
| Rick Adams | P | 1905 | 1 | 2 W · 25 SO | — |
| Rip Reagan | P | 1903 | 1 | 0 W · 7 SO | — |
| Sam Hope | P | 1907 | 1 | 0 W · 0 SO | — |
| William Matthews | P | 1909 | 1 | 0 W · 6 SO | — |
| Gene Wright | P | 1901–1904 | 4 | 14 W · 140 SO · -0.1 WAR | — |
| Jack Himes | — | 1905–1906 | 2 | 48 H · 0 HR · -0.1 WAR | — |
| Bob Dresser | P | 1902 | 1 | 0 W · 8 SO · -0.1 WAR | — |
| Butch Rementer | — | 1904 | 1 | 0 H · 0 HR · -0.1 WAR | — |
| Charlie Swindells | — | 1904 | 1 | 1 H · 0 HR · -0.1 WAR | — |
| Jack White | — | 1904 | 1 | 0 H · 0 HR · -0.1 WAR | — |
| Snapper Kennedy | — | 1902 | 1 | 0 H · 0 HR · -0.1 WAR | — |
| Walt Slagle | P | 1910 | 1 | 0 W · 0 SO · -0.1 WAR | — |
| Bill Malarkey | P | 1908 | 1 | 0 W · 12 SO · -0.2 WAR | — |
| Bill Yohe | — | 1909 | 1 | 15 H · 0 HR · -0.2 WAR | — |
| Jimmy Mathison | — | 1902 | 1 | 24 H · 0 HR · -0.2 WAR | — |
| John McMakin | P | 1902 | 1 | 2 W · 6 SO · -0.2 WAR | — |
| Walt Dickson | P | 1910–1915 | 5 | 26 W · 202 SO · -0.3 WAR | — |
| Frank Hemphill | — | 1906–1909 | 2 | 3 H · 0 HR · -0.3 WAR | — |
| Sam Brown | — | 1906–1907 | 2 | 88 H · 0 HR · -0.3 WAR | — |
| Bill Pounds | P | 1903 | 1 | 0 W · 4 SO · -0.3 WAR | — |
| Bock Baker | P | 1901 | 1 | 0 W · 1 SO · -0.3 WAR | — |
| Emil Haberer | — | 1901–1909 | 3 | 7 H · 0 HR · -0.4 WAR | — |
| Jake Volz | P | 1901–1908 | 3 | 2 W · 12 SO · -0.4 WAR | — |
| Charlie Moran | — | 1903–1908 | 2 | 17 H · 0 HR · -0.4 WAR | — |
| Curt Bernard | — | 1900–1901 | 2 | 35 H · 0 HR · -0.4 WAR | — |
| Larry Hesterfer | P | 1901 | 1 | 0 W · 2 SO · -0.4 WAR | — |
| Cy Ferry | P | 1904–1905 | 2 | 0 W · 6 SO · -0.5 WAR | — |
| Bill Cristall | P | 1901 | 1 | 1 W · 12 SO · -0.5 WAR | — |
| Fred Smith | P | 1907 | 1 | 2 W · 19 SO · -0.6 WAR | — |
| Jack Slattery | — | 1901–1909 | 4 | 61 H · 0 HR · -1.0 WAR | — |
| Billy Milligan | P | 1901–1904 | 2 | 0 W · 11 SO · -1.0 WAR | — |
| Oscar Graham | P | 1907 | 1 | 4 W · 44 SO · -1.3 WAR | — |
| Ed Wheeler | — | 1902 | 1 | 12 H · 0 HR · -1.5 WAR | — |
| Rube Vickers | P | 1902–1909 | 5 | 22 W · 213 SO · -1.7 WAR | — |
| Jim Murray | — | 1902–1914 | 3 | 53 H · 3 HR · -1.9 WAR | — |
| Bob Hall | — | 1904–1905 | 2 | 75 H · 2 HR · -1.9 WAR | — |
| Chris Lindsay | — | 1905–1906 | 2 | 200 H · 0 HR · -2.1 WAR | — |
| Fred Mitchell | P | 1901–1905 | 5 | 31 W · 216 SO · -2.8 WAR | — |
| Bill Bergen | — | 1901–1911 | 11 | 516 H · 2 HR · -14.7 WAR | — |
Birth dates as ESPN lists them. Best career first: WAR in the regular season, summed over the seasons on file.