{{short description|American baseball player (born 1944)}} {{other people|James Britton}} {{Use mdy dates|date=July 2024}} {{Infobox baseball biography |name=Jim Britton |image= |caption=1964 ''Topps'' baseball card #94 |position=Pitcher |bats=Right |throws=Right |birth_date={{Birth date and age|1944|3|25}} |birth_place=North Tonawanda, New York, U.S. |debutleague = MLB |debutdate=September 20 |debutyear=1967 |debutteam=Atlanta Braves |finalleague = MLB |finaldate=September 25 |finalyear=1971 |finalteam=Montreal Expos |statleague = MLB |stat1label=Win–loss record |stat1value=13–16 |stat2label=Earned run average |stat2value=4.02 |stat3label=Strikeouts |stat3value=138 |teams= *Atlanta Braves ({{mlby|1967}}–{{mlby|1969}}) *Montreal Expos ({{mlby|1971}}) }} '''James Allan Britton''' (born March 25, 1944) is an American former Major League Baseball pitcher who played from 1967 to 1971 with the Atlanta Braves and Montreal Expos. He was {{height|ft=6|in=5}} tall and weighed 225 pounds.
==Career== Britton was born in North Tonawanda, New York and attended Tonawanda High School. In 1961, Britton refused a football scholarship to Penn State University and signed as an amateur free agent with the Baltimore Orioles. On November 26, 1962, the Braves drafted him in the first-year draft.
On September 20, 1967, at the age of 23, Britton made his Major League debut with the Braves. During this game he gave up a three-run home run to Johnny Bench, the first of Bench's career. Perhaps his best season in the Major Leagues was his second: in 34 games, he had an ERA of 3.10.
On December 2, 1969, Britton was traded with Don Johnson, a minor leaguer, to the Montreal Expos for pitcher Larry Jaster. Expected to be a spot starter the following season, he missed that season due to arm trouble. On September 25, 1971, Britton played his final major league game.
As a batter, Britton hit .127. The highlight of his hitting career would be the double he hit in 1969. Defensively, Britton committed two errors in his career for a .952 fielding percentage. During his career, he wore three numbers: 27 in 1967, 42 in 1968 and 1969, and 27 in 1971.
After his baseball career ended, Britton served as a special agent with the FBI.
==Personal life== Britton's father suffered a fatal heart attack while watching Britton bat for the Richmond Braves during the ninth inning of a 1967 game in Rochester, New York. Braves manager Lum Harris told Britton only that his father had fainted and sent him out to pitch the bottom of the ninth inning.<ref>{{cite news |title=Victory, Where Is Thy...? |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/103378975/victory-where-is-thy/ |access-date=8 June 2022 |work=Press and Sun-Bulletin |agency=Associated Press |date=6 September 1967 |page=5-E}}</ref>
==References== {{reflist}}
==External links== {{Baseballstats|br=b/brittji02 |brm=britto001jam }} *[http://www.baseball-almanac.com/players/player.php?p=brittji02 Baseball-Almanac.com] *[http://www.retrosheet.org/boxesetc/Pbritj101.htm Retrosheet.org]
{{DEFAULTSORT:Britton, Jim}} Category:1944 births Category:Living people Category:American expatriate baseball players in Canada Category:Atlanta Braves players Category:Austin Braves players Category:20th-century American sportsmen Category:Baseball players from Niagara County, New York Category:Bluefield Orioles players Category:Boise Braves players Category:Greenville Braves players Category:Leones del Caracas players Category:American expatriate baseball players in Venezuela Category:Major League Baseball pitchers Category:Montreal Expos players Category:Peninsula Whips players Category:Penn State Nittany Lions baseball players Category:Pennsylvania State University alumni Category:People from North Tonawanda, New York Category:Richmond Braves players Category:University at Buffalo alumni Category:University of Tennessee alumni Category:Yakima Braves players Category:Federal Bureau of Investigation agents