Al Burris
Encyclopedia
Alva Burton Burris was a pitcher
in Major League Baseball
, playing one game for the Philadelphia Phillies
in 1894. He also served as a coach
and athletic director
at Washington College
.
. He also had two hits that day and ended his MLB career with a batting average
of .500.
Burris continued to serve as coach and athletic director until 1906. During the offseasons, he coached and played (at every position on the field) for local semi-pro teams in Cambridge and Salisbury. He managed the Cambridge team to the Maryland-Delaware championship in 1908.
Burris also studied medicine at around this time, and he eventually set up practices and a drug store after his initial managing days were over. In 1911, he returned to professional baseball and helped create the independent Peninsula League. He was the league's first president in 1915. Burris was also a minor league manager for one season, in 1924, when he took over the Salisbury Indians
of the Eastern Shore League. In his later years, he concentrated on his medical practice while also teaching sports to the youth of the community.
Burris suffered a stroke
in 1938 and died in Salisbury, Maryland
, at the age of 64. He was buried in Hollywood Cemetery.
Pitcher
In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throwsthe baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of retiring a batter, who attempts to either make contact with the pitched ball or draw a walk. In the numbering system used to record defensive plays, the...
in Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball is the highest level of professional baseball in the United States and Canada, consisting of teams that play in the National League and the American League...
, playing one game for the Philadelphia Phillies
Philadelphia Phillies
The Philadelphia Phillies are a Major League Baseball team. They are the oldest continuous, one-name, one-city franchise in all of professional American sports, dating to 1883. The Phillies are a member of the Eastern Division of Major League Baseball's National League...
in 1894. He also served as a coach
Coach (baseball)
In baseball, a number of coaches assist in the smooth functioning of a team. They are assistants to the manager, or head coach, who determines the lineup and decides how to substitute players during the game...
and athletic director
Athletic director
An athletic director is an administrator at many American colleges and universities, as well as in larger high schools and middle schools, who oversees the work of coaches and related staff involved in intercollegiate or interscholastic athletic programs...
at Washington College
Washington College
Washington College is a private, independent liberal arts college located on a campus in Chestertown, Maryland, on the Eastern Shore. Maryland granted Washington College its charter in 1782...
.
Biography
Burris was born in Warwick, Maryland. He started attending Washington College in 1892 and also played on the baseball team there. By his junior year in 1894, he had become the college's athletic director, in addition to coach of the baseball team. Burris also played in Major League Baseball. After the college season ended, he appeared in one game for the Philadelphia Phillies as a pitcher, giving up 10 earned runs in five innings against the Baltimore OriolesBaltimore Orioles (19th century)
The Baltimore Orioles were a 19th-century American Association and National League team from 1882 to 1899. The club, which featured numerous future Hall of Famers, finished in first place three consecutive years and won the Temple Cup championship in 1896 and 1897...
. He also had two hits that day and ended his MLB career with a batting average
Batting average
Batting average is a statistic in both cricket and baseball that measures the performance of cricket batsmen and baseball hitters. The two statistics are related in that baseball averages are directly descended from the concept of cricket averages.- Cricket :...
of .500.
Burris continued to serve as coach and athletic director until 1906. During the offseasons, he coached and played (at every position on the field) for local semi-pro teams in Cambridge and Salisbury. He managed the Cambridge team to the Maryland-Delaware championship in 1908.
Burris also studied medicine at around this time, and he eventually set up practices and a drug store after his initial managing days were over. In 1911, he returned to professional baseball and helped create the independent Peninsula League. He was the league's first president in 1915. Burris was also a minor league manager for one season, in 1924, when he took over the Salisbury Indians
Salisbury Indians
The Salisbury Indians were a United States minor league baseball team which played in Salisbury, Maryland. The team began operation in 1922 as a founding member of the Eastern Shore Baseball League, which operated out of cities on the Delmarva Peninsula....
of the Eastern Shore League. In his later years, he concentrated on his medical practice while also teaching sports to the youth of the community.
Burris suffered a stroke
Stroke
A stroke, previously known medically as a cerebrovascular accident , is the rapidly developing loss of brain function due to disturbance in the blood supply to the brain. This can be due to ischemia caused by blockage , or a hemorrhage...
in 1938 and died in Salisbury, Maryland
Salisbury, Maryland
-Demographics:Salisbury is the principal city of the Salisbury-Ocean Pines CSA, a Combined Statistical Area that includes the Salisbury metropolitan area and the Ocean Pines micropolitan area , which had a combined population of 176,657 at the 2010 census.As of the census of 2000, there were...
, at the age of 64. He was buried in Hollywood Cemetery.