Johnny Allen (baseball player)

Johnny Allen
Pitcher
Born: September 30, 1904 or 1905 Lenoir ,  United States
Died on: March 29, 1959 Saint Petersburg ,  United States
Suggested: Right	Threw: Right
Debut in Major League Baseball
April 19,  1932  with the  New York Yankees
Last MLB assignment
September 26,  1944  with the  New York Giants
MLB statistics (until end of career)
Win - Loss	142-75
Earned Run Average	3.75
Strikeouts	1,070
Teams
New York Yankees ( 1932 - 1935 ) Cleveland Indians ( 1936 - 1940 ) St. Louis Browns ( 1941 ) Brooklyn Dodgers (1941- 1943 ) New York Giants (1943- 1944 )
Awards
World Series Winner ( 1932 ) All-Star ( 1938 )
Last update: January 3rd, 2020

John Thomas "Johnny" Allen (born September 30, 1904 or 1905 in Lenoir , North Carolina , † March 29, 1959 in Saint Petersburg , Florida ) was an American baseball player in Major League Baseball (MLB) on the position of pitcher . In 1932 he won the World Series with the New York Yankees . In 1938 he was elected to the All-Star Team .

Career

Early life

Allen was born the third of four children to police officer Robert L. Allen and his wife Almyra G. Allen in Lenoir, North Carolina. After his father died of appendicitis , his mother had to give him, older brother Austin, and older sister Roberta to a Baptist Church orphanage in Thomasville, North Carolina, in June 1913 . It was in this orphanage that Allen came into contact with baseball. In 1921 he played for the orphanage's baseball team in the outfield . After attending high school in Thomasville, he worked in a hotel in Sanford, North Carolina in 1927 , where he met former MLB catcher Paul Krichell , who was now working as a scout for the New York Yankees . Krichell told everyone that he was a pitcher and Krichell arranged a trial session.

Active career

Allen's career started in the Minor League (MiLB) in 1928 . He was able to work his way up quickly in the higher-class leagues of the MiLB and already recorded 21  wins and six defeats in the Double-A in 1931 . Allen made his MLB debut on April 19, 1932 in the jersey of the Yankees against the Boston Red Sox . Allen pitched nearly two full innings in the game , but lost five points. The game lost the Yankees 5 to 6. However, Allen worked on himself and ended the 1932 season with 17 won and four lost games, with an Earned Run Average (ERA) of 3.70 and 13 completely pitched games and three shutouts . His win rate was 81%; so he led the MLB in these statistics. He also won the World Series with the Yankees . In this World Series, he started the fourth game, but could not build on his performances from the regular season and was changed in the first inning against Wilcy Moore after Allen had given three runs and five hits. He continued to perform well, but an aching arm and constant demands for more money threatened his career. Therefore, the Yankees gave him to the Cleveland Indians before the 1936 season .

Allen continued to pitch solidly for the Indians as well, winning 20 and losing 10 games in 1936 with an ERA of 3.44. The following year he won 15 games in a row and lost one. In 1938 he was elected to the All-Star Team . During the All-Star break in 1938, Allen suffered an unknown injury and was unable to build on his previous performance in the years that followed. So he moved to the end of his career in 1944 from the Indians to the St. Louis Browns , the Brooklyn Dodgers and the New York Giants , for whom he made his last game on September 26, 1944 against the Cincinnati Reds . The Giants lost the game 5 to 8.

After his active career he was an umpire in the MiLB.

Allen died on March 29, 1959 in Saint Petersburg of complications from a heart attack. He left behind his wife, whom he married in 1931, and a son.

Quotes about Johnny Allen

Some opponents made the following comments about Allen:

'Early in my career, they were all tough. [...] But the pitcher who gave me the most trouble was Johnny Allen, with the Yankees and the Indians. He threw hard and with a side arm. He was particularly tough with men on bases. '

“At the beginning of my career, they were all tough. [...] But the pitcher who gave me the most trouble was Johnny Allen of the Yankees and the Indians. He threw hard and from the side. He was particularly tough with basers. "

- Al Simmons : Sports Illustrated, August 7, 1955

'Newsom, Mel Harder, Bob Feller, Johnny Allen, Red Ruffing, and, at times, Lefty Gomez were the toughest pitcher in the league for me.'

"Newsom, Mel Harder, Bob Feller, Johnny Allen, Red Ruffing and at times Lefty Gomez were the toughest pitchers in the league for me."

- Hank Greenberg : Hank Greenberg: The Story of My Life

literature

• Wint Capel: Fiery fast baller: . The Life of Johnny Allen, World Series Pitcher. iUniverse, 2001, ISBN 978-0-595-17926-8 (English, google.de [accessed January 3, 2020]).

Web links

• Player information and statistics from MLB  or  Baseball Reference  or  Fangraphs  or  Baseball Reference (Minor League) (English)

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Player information and statistics on MLB.com , accessed on January 3, 2020 (English).
2. ↑ ^{a b c} Wint Capel: Fiery fast baller: . The Life of Johnny Allen, World Series Pitcher. P. 6 .
3. ↑ ^{a b} Wint Capel: Fiery fast baller: . The Life of Johnny Allen, World Series Pitcher. P. 1 .
4. ↑ ^{a b c d e} Jon Weeks: Biography of Johnny Allen. In: Society for American Baseball Research. Retrieved January 3, 2020 . 
5. ^ ^{A b c} New York Yankees at Boston Red Sox Box Score, April 19, 1932. In: Baseball-Reference.com . Sports Reference LLC, accessed January 3, 2020 . 
6. ↑ 1932 World Series Game 4, Yankees at Cubs, October 2. In: Baseball-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC, accessed January 3, 2020 . 
7. ^ Cincinnati Reds at New York Giants Box Score, Sept. 26, 1944. In: Baseball-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC, accessed January 3, 2020 . 
8. ↑ Jimmy Jemail: The Question: Who is or was the hardest pitcher for you to hit? In: Sports Illustrated . ABG-SI LLC, August 7, 1955, p. 6 , accessed January 3, 2020 . 
9. ^ Ivan R. Dee: Hank Greenberg: The Story of My Life . Ed .: Ira Berkow. 2009, ISBN 978-1-4616-6238-9 , Chapter 7, pp. 320 , here p. 109 (English, google.de [accessed on January 3, 2020]).