Meet Your Hall of Famers: John Lofton

 

Bio:   John Lofton was born in San Antonio, TX (Pop. 1,434,625).  He attended Lutheran High School (Nickname: Mustangs) where he was a 2-sport athlete (Football and Baseball).  At Lutheran, he was a 2-year starter for the Mustangs (6-Man football smallest classification).  In baseball he set a small school record with 12 homeruns in only 18 games. 

Draft: Was the 7th pick in Season 36 by Jacksonville (b2goofy). 

Scout Paul McKnight- “John is not the biggest player but gets everything out of his swing.  Big time power and great speed.  Fielding is ok but not great.  Could play 1B or COF.  Should project to be an All-Star with his bat.”

Career: Lofton was drafted in Season 36 by Jacksonville and broke into the Majors late in Season 39.  During his career he played most of his career in Jacksonville/Houston (13 seasons), and Louisville (5 seasons).  During his time, he was a 4-time Most Valuable Player (44, 45, 46, 48), 4-time All-Star, 5 Silver Slugger (40, 44, 45, 46, 48) and won a Gold Glove Award (48). It is interesting how he won an MVP in Season 48 when he was not an All-Star.  His best season was Season 46 when he was a 40-40 player with 51 Homeruns and 40 stolen bases.  He also added an .316 AVG, 1.102 OPS, 118 R, 173 H, 34 2B, 9 3B, and 137 RBI.  Over his Career he accumulated stats of .299 AVG, .960 OPS, 1454 R, 2270 H, 408 2B, 100 3B, 529 HR, 1544 RBI, 829 BB, and 325 SB.  He still holds season records Jacksonville/Houston organization of 59 HR (44), 146 RBI (44), and 13 3B (40).  He also has career records of 985 R, 245 SB and 68 3B.

Speech Highlight- “I have been able to live the perfect baseball dream, from 1^st rounder, to All-Star, to MVP, to Hall of Fame.  I owe a lot of people who helped me along the way.”