John Stone (baseball)

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John Thomas Stone (October 10, 1905 – November 30, 1955), nicknamed "Rocky" [1] was an outfielder in Major League Baseball who played eleven seasons with the Detroit Tigers (1928-1933) and Washington Senators (1934-1938). Stone hit over .300 seven times in his career and had a career batting average of .310.

Born in Mulberry, Tennessee, Stone played baseball for the Maryville College Fighting Scots in his home state of Tennessee from 1925-1928. The Fighting Scots were 15-2 in Stone's senior year.[2] Stone signed with the Detroit Tigers and after a short stint in the minor leagues at Evansville, he appeared in his first Major League game on August 31, 1928 -- just a few months after leaving college. In his first partial season, Stone hit an impressive .354 in 26 games with 15 extra base hits and a .549 slugging percentage.

In his second season (1929), Stone's batting average dropped 94 points to .260, but he returned to solid hitting in 1930 with a .311 batting average and a .452 slugging percentage. During July and August 1930, Stone had a 27-game hitting streak. [3] Only five Detroit Tigers (Ty Cobb, Goose Goslin, Ron LeFlore, Dale Alexander, and Pete Fox) have had longer hitting streaks. [4]

Stone's fourth big league season in 1931 was his best. His .327 batting average was 10th best in the American League. He led the league in singles (142) and was also among the league leaders in hits (191), triples (11), and stolen bases (13). Stone was also 16th in the American League's Most Valuable Player voting for 1931.

In 1932, Stone continued as one of the top batters in the league, with 64 extra base hits, 108 RBIs and a .486 slugging percentage. He was 9th in the AL in total bases with 283 and among the Top 10 in triples, home runs and RBIs.

On May 30, 1933, Stone became the first major leaguer to collect six extra base hits in a regulation length doubleheader‚ as he collected four doubles and two home runs against the St. Louis Browns. [5]

After a 1933 season with 55 extra base hits and a .434 slugging percentage, Stone was traded to the Washington Senators. Stone was so highly regarded that the Senators sent Hall of Fame outfielder Goose Goslin to the Tigers in an even trade for Stone. Goslin went on to help the Tigers win back-to-back pennants in 1934 and 1935, while the Senators dropped from 1st place to seventh place in 1934.

Stone died in 1955 at age 50 in Shelbyville, Tennessee. He was buried at the Odd Fellows-Masonic Cemetery in Lynchburg, Tennessee.

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