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George Burns (first baseman)
Encyclopedia
George Henry Burns nicknamed "Tioga George," was an American
first baseman
in Major League Baseball
who played for five American League
teams from to . One of the league's top right-handed batters
of the 1920s, he was named the AL Most Valuable Player
in with the Cleveland Indians
after batting
.358 and setting a major league record with 64 doubles
. A career .307 hitter, he retired with 2018 hits
, then the third-highest total by an AL right-handed hitter. His 1671 games at first base were the most by an AL right-handed player until 1940; he still ranks third in league history.
Born in Niles, Ohio
, Burns was a line drive
hitter and a solid defensive first baseman who hit .300 or better in all but one of his full seasons between 1918 and 1927. After four unremarkable seasons with the Detroit Tigers
(1914–17), he was acquired by the Philadelphia Athletics
in . In his first season with the team he hit .352, surpassed only by the .382 of Detroit's Ty Cobb
, and led the AL in hits (178) and total bases
(236) while also setting a league record with 109 double play
s at first base (Earl Sheely
surpassed the mark three years later). After slipping to .296 in 1919, he was sent to the Indians in May 1920.
During the 1920 regular season, Burns was stuck behind regular first baseman Doc Johnston
; but his play revived in the World Series
, in which he and Johnston were platooned by manager Tris Speaker
. Burns started Game 6, and with the Indians up 3-2 in the Series and no score in the 6th inning, Burns doubled home Speaker with the only run of the game as the Indians edged Brooklyn
1-0 to take a commanding 4-2 lead in the nine-game Series. Cleveland won again the next day, capturing the first Series title for the franchise. During the season, after shortstop Ray Chapman
died one day after being hit by a pitch, Burns had welcomed newly acquired Joe Sewell
by giving him one of his own bats; Sewell went on to use the same bat, which he called "Black Betsy," throughout a 14-year career in which he struck out only 114 times.
After the 1921 season, in which he and Johnston again competed for playing time, he was traded to the Boston Red Sox
, and batted .306 and .328 in 1922 and 1923, finishing second in the league in doubles the latter year. He got the first hit ever in Yankee Stadium
in , and on September 14 of that year against the Indians, Burns turned a unassisted triple play
– only the fourth in major league history, and the first by a first baseman. In the second inning, he caught Frank Brower
's line drive, tagged Walt Lutzke off first base and actually ran to second base, sliding in before Riggs Stephenson
could return from third. The following January, he was traded back to the Indians – ironically, in a deal which involved Bill Wambsganss
, who had turned the only unassisted triple play in World Series history as Burns' teammate in 1920.
Back with Cleveland, Burns hit over .300 in each of the next four seasons and was regularly among the league leaders in doubles. In 1926 he broke Speaker's 1923 major league mark of 59 doubles; his record was broken in by Earl Webb
, though Burns still retains a share of the mark for right-handed hitters, along with Joe Medwick
. Burns also led the league in hits (216) for the second time, and was second in the league in runs batted in
, behind Babe Ruth
. For his accomplishments that year he was named the MVP, becoming the first Cleveland player to be so honored, and in May 1927 he was presented with an automobile and a silver bat containing $1,150 during a day honoring him. In he broke Stuffy McInnis
' AL record of 1608 games at first base, though Joe Judge
passed him later that year; his AL mark for right-handed players was broken in by Jimmie Foxx
, and he still trails only Foxx and George Scott in league history.
After being sent to the New York Yankees
in late 1928, Burns appeared in only 13 games for the team before rejoining the Athletics in 1929. He ended his career with an unusual pinch-hitting appearance in the 1929 World Series
, in which he won his second championship; in Game 5, he was sent in to bat for the pitcher with the Athletics down 8-3, and went on to hit twice in a 10-run inning that resulted in a victory. In his 16-season career, Burns hit 72 home run
s with 951 RBI in 1866 games played
. With 2018 hits, he then trailed only Nap Lajoie
(2523) and Harry Heilmann
(2499) in AL history among right-handed hitters; his 444 career doubles ranked eighth in major league history among right-handers, and fifth among all AL players. With 110 times being hit by a pitch
, he ranked second in the AL to Kid Elberfeld
.
Following his major league career he played for five seasons in the Pacific Coast League
, leading the league in RBI in 1932, and managed
in the minors until . He left baseball to become a deputy sheriff in Seattle
until his retirement in 1967.
Burns died at Evergreen Hospital in Kirkland, Washington
at age 84.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
first baseman
First baseman
First base, or 1B, is the first of four stations on a baseball diamond which must be touched in succession by a baserunner in order to score a run for that player's team...
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...
who played for five American League
American League
The American League of Professional Baseball Clubs, or simply the American League , is one of two leagues that make up Major League Baseball in the United States and Canada. It developed from the Western League, a minor league based in the Great Lakes states, which eventually aspired to major...
teams from to . One of the league's top right-handed batters
Batting (baseball)
In baseball, batting is the act of facing the opposing pitcher and trying to produce offense for one's team. A batter or hitter is a person whose turn it is to face the pitcher...
of the 1920s, he was named the AL Most Valuable Player
MLB Most Valuable Player Award
The Major League Baseball Most Valuable Player Award is an annual Major League Baseball award, given to one outstanding player in the American League and one in the National League. Since 1931, it has been awarded by the Baseball Writers Association of America...
in with the Cleveland Indians
Cleveland Indians
The Cleveland Indians are a professional baseball team based in Cleveland, Ohio. They are in the Central Division of Major League Baseball's American League. Since , they have played in Progressive Field. The team's spring training facility is in Goodyear, Arizona...
after batting
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 :...
.358 and setting a major league record with 64 doubles
Double (baseball)
In baseball, a double is the act of a batter striking the pitched ball and safely reaching second base without being called out by the umpire, without the benefit of a fielder's misplay or another runner being put out on a fielder's choice....
. A career .307 hitter, he retired with 2018 hits
Hit (baseball)
In baseball statistics, a hit , also called a base hit, is credited to a batter when the batter safely reaches first base after hitting the ball into fair territory, without the benefit of an error or a fielder's choice....
, then the third-highest total by an AL right-handed hitter. His 1671 games at first base were the most by an AL right-handed player until 1940; he still ranks third in league history.
Born in Niles, Ohio
Niles, Ohio
Niles is a city in Trumbull County, Ohio, United States. The city's population was 20,932 at the 2000 census. It is part of the Youngstown-Warren-Boardman, OH-PA Metropolitan Statistical Area....
, Burns was a line drive
Line drive
In baseball, a line drive is a type of batted ball, sharply hit, and on a level trajectory. The threshold between a line drive and a fly ball can be subjective....
hitter and a solid defensive first baseman who hit .300 or better in all but one of his full seasons between 1918 and 1927. After four unremarkable seasons with the Detroit Tigers
Detroit Tigers
The Detroit Tigers are a Major League Baseball team located in Detroit, Michigan. One of the American League's eight charter franchises, the club was founded in Detroit in as part of the Western League. The Tigers have won four World Series championships and have won the American League pennant...
(1914–17), he was acquired by the Philadelphia Athletics
Oakland Athletics
The Oakland Athletics are a Major League Baseball team based in Oakland, California. The Athletics are a member of the Western Division of Major League Baseball's American League. From to the present, the Athletics have played in the O.co Coliseum....
in . In his first season with the team he hit .352, surpassed only by the .382 of Detroit's Ty Cobb
Ty Cobb
Tyrus Raymond "Ty" Cobb , nicknamed "The Georgia Peach," was an American Major League Baseball outfielder. He was born in Narrows, Georgia...
, and led the AL in hits (178) and total bases
Total bases
In baseball statistics, total bases refers to the number of bases a player has gained with hits, i.e., the sum of his hits weighted by 1 for a single, 2 for a double, 3 for a triple and 4 for a home run.Only bases attained from hits count toward this total....
(236) while also setting a league record with 109 double play
Double play
In baseball, a double play for a team or a fielder is the act of making two outs during the same continuous playing action. In baseball slang, making a double play is referred to as "turning two"....
s at first base (Earl Sheely
Earl Sheely
Earl Homer Sheely born in Bushnell, Illinois was a first baseman for the Chicago White Sox , Pittsburgh Pirates and Boston Braves ....
surpassed the mark three years later). After slipping to .296 in 1919, he was sent to the Indians in May 1920.
During the 1920 regular season, Burns was stuck behind regular first baseman Doc Johnston
Doc Johnston
Wheeler Roger "Doc" Johnston , was a professional baseball player who played infielder in the Major Leagues from -. He would play for the Cleveland Indians, Pittsburgh Pirates, and Philadelphia Athletics.-External links:...
; but his play revived in the World Series
1920 World Series
-Game 1:Tuesday, October 5, 1920 at Ebbets Field in Brooklyn, New York-Game 2:Wednesday, October 6, 1920 at Ebbets Field in Brooklyn, New York-Game 3:Thursday, October 7, 1920 at Ebbets Field in Brooklyn, New York-Game 4:...
, in which he and Johnston were platooned by manager Tris Speaker
Tris Speaker
Tristram E. Speaker , nicknamed "Spoke" and "The Grey Eagle", was an American baseball player. Considered one of the best offensive and defensive center fielders in the history of Major League Baseball, he compiled a career batting average of .345 , and still holds the record of 792 career doubles...
. Burns started Game 6, and with the Indians up 3-2 in the Series and no score in the 6th inning, Burns doubled home Speaker with the only run of the game as the Indians edged Brooklyn
Los Angeles Dodgers
The Los Angeles Dodgers are a professional baseball team based in Los Angeles, California. The Dodgers are members of Major League Baseball's National League West Division. Established in 1883, the team originated in Brooklyn, New York, where it was known by a number of nicknames before becoming...
1-0 to take a commanding 4-2 lead in the nine-game Series. Cleveland won again the next day, capturing the first Series title for the franchise. During the season, after shortstop Ray Chapman
Ray Chapman
Raymond Johnson Chapman was an American baseball player, spending his entire career as a shortstop for Cleveland....
died one day after being hit by a pitch, Burns had welcomed newly acquired Joe Sewell
Joe Sewell
Joseph Wheeler Sewell was a Major League Baseball infielder for the Cleveland Indians and New York Yankees...
by giving him one of his own bats; Sewell went on to use the same bat, which he called "Black Betsy," throughout a 14-year career in which he struck out only 114 times.
After the 1921 season, in which he and Johnston again competed for playing time, he was traded to the Boston Red Sox
Boston Red Sox
The Boston Red Sox are a professional baseball team based in Boston, Massachusetts, and a member of Major League Baseball’s American League Eastern Division. Founded in as one of the American League's eight charter franchises, the Red Sox's home ballpark has been Fenway Park since . The "Red Sox"...
, and batted .306 and .328 in 1922 and 1923, finishing second in the league in doubles the latter year. He got the first hit ever in Yankee Stadium
Yankee Stadium
Yankee Stadium was a stadium located in The Bronx in New York City, New York. It was the home ballpark of the New York Yankees from 1923 to 1973 and from 1976 to 2008. The stadium hosted 6,581 Yankees regular season home games during its 85-year history. It was also the former home of the New York...
in , and on September 14 of that year against the Indians, Burns turned a unassisted triple play
Unassisted triple play
In baseball, an unassisted triple play occurs when a defensive player makes all three putouts by himself in one continuous play, without any teammates touching the ball . In Major League Baseball , it is one of the rarest of individual feats, along with hitting four home runs in one game and the...
– only the fourth in major league history, and the first by a first baseman. In the second inning, he caught Frank Brower
Frank Brower
Francis "Frank" Marion Brower was an American blackface performer active in the mid-19th century. Brower began performing blackface song-and-dance acts in circuses and variety shows when he was 13. He eventually introduced the bones to his act, helping to popularize it as a blackface instrument...
's line drive, tagged Walt Lutzke off first base and actually ran to second base, sliding in before Riggs Stephenson
Riggs Stephenson
Jackson Riggs Stephenson was an American left fielder in Major League Baseball. Nicknamed Old Hoss, Stephenson played for the Cleveland Indians from to and the rest of his career from to with the Chicago Cubs...
could return from third. The following January, he was traded back to the Indians – ironically, in a deal which involved Bill Wambsganss
Bill Wambsganss
William Adolf Wambsganss was a second baseman in Major League Baseball. From 1914 through 1926, Wambsganss played for the Cleveland Indians, Boston Red Sox, and Philadelphia Athletics...
, who had turned the only unassisted triple play in World Series history as Burns' teammate in 1920.
Back with Cleveland, Burns hit over .300 in each of the next four seasons and was regularly among the league leaders in doubles. In 1926 he broke Speaker's 1923 major league mark of 59 doubles; his record was broken in by Earl Webb
Earl Webb
William Earl Webb was an American right fielder in Major League Baseball, playing from 1925 to 1933. He played for five teams, including the Boston Red Sox for three years. He was born in White County, Tennessee and died in Jamestown, Tennessee. In 1931, while playing for the Red Sox, he hit a...
, though Burns still retains a share of the mark for right-handed hitters, along with Joe Medwick
Joe Medwick
Joseph Michael Medwick , nicknamed "Ducky", was an American Major League Baseball player. A left fielder for the St. Louis Cardinals during the "Gashouse Gang" era of the 1930s, he also played for the Brooklyn Dodgers , New York Giants , and Boston Braves...
. Burns also led the league in hits (216) for the second time, and was second in the league in runs batted in
Run batted in
Runs batted in or RBIs is a statistic used in baseball and softball to credit a batter when the outcome of his at-bat results in a run being scored, except in certain situations such as when an error is made on the play. The first team to track RBI was the Buffalo Bisons.Common nicknames for an RBI...
, behind Babe Ruth
Babe Ruth
George Herman Ruth, Jr. , best known as "Babe" Ruth and nicknamed "the Bambino" and "the Sultan of Swat", was an American Major League baseball player from 1914–1935...
. For his accomplishments that year he was named the MVP, becoming the first Cleveland player to be so honored, and in May 1927 he was presented with an automobile and a silver bat containing $1,150 during a day honoring him. In he broke Stuffy McInnis
Stuffy McInnis
John Phalen "Stuffy" McInnis was a first baseman and manager in Major League Baseball.McInnis gained his nickname as a youngster in the Boston suburban leagues, where his spectacular playing brought shouts of "that's the stuff, kid".From 1909-27, McInnis played for the Philadelphia Athletics ,...
' AL record of 1608 games at first base, though Joe Judge
Joe Judge
Joseph Ignatius Judge was an American first baseman in Major League Baseball who played nearly his entire career for the Washington Senators...
passed him later that year; his AL mark for right-handed players was broken in by Jimmie Foxx
Jimmie Foxx
James Emory "Jimmie" Foxx , nicknamed "Double X" and "The Beast", was a right-handed American Major League Baseball first baseman and noted power hitter....
, and he still trails only Foxx and George Scott in league history.
After being sent to the New York Yankees
New York Yankees
The New York Yankees are a professional baseball team based in the The Bronx, New York. They compete in Major League Baseball in the American League's East Division...
in late 1928, Burns appeared in only 13 games for the team before rejoining the Athletics in 1929. He ended his career with an unusual pinch-hitting appearance in the 1929 World Series
1929 World Series
In the 1929 World Series, the Philadelphia Athletics beat the Chicago Cubs in five games.The famous "Mack Attack" occurred in 1929, named for manager of the Athletics, Connie Mack, in which the Athletics overcame an eight-run deficit by scoring ten runs in the seventh inning of Game 4...
, in which he won his second championship; in Game 5, he was sent in to bat for the pitcher with the Athletics down 8-3, and went on to hit twice in a 10-run inning that resulted in a victory. In his 16-season career, Burns hit 72 home run
Home run
In baseball, a home run is scored when the ball is hit in such a way that the batter is able to reach home safely in one play without any errors being committed by the defensive team in the process...
s with 951 RBI in 1866 games played
Games played
Games played is a statistic used in team sports to indicate the total number of games in which a player has participated ; the statistic is generally applied irrespective of whatever portion of the game is contested.-Baseball:In baseball, the statistic applies also to players who, prior to a game,...
. With 2018 hits, he then trailed only Nap Lajoie
Nap Lajoie
Napoléon "Nap" Lajoie , also known as Larry Lajoie, was an American Major League Baseball second baseman. He was born in Woonsocket, Rhode Island...
(2523) and Harry Heilmann
Harry Heilmann
Harry Edwin Heilmann , nicknamed “Slug,” was a Major League Baseball player who played 17 seasons with the Detroit Tigers and Cincinnati Reds . He was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1952.Heilmann was a line drive hitter who won four American League batting crowns: in 1921, 1923, 1925 and...
(2499) in AL history among right-handed hitters; his 444 career doubles ranked eighth in major league history among right-handers, and fifth among all AL players. With 110 times being hit by a pitch
Hit by pitch
In baseball, hit by pitch , or hit batsman , is a batter or his equipment being hit in some part of his body by a pitch from the pitcher.-Official rule:...
, he ranked second in the AL to Kid Elberfeld
Kid Elberfeld
Norman Arthur "Kid" Elberfeld , nicknamed "The Tabasco Kid," was a shortstop in Major League Baseball for the Philadelphia Phillies , Cincinnati Reds , Detroit Tigers , New York Highlanders , Washington Senators , and Brooklyn Robins...
.
Following his major league career he played for five seasons in the Pacific Coast League
Pacific Coast League
The Pacific Coast League is a minor-league baseball league operating in the Western, Midwestern and Southeastern United States. Along with the International League and the Mexican League, it is one of three leagues playing at the Triple-A level, which is one step below Major League Baseball.The...
, leading the league in RBI in 1932, and managed
Manager (baseball)
In baseball, the field manager is an individual who is responsible for matters of team strategy on the field and team leadership. Managers are typically assisted by between one and six assistant coaches, whose responsibilities are specialized...
in the minors until . He left baseball to become a deputy sheriff in Seattle
Seattle, Washington
Seattle is the county seat of King County, Washington. With 608,660 residents as of the 2010 Census, Seattle is the largest city in the Northwestern United States. The Seattle metropolitan area of about 3.4 million inhabitants is the 15th largest metropolitan area in the country...
until his retirement in 1967.
Burns died at Evergreen Hospital in Kirkland, Washington
Kirkland, Washington
Kirkland is a city in King County, Washington, United States. It is a suburb of Seattle on the Eastside . The population was 48,787 at the 2010 census makes it the 9th largest city in King County and the 20th largest city in the state...
at age 84.
See also
- List of major league players with 2,000 hits
- List of Major League Baseball doubles records
- List of Major League Baseball players with 400 doubles
- List of Major League Baseball doubles champions
- List of Major League Baseball leaders in career stolen bases
External links
- The Deadball Era - New York Times obituary