Jack Banta

Born in Hutchinson in 1925 and a Hutchinson High School graduate, Jack Banta was spotted by Kansas Baseball Hall of Fame scout Bert Wells and offered a tryout with the Brooklyn Dodgers.  The tryout was in 1944 and Banta’s fastball got him signed to a contract and he won 14 games in his first professional season.

In 1945, Banta was pitching in Montreal in the International League.  He won 12 that season and 12 in a 1946 season split with St. Paul.  His 15 wins with Montreal in 1947 earned him a call up with Brooklyn in which he started three games.

In 1948, started the season with the Dodgers but pitched in only two games.  He returned to Montreal, where he went 19-9, leading the Royals to International League and Junior World Series championships.

Banta pitched the entire 1949 season with the Dodgers.  He started 12 games and pitched another 36 in relief, winning ten games with a 3.37 earned run average.  He pitched in three games in the World Series, allowing two earned runs in five innings, as the Yankees won the Series 4-1.

In 1950, Banta hurt his shoulder in spring training.  He pitched through pain and split the season between Brooklyn and Montreal.  The next year with his shoulder still hurting, he briefly pitched for the AA Fort Worth Cats.

In 1952, Banta pitched for Class B Lancaster (PA) as a player-coach.  He retired as a player after the season.  He managed five seasons in the Dodger organization, starting in Class D Hornell (NY).  In 1954 in the first of three seasons at Class D Shawnee (OK), Banta’s won 92 games.

In 1956, Banta left baseball and began working for the Dillon’s Corporation in Hutchinson.  He spent 34 years with the grocery chain.  Banta died in 2006 in Hutchinson.  He was 81 years old.

For more, read Jack Banta’s Society for American Baseball Research bio.