Vern Benson was born on Friday, September 19, 1924, in Granite Quarry, North Carolina. Benson was 18 years old when he broke into the big leagues on July 31, 1943, with the Philadelphia Athletics. His biographical data, year-by-year hitting stats, fielding stats, pitching stats (where applicable), career totals, uniform numbers, salary data and miscellaneous items-of-interest are presented by Baseball Almanac on this comprehensive Vern Benson baseball stats page.
"I remember it very distinctly. He (Ted Turner) said, 'I don't know a damn thing about baseball so you run the game.' Fortunately, we lost that game. The commissioner told him that he couldn't manage anymore so I had to take over again the next night. I managed for about a week. We went back to Atlanta and I guess three or four games later, the writers were in the dugout and Turner was in the dugout, and the writers said, 'Hey, when are you going to bring Bristol back?' Then he said, 'What for? Vern's the best manager I have.'" - Benson, Vern. One Day In Mudville: A look at some of the most unique baseball games of all time. Pallotta, Rip. Author House Publishing. 7 March 2007. Page 162.
Vern Benson![]() Vern Benson Autograph on a 1991 Topps Archives Baseball Card (#205 | Checklist) |
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| Biographical Data | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Vern BensonVern Benson Pitching Stats |
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| Year | Age | Team | G | GS | GF | W | L | PCT | ERA | CG | SHO | SV | IP | BFP | H | ER | R | HR | BB | IBB | SO | WP | HB | BK | HLD |
| - | - | Did Not Pitch | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Career | G | GS | GF | W | L | PCT | ERA | CG | SHO | SV | IP | BFP | H | ER | R | HR | BB | IBB | SO | WP | HB | BK | HLD | ||
Vern BensonVern Benson Hitting Stats |
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| Year | Age | Team | G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | GRSL | RBI | BB | IBB | SO | SH | SF | HBP | GIDP | AVG | OBP | SLG |
| 1943 | 19 | Athletics | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | .000 | .000 |
| 1946 | 22 | Athletics | 7 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | .167 | .000 |
| 1951 | 27 | Cardinals | 13 | 46 | 8 | 12 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 7 | 6 | 0 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .261 | .346 | .435 |
| 1952 | 28 | Cardinals | 20 | 47 | 6 | 9 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 5 | 5 | 0 | 9 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .191 | .269 | .362 |
| 1953 | 29 | Cardinals | 13 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | .200 | .000 |
| Career | G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | GRSL | RBI | BB | IBB | SO | SH | SF | HBP | GIDP | AVG | OBP | SLG | ||
| 5 Years | 55 | 104 | 17 | 21 | 5 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 12 | 13 | 0 | 22 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .202 | .291 | .356 | ||
Vern BensonVern Benson Fielding Stats |
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| Team | POS | G | GS | OUTS | TC | TC/G | CH | PO | A | E | DP | PB | CASB | CACS | FLD% | RF |
| 1946 Athletics | LF | 2 | 1 | 27 | 4 | 2.0 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | n/a | n/a | n/a | 1.000 | 4.00 |
| 1951 Cardinals | 3B | 9 | 8 | 213 | 20 | 2.2 | 19 | 1 | 18 | 1 | 3 | n/a | n/a | n/a | .950 | 2.41 |
| 1951 Cardinals | LF | 4 | 3 | 106 | 11 | 2.8 | 10 | 9 | 1 | 1 | 0 | n/a | n/a | n/a | .909 | 2.55 |
| 1952 Cardinals | 3B | 15 | 11 | 318 | 36 | 2.4 | 32 | 5 | 27 | 4 | 3 | n/a | n/a | n/a | .889 | 2.72 |
| Career | POS | G | GS | OUTS | TC | TC/G | CH | PO | A | E | DP | PB | CASB | CACS | FLD% | RF |
| 3B Totals | 24 | 19 | 531 | 56 | 2.3 | 51 | 6 | 45 | 5 | 6 | n/a | n/a | n/a | .911 | 2.59 | |
| LF Totals | 6 | 4 | 133 | 15 | 2.5 | 14 | 13 | 1 | 1 | 0 | n/a | n/a | n/a | .933 | 2.84 | |
| 3 Years | 30 | 23 | 664 | 71 | 2.4 | 65 | 19 | 46 | 6 | 6 | n/a | n/a | n/a | .915 | 2.64 | |
Vern BensonVern Benson Miscellaneous Stats |
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| Baserunning Statistics | Other Positions | Common Hitting Ratios | Common Pitching Ratios | |||||||||
| Team | SB | CS | SB% | PH | PR | DH | AB/HR | AB/K | AB/RBI | K/BB | K/9 | BB/9 |
| 1943 Athletics | 0 | 0 | .000 | 2 | 0 | n/a | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | - | - | - |
| 1946 Athletics | 0 | 0 | .000 | 1 | 4 | n/a | 0.0 | 1.7 | 0.0 | - | - | - |
| 1951 Cardinals | 0 | 0 | .000 | 0 | 0 | n/a | 46.0 | 5.8 | 6.6 | - | - | - |
| 1952 Cardinals | 0 | 0 | .000 | 6 | 1 | n/a | 23.5 | 5.2 | 9.4 | - | - | - |
| 1953 Cardinals | 0 | 0 | .000 | 5 | 8 | n/a | 0.0 | 2.0 | 0.0 | - | - | - |
| Career | SB | CS | SB% | PH | PR | DH | AB/HR | AB/K | AB/RBI | K/BB | K/9 | BB/9 |
| 5 Years | 0 | 0 | .000 | 14 | 13 | n/a | 34.7 | 4.7 | 8.7 | - | - | - |
Vern BensonVern Benson Miscellaneous Items of Interest |
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| Team | Roster | Uniform Numbers | Salary | All-Star | World Series |
| 1943 Philadelphia Athletics | 14 | $3,000.00 | - | - |
| 1946 Philadelphia Athletics | 38 | $3,000.00 | - | - |
| 1951 St. Louis Cardinals | 36 | $5,000.00 | - | - |
| 1952 St. Louis Cardinals | 25 | $5,500.00 | - | - |
| 1953 St. Louis Cardinals | 19 | $5,000.00 | - | - |
| Vern Benson Stats by Baseball Almanac | ||||

Did you know that Vern Benson was part of the coaching staff when the 1977 Atlanta Braves were once managed by the team owner, Ted Turner? The following account appeared in Baseball Anecdotes (Okrent, Daniel. Author. Oxford University Press. 20 April 1989. Page 324.)
One night in 1977, Turner decided to give his beleaguered manager, Dave Bristol, some time off. The Braves had lost 16 straight games. Bristol's replacement was Turner himself. Wearing number 27 and consulting with third-base coach Vern Benson, Turner led the Braves to a 2-1 defeat, extending the losing streak to 17. National League president Chub Feeney ordered him out of the dugout the next next, and the Braves finally won. Still, Turner appealed to Commissioner Bowie Kuhn, went sent a telegram: "Given Mr. Turner's lack of familiarity with the game operations, I do not think it is in the best interest of baseball for Mr. Turner to serve in the requested capacity." Turner quickly phoned the commissioner.
"How am I supposed to get the experience?" he asked.
"In the stands, like the other owners," said Kuhn. "Why can't you be like everybody else?"
"Because I'm in last place," said Turner.
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