John Thomas Allen was an American

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 pitcher

Pitcher

In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throwsthe baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of retiring a batter, who attempts to either make contact with the pitched ball or draw a walk. In the numbering system used to record defensive plays, the...

 in Major League Baseball

Major League Baseball

Major League Baseball is the highest level of professional baseball in the United States and Canada, consisting of teams that play in the National League and the American League...

 for the New York Yankees

New York Yankees

The New York Yankees are a professional baseball team based in the The Bronx, New York. They compete in Major League Baseball in the American League's East Division...

, Cleveland Indians

Cleveland Indians

The Cleveland Indians are a professional baseball team based in Cleveland, Ohio. They are in the Central Division of Major League Baseball's American League. Since , they have played in Progressive Field. The team's spring training facility is in Goodyear, Arizona...

, St. Louis Browns

Baltimore Orioles

The Baltimore Orioles are a professional baseball team based in Baltimore, Maryland in the United States. They are a member of the Eastern Division of Major League Baseball's American League. One of the American League's eight charter franchises in 1901, it spent its first year as a major league...

, Brooklyn Dodgers

Los Angeles Dodgers

The Los Angeles Dodgers are a professional baseball team based in Los Angeles, California. The Dodgers are members of Major League Baseball's National League West Division. Established in 1883, the team originated in Brooklyn, New York, where it was known by a number of nicknames before becoming...

, and New York Giants

San Francisco Giants

The San Francisco Giants are a Major League Baseball team based in San Francisco, California, playing in the National League West Division....

.

Born in Lenoir, North Carolina

Lenoir, North Carolina

Lenoir is a city in Caldwell County, North Carolina, United States. The population was 18,228 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Caldwell County. Lenoir is located in the Blue Ridge foothills. The city also contains the Brushy Mountains, a spur of the Blue Ridge Mountains...

, Allen reached the Yankees in an unusual way. While working as a bellhop

Bellhop

A bellhop, also bellboy or bellman, is a hotel porter, who helps patrons with their luggage while checking in or out. Bellhops often wear a uniform , like certain other page boys or doormen...

 in a hotel, he was told to take some fans to the room of Yankee scout Paul Krichell

Paul Krichell

Paul Bernard Krichell was a Major League Baseball catcher, best known for being the head scout for the New York Yankees for 37 years until his death...

. Allen told Krichell that he was a pitcher, and the scout arranged a tryout. Allen was an immediate success for the Yankees, debuting in with a 17-4 record and a 3.70 ERA for the world champions. He was less stellar in that year's World Series

1932 World Series

The 1932 World Series was played between the New York Yankees and the Chicago Cubs , with the Yankees holding home field advantage. The Yankees swept the Cubs, four games to none...

, starting Game 4 and leaving after giving up three runs off five hits in just two-thirds of an inning. He continued to post decent records for the Yankees, but a sore arm and his constant demands for more money threatened his career. For these reasons, he was dealt to the Indians before the season.

Allen turned things around in Cleveland, going 20-10 with a 3.44 ERA in 1936 and following that up by winning his first fifteen decisions of , one short of the record held by Walter Johnson

Walter Johnson

Walter Perry Johnson , nicknamed "Barney" and "The Big Train", was a Major League Baseball right-handed pitcher. He played his entire 21-year baseball career for the Washington Senators...

. He lost his next start 1-0 on an unearned run, but his 15-1 mark that year set a winning percentage record that lasted until Roy Face

Roy Face

Elroy Leon Face is a former Major League Baseball right-handed relief pitcher. During a 17-year baseball career, he pitched from 1953–1969, pitching primarily for the Pittsburgh Pirates...

 bettered it with an 18-1 record in . In , he won his first twelve decisions and made his only All-Star team. During the All-Star break, he suffered an unknown injury, some claim he slipped on a bar of soap in the shower, and never did approach his earlier success again, finally retiring in after six mediocre campaigns. He became a minor league umpire

Umpire (baseball)

In baseball, the umpire is the person charged with officiating the game, including beginning and ending the game, enforcing the rules of the game and the grounds, making judgment calls on plays, and handling the disciplinary actions. The term is often shortened to the colloquial form ump...

 after retiring, eventually becoming the umpire-in-chief of the Carolina League

Carolina League

The Carolina League is a minor league baseball affiliation which operates in the South Atlantic Coast of the United States. Before 2002, it was classified as a "High A" league, indicating its status as a Class A league with the highest level of competition within that classification, and the fifth...

. He died at age 54 in St. Petersburg, Florida

St. Petersburg, Florida

St. Petersburg is a city in Pinellas County, Florida, United States. It is known as a vacation destination for both American and foreign tourists. As of 2008, the population estimate by the U.S. Census Bureau is 245,314, making St...

.

External links

• The Deadball Era
• Johnny Allen at Find a Grave
  Find A Grave
  Find a Grave is a commercial website providing free access and input to an online database of cemetery records. It was founded in 1998 as a DBA and incorporated in 2000.-History:...