The zip file at the link above contains eight files.
The primary file, biofile0.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 2025 season. Within biofile0.csv, each person has 32 fields of information:id Retrosheet ID lastname Last Name usename First Name by which player went during his career fullname Player's full name (First, Middle, Last) birthdate Birth Date birthcity Birth City birthstate Birth State birthcountry Birth Country deathdate Death Date deathcity Death City deathstate Death State deathcountry Death Country cemetery Cemetery cem_city Cemetery City cem_state Cemetery State cem_ctry Cemetery Country cem_note Cemetery Note (A variety of information may be included here such as exact grave location) birthname Birth Name (if different from 'fullname') altname Alternate Name person may have appeared under debut_p Debut Date as Player last_p Date of Last Game as Player debut_c Debut Date as Coach last_c Date of Last Game as Coach debut_m Debut Date as Manager last_m Date of Last Game as Manager debut_u Debut Date as Umpire last_u Date of Last Game as Umpire bats Bats (B, L, or R; blank if unknown) throws Throws (B, L, or R; blank if unknown) height Height weight Weight HOF Hall-of-Famer (Hall-of-Famers are denoted HOF; all others are blank)
First and last dates have been filled in for players, umpires, and managers who participated in the Negro Leagues. For these people, the dates here refer to the earliest and latest game within Retrosheet's collection. To date, Retrosheet has only done an exhaustive study of the 1935 - 1949 Negro League seasons although our collection also includes several hundred noteworthy games played before this time (as well as East-West All-Star games played from 1950 - 1962).
The zip file also contains five files which should be mostly self-explanatory.PLAYERID Retrosheet ID LAST Last Name FIRST First Name (Full First and Middle name of person) NICKNAME Use Name (How he was referred to in the news media) BIRTHDATE Birth Date BIRTH.CITY Birth City BIRTH.STATE Birth State BIRTH.COUNTRY Birth Country PLAY.DEBUT Debut Date as Player PLAY.LASTGAME Date of Last Game as Player MGR.DEBUT Debut Date as Manager MGR.LASTGAME Date of Last Game as Manager COACH.DEBUT Debut Date as Coach COACH.LASTGAME Date of Last Game as Coach UMP.DEBUT Debut Date as Umpire UMP.LASTGAME Date of Last Game as Umpire DEATHDATE Death Date DEATH.CITY Death City DEATH.STATE Death State DEATH.COUNTRY Death Country BATS Bat (B, L, or R; blank if unknown) THROWS Throw (B, L, or R; blank if unknown) HEIGHT Height WEIGHT Weight CEMETERY Cemetery CEME.CITY Cemetery City CEME.STATE Cemetery State CEME.COUNTRY Cemetery Country CEME.NOTE Cemetery Note (A variety of information may be included here such as exact grave location) BIRTH.NAME Birth Name NAME.CHG Name Change (Not used) BAT.CHG Bat Change (Not used) HOF Hall-of-Famer (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. All of the files provided here remain works in progress and new items routinely come to our attention and appear on the Retrosheet website on each individual's personal page.
If you find any new information or have corrections, please send supporting evidence to "tthress-ATsign-retrosheet.org".
Retrosheet website last updated November 27, 2025.
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