1913
Born October 2, 1913
Pittsburgh, PA, USA
Gene Benson Marquee
b. October 2, 1913 · Philadelphia Bacharach Giants 1934, Philadelphia Stars 1937–1948, Pittsburgh Crawfords 1938
Gene Benson's line on the record we hold shows a genuinely patient hitter: .291 over 569 games, with 636 hits and 319 runs batted in. He scored 326 runs and drew 198 walks, a rate of walks that stands out against most of his contemporaries in this database.
His career on file shows him chosen for four All-Star teams, in 1940, 1943, 1945 and 1946, a run of recognition spanning most of his playing days.
He batted and threw left-handed throughout that career, a trait shared with many of the game's better contact hitters.
He was born in Pittsburgh on October 2, 1913, and lived a long life afterward, dying on April 6, 1999, at 85.
Honors
| Award | Times | Years |
|---|---|---|
| Negro Leagues East-West Classic | 4 | 1940, 1943, 1945, 1946 |
Batting, season by season
| Year | Team | G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | BB | SO | SB | AVG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1934 | PBG | 5 | 19 | 0 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | .316 |
| 1937 | PS | 32 | 110 | 17 | 32 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 15 | 16 | 0 | 2 | .291 |
| 1938 | PC/PS | 52 | 205 | 32 | 47 | 3 | 4 | 2 | 26 | 18 | 0 | 1 | .229 |
| 1939 | PS | 47 | 169 | 25 | 46 | 6 | 3 | 5 | 25 | 14 | 0 | 1 | .272 |
| 1940 | PS | 61 | 212 | 45 | 66 | 7 | 4 | 5 | 30 | 28 | 2 | 5 | .311 |
| 1941 | PS | 25 | 95 | 9 | 26 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 8 | 0 | 1 | .274 |
| 1942 | PS | 50 | 178 | 23 | 43 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 26 | 17 | 1 | 0 | .242 |
| 1943 | PS | 46 | 190 | 27 | 64 | 7 | 5 | 0 | 38 | 14 | 1 | 2 | .337 |
| 1944 | PS | 52 | 225 | 39 | 70 | 9 | 3 | 1 | 30 | 13 | 0 | 3 | .311 |
| 1945 | PS | 47 | 198 | 30 | 67 | 10 | 3 | 1 | 33 | 13 | 0 | 0 | .338 |
| 1946 | PS | 61 | 244 | 40 | 78 | 12 | 4 | 0 | 39 | 23 | 0 | 2 | .320 |
| 1947 | PS | 48 | 179 | 27 | 52 | 10 | 4 | 1 | 31 | 22 | 0 | 2 | .291 |
| 1948 | PS | 43 | 160 | 12 | 39 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 17 | 11 | 0 | 1 | .244 |
| Career | — | 569 | 2184 | 326 | 636 | 84 | 31 | 17 | 319 | 198 | 5 | 20 | .291 |
On this day & linked events
1999