John Cleave "Rube" Benton (June 27, 1890 – December 12, 1937) was a

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("pitches") the baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of retiring a batter, who attempts to either make contact with the pitched ball or draw ...

for

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...

Cincinnati Reds The Cincinnati Reds are an American professional baseball team based in Cincinnati. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) National League Central, Central division and were a charter member of ...

(1910–15, 1923–25) and

New York Giants The New York Giants are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Giants compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East division. ...

(1915–21). He pitched in the minor leagues for the

Minneapolis Millers The Minneapolis Millers were an American professional minor league baseball team that played in Minneapolis, Minnesota, through 1960. In the 19th century a different Minneapolis Millers were part of the Western League. The team played first in ...

of the American Association through 1933. Benton, who had survived serious automobile accidents in 1913 and 1930, was killed in another auto accident in 1937.

Career

Cincinnati Reds

Benton's major league career began in June 1910, when his contract was purchased by the Cincinnati Reds for $7,000 from Macon of the South Atlantic League. He pitched in 18 games for the Reds in 1910 and 1911 combined. In 1912, Benton led the league in games pitched (50), games started (39), batters faced (1302), and batters hit by pitch (18); he finished that season with an 18-20 win–loss record. In 1913, Benton was riding a motorcycle at high speeds when he collided with a trolley. He sustained a broken jaw, cuts and bruises. He recovered from his injuries but was suspended by the team for the remainder of the year, and a wild lifestyle and drinking affected most of the rest of his career. In 1914, he did straighten up his behavior for a year after signing a contract with a clause that involved abstaining from alcohol and tobacco. His 1914 ERA of 2.96 represented a decrease of 0.54 points from the previous season; his win–loss record was 16-18, but his 16 victories came with a team that only won 60 games overall.

New York Giants

In August 1915, Benton's contract was purchased by the Giants for $3,000. He pitched for the New York until 1921; the team won the 1917 National League pennant and the

1921 World Series The 1921 World Series was the championship series in Major League Baseball for the 1921 season. The 18th edition of the World Series, it matched the National League champion New York Giants and the American League champion New York Yankees. Th ...

. Benton threw a shutout against the

Chicago White Sox The Chicago White Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The White Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. The team is owned by Jerry Reinsdorf, and p ...

in Game 3 of the

1917 World Series The 1917 World Series was the championship series in Major League Baseball for the 1917 season. The 14th edition of the World Series, it matched the American League champion Chicago White Sox against the National League champion New York Giants ...

, but was the losing pitcher in Game 6 on the final day of the Series. He pitched for the Giants in the 1921 season but did not make an appearance in that World Series, which the Giants won in eight games over the Yankees.

Return to the Reds

The Reds purchased Benton from New York in 1922, and he remained with the team until he left the major leagues after the 1925 season. In 15 seasons he had a 150–144 win–loss record, 437 games, 305 games started, 145 complete games, 24 shutouts, 83 games finished, 21 saves, 2,517 innings, 2,472 hits allowed, 712 walks, 950 strikeouts, and a 3.09 ERA.

Later life

After his major league days, he went to the American Association and pitched for Minneapolis through 1933. In November 1930, Benton was involved in a rollover automobile accident. Initially, there was concern that Benton would not recover. He was unconscious for three days, had a fractured skull, and had surgery on both hands, but he recovered in time to pitch in the 1931 season. He died in an automobile accident in 1937 in

Dothan, Alabama Dothan () is a city in Dale, Henry, and Houston counties and the Houston county seat in the U.S. state of Alabama. It is Alabama's eighth-largest city, with a population of 71,072 at the 2020 census. It is near the state's southeastern corner, ...

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Benton, Rube 1890 births 1937 deaths Baseball players from North Carolina Major League Baseball pitchers New York Giants (NL) players Cincinnati Reds players Road incident deaths in Alabama Macon Peaches players Chattanooga Lookouts players St. Paul Saints (AA) players Minneapolis Millers (baseball) players Minor league baseball managers People from Clinton, North Carolina