Vern Benson facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Vern Benson |
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Benson in 1971
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| Third Baseman / Outfielder | |||
| Born: September 19, 1924 Granite Quarry, North Carolina |
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| Died: January 20, 2014 (aged 89) Salisbury, North Carolina |
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| debut | |||
| July 31, 1943, for the Philadelphia Athletics | |||
| Last 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
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| Career highlights and awards | |||
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Vernon Adair Benson (September 19, 1924 – January 20, 2014) was a talented person in American Major League Baseball. He played as an infielder and outfielder. Later, he became a coach, a scout, and even a temporary manager. When he played, he was about 5 feet 11 inches (180 cm) tall and weighed 180 pounds (82 kg). He hit the ball with his left hand and threw with his right hand.
Playing Baseball
Vernon Benson was born in Granite Quarry, North Carolina. He went to Catawba College in nearby Salisbury. He started playing in the Major Leagues with the Philadelphia Athletics in 1943. He played for them again in 1946.
Most of his playing time was with the St. Louis Cardinals organization. He played in 46 games for the Cardinals between 1951 and 1953. He was also a key player for their Triple-A minor league teams, like the Rochester Red Wings and Columbus Red Birds.
Overall, Benson had a batting average of .202 in 104 at bats in the Major Leagues. He hit three home runs and had 12 runs batted in (RBI). His best year in the minor leagues was 1951 with Columbus. That year, he batted .308, hit 18 home runs, and had 89 RBI.
Becoming a Major League Coach
After playing, Benson became a manager in the Cardinals' minor league system in 1956. He managed the Winnipeg Goldeyes. On July 6, 1961, he was asked to join the St. Louis Cardinals as a Major League coach. He worked with the team's new manager, Johnny Keane.
Benson was part of the Cardinals team that won the World Series in 1964. After that, he moved to the New York Yankees with manager Johnny Keane in 1965. However, the Yankees were not doing well. They finished sixth in 1965. In 1966, they won only four of their first 20 games. This led to Keane being fired and Benson leaving the team on May 7.
A few months later, on July 13, 1966, Benson returned to the National League. He became a coach for the Cincinnati Reds under manager Dave Bristol. He stayed in the National League for the rest of his Major League coaching career. He coached for the Reds until 1969. Then he coached for the Cardinals again from 1970 to 1975. He also coached for the Atlanta Braves from 1976 to 1977, and the San Francisco Giants in 1980. He worked with Dave Bristol again at the Braves and Giants.
Benson also managed the Syracuse Chiefs, a Triple-A team for the Toronto Blue Jays, in 1978 and 1979. He won three championships in the minor leagues:
- The Northern League with Winnipeg in 1957.
- The Texas League with Tulsa in 1960.
- The International League with Syracuse in 1979.
After his time on the field ended, Benson went back to the Cardinals as a scout. A scout helps find new talented players.
He also managed the Braves for one game in 1977. This happened when the team's owner, Ted Turner, decided to manage the team himself for a day. After Turner managed one game, the league said that owners could not also be managers. So, Benson stepped in for one game. He led the team to a 6–1 win against the Pittsburgh Pirates on May 12. After that, Dave Bristol was hired back as manager for the rest of the season.
Later Life and Death
Vernon Benson passed away on January 20, 2014. He was 89 years old.
See also
- List of St. Louis Cardinals coaches
