John Alton Benton

Major League Baseball Player. Born John Alton Benton, he was a right handed pitcher making his debut with the Philadelphia Athletics on April 18, 1934. For 14 seasons, he played with the Philadelphia Athletics (1934-1935), Detroit Tigers (1938-1948), Cleveland Indians (1949-1950) and Boston Red Sox (1952). Through the coarse of his career, he appeared in two All-Star games (1941-42) and retired with a record of 98 wins, 88 loss, 10 shutouts, 66 saves, 697 strikeouts, a 3.66 earned run average and a .939 fielding percentage. He died in a motel explosion at the age of 57.