Vern Benson
Vern Benson | |
---|---|
Benson in 1971 | |
Third Baseman / Outfielder | |
Born: Granite Quarry, North Carolina | September 19, 1924|
Died: January 20, 2014 Salisbury, North Carolina | (aged 89)|
Batted: Left Threw: Right | |
MLB debut | |
July 31, 1943, for the Philadelphia Athletics | |
Last MLB appearance | |
May 30, 1953, for the St. Louis Cardinals | |
MLB statistics | |
Batting average | .202 |
Hits | 21 |
At bats | 104 |
Teams | |
As player
As manager
As coach
| |
Career highlights and awards | |
|
Vernon Adair Benson (September 19, 1924 – January 20, 2014) was an infielder/outfielder, coach, scout and interim manager in American Major League Baseball. During his playing career, he stood 5'11" (180 cm) tall, weighed 180 pounds (82 kg), batted left-handed, and threw right-handed.
Playing career[edit]
Born in Granite Quarry, North Carolina, Benson attended Catawba College in nearby Salisbury. He debuted in the Majors with the Philadelphia Athletics in 1943 and had a second trial with the Mackmen in 1946, but most of his career would be spent in the organization of the St. Louis Cardinals. While he appeared in only 46 games for St. Louis between 1951–53, he was a fixture with the Cards' Rochester Red Wings and Columbus Red Birds Triple-A farm clubs as a player. Overall, Benson batted .202 in 104 MLB at bats over five seasons, with three home runs and 12 runs batted in. In his finest minor league season, 1951 at Columbus, he batted .308 with 18 home runs and 89 RBI.
He became a manager in the Redbird system in 1956 with the Winnipeg Goldeyes of the Class C Northern League. On July 6, 1961, he was promoted from manager of the Triple-A Portland Beavers to the Cardinals to serve as a Major League coach under new skipper Johnny Keane.
Major League coach[edit]
Benson worked with Keane through the Cards' 1964 World Championship, then moved to the New York Yankees when Keane switched to the Bombers (his 1964 World Series opponent) in 1965. But the Yankees were in a downward spiral at the time, finishing sixth in the '65 American League race. Then they won only four of their first 20 games in 1966, resulting in Keane's firing and Benson's resignation on May 7.
Two months later, on July 13, 1966, Benson returned to the National League as a coach for fellow North Carolinian Dave Bristol, newly appointed pilot of the Cincinnati Reds. He spent the remainder of his MLB career in the Senior Circuit, as a coach for the Reds (through 1969), the Cardinals again (1970–1975), Atlanta Braves (1976–77), and San Francisco Giants (1980), working in the latter two posts under Bristol once again. He managed the Syracuse Chiefs, Triple-A affiliate of the Toronto Blue Jays, in 1978–79. He won three playoff championships in the minor leagues, in: the Northern League (with Winnipeg) in 1957; the Texas League (with Tulsa) in 1960; and the International League (with Syracuse) in 1979. After his on-field career ended, Benson returned to the Cardinals as a scout.
He also managed the Braves for one game in 1977 under unusual circumstances. After the club lost 21 of its first 29 games, Dave Bristol was sent on a "scouting trip" on May 10 and replaced by the team's owner, Ted Turner, a world-class yachtsman and television executive who had no baseball experience. After Turner lost his only game as the team's skipper on the 11th, National League president Chub Feeney told Turner that managers cannot own financial interest in a club. When Turner's appeal to Commissioner Bowie Kuhn was turned down, Benson stepped in for one game—which he won, 6–1 over the Pittsburgh Pirates on May 12—before Bristol was rehired for the remainder of the season.
Death[edit]
Benson died on January 20, 2014 at the age of 89.[1]
See also[edit]
References[edit]
- Balzer, Howard M., ed. The Baseball Register, 1980 edition. St. Louis: The Sporting News.
External links[edit]
- Career statistics and player information from MLB, or ESPN, or Baseball Reference, or Fangraphs, or Baseball Reference (Minors), or Retrosheet
- Vern Benson managerial career statistics at Baseball-Reference.com
- Venezuelan Baseball League
- 1924 births
- 2014 deaths
- Atlanta Braves coaches
- Atlanta Braves managers
- Baseball players from North Carolina
- Cincinnati Reds coaches
- Columbus Red Birds players
- Houston Buffaloes players
- Lácteos de Pastora players
- Major League Baseball first base coaches
- Major League Baseball infielders
- Major League Baseball outfielders
- Major League Baseball third base coaches
- New York Yankees coaches
- Omaha Cardinals players
- People from Granite Quarry, North Carolina
- People from Salisbury, North Carolina
- Philadelphia Athletics players
- Portland Beavers managers
- Rochester Red Wings players
- St. Louis Cardinals coaches
- St. Louis Cardinals players
- St. Louis Cardinals scouts
- San Francisco Giants coaches
- Santa Marta (baseball club) players
- Savannah Indians players
- Syracuse Chiefs managers
- Toronto Maple Leafs (International League) players
- Tulsa Oilers (baseball) players
- Winnipeg Goldeyes players
- Winston-Salem Red Birds players
- American expatriate baseball people in the Dominican Republic
- American expatriate baseball players in Canada
- American expatriate baseball players in Venezuela