Sometimes it is easy to forget that professional athletes are human. They all have lives outside of their jerseys and had a journey to get to the biggest stage. Some players’ paths to the majors stand out from others. Johnny Allen has one of those stories that feels too human to be a professional athlete, much less a World Series champion.
John Thomas Allen
Born: September 30, 1904 (Lenoir, NC)
Died: March 29, 1959 (St. Petersberg, FL)
Yankees Tenure: 1932-1935
The first part of Allen’s life was less
than ideal, as his father passed away suddenly while he was still a young child. Facing hard times, Allen’s mom had to make the tough decision to send him and some of his siblings to an orphanage. Allen would grow up in that orphanage. When he was a teen, he lost some of his toes when a shotgun accidentally fired into his foot. However, while at the orphanage, Allen started playing baseball.
After graduating from Thomasville High School in North Carolina, Allen took a job and went to work in Sanford. As a young adult, Allen started playing baseball again and quickly made a name for himself on the local scene as a fiery and dominant pitcher. It took a few years, but Yankees scouts would eventually find and sign Allen in 1929.
The Yankees sent Allen to Jersey City for the 1930 season. The 25-year-old went 12-16 with a 3.98 ERA at the Double-A level. Then, in 1931, Allen split time with Jersey City and Toronto and went a very impressive 21-9. That performance earned him a spring training invite.
Allen broke spring training with the Yankees for the 1932 season. In his rookie year, at the young age of 27, Allen would go 17-4 with a 3.70 ERA in 192 innings. The Yankees faced the Cubs in the World Series, the same one that featured Babe Ruth’s famous “Called Shot.” Allen started Game 4 of the series but only got two outs and gave up three runs. Despite his rough outing, the Yankees were able to come back in the finale and complete the sweep. The 1932 World Series featured a record number of future Hall of Famers, including 13 players, both managers (Joe McCarthy for the Yankees and Rogers Hornsby for the Cubs), and even an umpire in Bill Klem.
In his sophomore season, Allen remained primarily in the starting rotation but had a bit of a sophomore slump, seeing his ERA rise to 4.39 and his record slip to 15-7. The Yankees finished the season in second place and out of the postseason. Allen went into the offseason feeling like he deserved more innings and money from the Yankees. He finally agreed to a contract after a long holdout.
The holdout was left to sour in the mind of ownership as Allen was plagued by injuries in 1934. Limited to only 13 games, Allen posted a 5-2 record with a 2.89 ERA across 71.2 innings. The team missed out on the playoffs again despite a 94-60 record.
1935 saw Allen bounce back in a big way. He went 13-6 in 23 starts and was able to log 67.0 innings with a 3.61 ERA. He led the American League in allowing the fewest hits per nine innings at an 8.0 clip and strikeouts per nine innings with 6.1. However, after constant clashes and outbursts, including destroying furniture after bad games, the Yankees decided they had had enough of Allen. Despite being 50-19 in pinstripes, the Yankees dealt Allen to Cleveland for Monte Pearson and Steve Sundra.
Although Pearson turned out to be a heckuva find, Allen did enjoy the best years of his career in Cleveland from 1936 to 1941 following his trade from New York. His tenure by Lake Erie was highlighted by a historic 1937 season in which he pitched to a 15-1 record, a then-record for the highest single-season winning percentage at .938. Allen would be named Major League Player of the Year by The Sporting News. In the Land, Allen compiled a stellar 67-34 record with a 3.65 ERA and earned his sole All-Star selection in 1938.
After his time in Cleveland, the remainder of Allen’s playing career became a journey. In December 1941, the front office traded him to the St. Louis Browns, where he went 18-7 with a 3.21 ERA over two seasons. In 1943, the Brooklyn Dodgers purchased his contract, transitioning Allen to the National League for the first time. He spent two and a half seasons in Brooklyn’s bullpen.
The Dodgers traded Allen to the New York Giants in July 1944 for pitchers Bill Sayles and Andy Karl. Allen closed out his 13-year Major League career with the Giants in 1945. When he retired, Allen hung ’em up with a lifetime 142-75 record, a 3.75 ERA, and a reputation as one of the fiercest competitors of his era.
After his playing days ended, Allen ended up working his way up the ranks as a minor league umpire. He additionally worked in real estate and as an automobile tag inspector. Allen was inducted into the North Carolina Sports Hall of Fame, posthumously, in 1977.
Happy birthday, Johnny!
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