Benton was born in Noble, Oklahoma, a small town a few miles south of Norman, Oklahoma. In 1940, Benton led the American League with 17 saves. In 1941 he went 15–6 with a 2.97 earned run average (ERA) (second in the American League (AL)) in 38 games. He completed seven of 14 starts and got seven saves. Despite his 7–13 mark a year later, his ERA was 2.90 with career-highs in starts (30) and innings pitched (226​2⁄3). Benton was chosen for the AL All-Star team in both 1941 and 1942, and then missed the 1943 and 1944 seasons while serving in the U.S. Navy during World War II.\n', '

Benton was discharged from the Navy in November 1944 and had his best year in 1945. He compiled a record of 13–8, a career-low 2.02 ERA, five shutouts, and 12 complete games in 191​2⁄3 innings. In a remarkable testament to the Tigers pitching in 1945, Hal Newhouser and Benton were No. 1 and No. 2 in ERA among AL pitchers. Newhouser\'s Adjusted ERA+ in 1945 was 195 and Benton\'s was 175. The Adjusted ERA+ figures posted by Newhouser and Benton in 1945 rank as the first and fifth best seasons all time for a Detroit Tigers pitcher with at least 150 innings pitched. Benton pitched in relief in three games in the 1945 World Series and gave up only one earned run for a 1.93 World Series ERA.\n', '

The rest of his career he worked largely as a setup man or as an emergency starter. A two-time All-Star (1941–42), Benton compiled a career 98–88 record with 697 strikeouts and a 3.36 ERA in 1688​1⁄3 innings. He died in a 1968 motel explosion in Lynwood, California, at the age of 57.\n', '

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