Sports Reference Blog

US Soccer Fans, we have some exciting news! We've added historic draft data for both MLS and the NWSL. The data set includes every draft pick in the history of both leagues, so back to 2013 for the NWSL and back to 1996 for MLS. This update is thanks to the work of former data intern Eric Tran, who put together this data set for us, and current engineering intern Joe Zobel, who implemented it on the site.

Like other major American sports, and unlike the major European soccer leagues, the NWSL and MLS have an annual draft. Notable #1 overall picks include USWNT superstars Rose Lavelle and Crystal Dunn, current Leeds United midfielder Jack Harrison, and Andre Blake, #1 for the current MLS leaders Philadelphia Union. You can also explore other fun historical tidbits, like seeing current Leeds manager Jesse Marsch was selected 21st overall in the inaugural MLS draft,

We're excited to announce that we've added a brand new tool to Stathead Hockey: the Team Season Finder. With this new tool, you can search for team stats on a season level, in addition to the game level stats in the Team Game Finder. Search through a range of team stats, covering everything from wins and losses to goals and shots, to power plays and penalty kills. Read the rest of this entry

By Greg Harvey

Using the Elias Book of Baseball Records, we have updated all World Series banners from 1903 to 2021 to include players on the WS roster who did not appear in that season’s WS.

There are 822 occurrences of a player being on the World Series roster without appearing, with 719 of those belonging to distinct players. Read the rest of this entry

We've rolled out a new update to Stathead Baseball, giving the Team Game Finder some cool new features.

The most exciting new addition to the Team Game Finder its a set of new search types that give you the ability to answer more questions than ever before. As with the Player Game Finder, we've added the option to search for combined statlines from all the games that match your search. You can now look up team stats in home or away games, wins or losses, and much more.

We've also added a search type that gives you the option to look for the most matching games from multiple seasons. Previously, you only had the option to look up matching games from a single season.

Want to give it a try? Here are some questions to get you started:
What team had the most road HRs in a season?
What team has the most all-time road wins?

Lastly, the new upgrade brings smoother performance and faster searching to the tool, meaning it's never been easier to answer your questions about team game stats. If you're a Stathead subscriber who hasn't tried to the Team Game Finder, give it a look. And if you've never tried Stathead, sign up today and your first month is on us!

Our latest update to Stathead is live and it brings some brand new stats to our basketball side. Like Football and Hockey before it, Stathead Basketball's Team Game Finder just got a set of cool improvements that will let you answer more questions than ever before while making sure the tool itself runs smoother than ever. Read the rest of this entry

We're excited to let you know about the latest update to Stathead. This time, we've upgraded the Football Team Game Finder. This tool, which lets you search through Pro Football Reference's database of game stats, has gotten some new features, under-the-hood improvements, and a lot more. Let's take a look. Read the rest of this entry

This summer, Sports Reference is welcoming eight interns. This is by far our largest intern class and includes Engineering, Marketing, Data, and User Experience interns. Let’s get to know them…

Rylee Buchert, Engineering Intern, grew up in Tulsa, Oklahoma and is studying Computer Science at the University of Tulsa. He plans on getting his Masters in Data Science next year to pursue a career in Sports Analytics. Rylee’s favorite teams are the New York Yankees and the OKC Thunder but he also loves watching Formula 1, NCAA Softball, and Indycar. In his free time, Rylee likes to golf, hang out with his pets, and attend local sporting events.

Kara Cannon, UX Intern, was born in Columbus, moved to Atlanta and then back to Ohio in Reynoldsburg. She is a rising sophomore at Ohio Wesleyan University studying computer science and graphic design. She runs Division 3 track and her favorite event is the 400 meter dash. Kara Cheers for The Cincinnati Bearcats Track and Field, where her brother competes.

Amelia Delphos, Marketing Intern-Social Media, is a recent graduate of the University of Virginia where she studied History and Tony Bennett’s Pack Line Defense. In her fourth year she worked in Creative Services in Virginia Athletics as a Social Video Intern where she fell in love with the social-side of sports (and UVA Men’s Lacrosse). You can check out her work on her Instagram @ameliadelphotos and/or read her ramblings on Twitter @ameliagrace0. Go Hoos!

Billy Fryer, Data Intern, is a rising senior at NC State from Columbiana, Alabama. At school, he enjoys working with the Women’s Basketball team and the Baseball team as well as being the President of the Sports Analytics Club at NC State. Outside of school, he likes to volunteer with the kids at his church and visit national parks. Since there are no major league sports teams in Alabama, Billy cheers for the Montgomery Biscuits (AA Tampa Bay Rays as of 2022) and the teams at NC State.

Eli Gnesin, Data Intern, recently graduated from William & Mary in Williamsburg, Virginia, with a degree in Data Science and Applied Mathematics. This fall, he will be starting a Masters in Statistical Science at Duke University in August. Being from Northern New Jersey, Eli is a lifelong Mets, Jets, and Devils fan, but also loves to watch college sports and Formula 1. You can find him on twitter at @EGnesin.

Gregory Harvey, Data Intern, recently graduated from the University of South Florida in Tampa, FL with a degree in Business Analytics & Information Systems. Some of his previous work experiences include stints with BaseballCloud and as a Data Tracking Manager for the USF Baseball team. His fandom is a mix of New York and Tampa as he actively roots for the Rays, Mets, Lightning, and Giants. In his free time, Greg plays golf, participates in a local wind ensemble, and creates intriguing sports content. You can find his content on Twitter at @BetweenTheNums.

Mac Stone, Marketing Intern, was born and raised in Evanston, Illinois and plans to graduate from Northwestern University this spring with degrees in journalism and psychology as well as a certificate in Integrated Marketing Communications. He is a lifelong Chicago sports fan, with a special emphasis on the Cubs. He’s been a Northwestern sports fan for a while too. Outside of work and school, he loves to play Spikeball with his friends and plays a healthy dose of video games as well. You can find him on Twitter @MacStone00.

Joe Zobel, Engineering Intern, is from Frankfort, Illinois and hopes to graduate from Purdue University this fall with a degree in Computer Engineering and a minor in Business Economics. He is a lifelong Chicago White Sox fan and now cheers for the Boilermakers, too.

One thing we take pride in is having our interns work on highly visible and impactful projects. Even though the program only started three weeks ago…

• Billy, Eli, and Gregory (data) have been researching nicknames of historical players, past World Series rosters, and women's college basketball conferences while solidifying our NHL draft records and preparing for the upcoming NBA draft.
• Rylee and Joe (engineering) began by tackling several small projects but now have moved on to larger projects like Goal Logs and Draft pages for FBref.
• Amelia and Mac (marketing) have been researching various partners and podcasts to help promote our products as well as contributing to content creation and growth of our social media accounts.
• Kara (user experience) has been attending user interviews and already led her first focus group as part of her project researching different forms of fandom.

Welcome aboard to our Summer Intern Class of 2022!

The latest update to Stathead is live! After making major improvements to all the Player Game Finders, we've turned our attention to the Team Game Finders, starting with Stathead Hockey. Read the rest of this entry

As we've done with the Player Game Finders on Stathead Hockey, Football, and Basketball, we've just released an update to the tool on Stathead Baseball. This upgrade brings some exciting new features to the Player Game Finder. Read the rest of this entry

That's right, we've got another one! After updating the Player Game Finders on Stathead Hockey and Stathead Football, it's Basketball's turn to receive some improvements. Let's take a look at the cool new stuff we've just added to one of the most popular tools on Stathead.

There are two major additions to the Player Game Finder. First, it's received three new filters. These filters allow you to search for teams or seasons with the most player games matching your search criteria, or team games with the most players matching the criteria. What does that mean? Well, now you can do searches like:
-What team had the most double-doubles in a season?
-What season had the most double-doubles?
-What team had the most players with a double-double in a game?

The second change is that we've merged WNBA stats into the Game Finder. While previously, the WNBA Player Game Finder was a separate tool, merging the stats into a single Game Finder will make it easier to find, while also adding these new search options, and new filters like Hall of Fame status. So in addition to answering which NBA team had the most double-doubles in a season, you can now see which WNBA team had the most double-doubles in a season.