The file, biofile.csv, contains biographical information for every person who has played, managed, coached or umpired in the major leagues, including the Negro Leagues. Data here have been updated through the 2024 season.
Each person has 33 items of information:1.Retrosheet ID2.Last Name3.First Name4.Use Name (How he was referred to in the news media)5.Birth Date6.Birth City7.Birth State8.Birth Country9.Debut Date as Player10.Date of Last Game as Player11.Debut Date as Manager12.Date of Last Game as Manager13.Debut Date as Coach14.Date of Last Game as Coach15.Debut Date as Umpire16.Date of Last Game as Umpire17.Death Date18.Death City19.Death State20.Death Country21.Bat22.Throw23.Height24.Weight25.Cemetery26.Cemetery City27.Cemetery State28.Cemetery Country29.Cemetery Note (A variety here such as exact grave location)30.Birth Name31.Name Change (Not used)32.Bat Change (Not used)33.HOF (Hall-of-Famers are denoted HOF; all others are blank)
The information in this file was compiled by many people over decades including David Vincent, David Smith and major contributions from the SABR Biographical Committee chaired by Bill Carle. This file is very much a work in progress and new items routinely come to our attention and appear on the Retrosheet website on each individual's personal page.
The information for Negro Leaguers, in particular, is quite sparse in many cases (e.g., we do not know the first names of many - perhaps most - Negro League umpires). First and last game dates (information fields 9 - 16) are blank for players and umpires who only participated in the Negro Leagues. These fields will be filled in as we fill out our collection of Negro League games.
In addition to biofile.csv, the zip file at the link below contains seven additional files:
If you find any new information or have corrections, please send supporting evidence to "tthress-ATsign-retrosheet.org".