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George Burns (outfielder)
Encyclopedia
George Joseph Burns was an American
left fielder
in Major League Baseball
who spent most of his career as the leadoff hitter for the New York Giants
. A soft-spoken person, he was nicknamed "Silent George" by his teammates, and he was said to be one of the best pool players ever to play major league baseball. He led the National League
in runs scored
a record five times, later equaled by only Rogers Hornsby
and Stan Musial
, and also led the league in walks
five times and stolen base
s twice. He holds the Giants franchise record for stolen bases in a single season (62, in ), and held the club's career record from 1919 to 1972. At the end of his career, his 1262 games in left field ranked eighth in major league history, and his total of 1844 games in the outfield
ranked sixth in NL history.
Born in Utica, New York
, Burns started his baseball career as a catcher
, and reached the Giants in the latter half of the season. Because of his strong throwing arm and outstanding speed, manager
John McGraw
converted him into an outfielder. He joined the regular lineup in and, becoming one of the first players to wear sunglassese and using a long-billed cap, came to excel defensively in left field at the Polo Grounds
with its difficult angles; the left field bleachers came to be known as "Burnsville," and his teammates would later describe him as the "greatest 'sunfielder' in the history of the game." In his rookie season he hit 37 doubles
, bettering Jim O'Rourke's club record of 36; the mark would stand for only two years, however, before Larry Doyle hit 40 in . 1913 also marked Burns' first World Series
appearance, though he only batted .158 as the Giants lost.
In 1914 he led the NL in runs for the first time and batted
a career-high .303, and also edged Josh Devore's 1911 club record of 61 steals by one; he finished fourth in the voting for the Chalmers (MVP) Award
, in the last year such an award would be given in the NL until 1924. In 1917 he batted .302, led the NL in runs a third time and in walks for the first time, and finished second in the NL in total bases
behind Hornsby; he also appeared in his second World Series
, but had another poor performance, hitting .227 as the Giants again lost. In he led the league in runs, walks and steals again, and also led NL outfielders in fielding percentage
for the first time. He surpassed his teammate Doyle's franchise record for career stolen bases; his eventual record of 334 was broken by Willie Mays
in . Burns hit for the cycle
on September 17, , and led the NL in runs for the fifth time that year.
In the 1921 World Series
, Burns finally had a successful postseason; he had four hits
in Game 3 as the Giants rolled to a 13-5 win, and had a 2-run double in the 8th inning of Game 4, breaking a 1-1 tie as New York evened the Series at two games each. He scored the deciding run in Game 6, and batted .333 for the Series as the Giants won their first title since 1905. Two months later he was sent to the Cincinnati Reds
in a trade that brought third baseman
Heinie Groh
to the Giants. In Burns set an NL record with his 28th steal of home, surpassing the old mark held by Honus Wagner
; Max Carey
broke his record later in the decade. He also set a Reds club record with 631 at bat
s (Hughie Critz
broke the mark in ). In the Reds' first game at New York that season, he was given a day in his honor and presented with a diamond-studded watch.
Burns ended his major league career with the Philadelphia Phillies
in . In a 15-season career, he was a .287 hitter with 1,188 runs, 41 home run
s and 611 runs batted in
in 1853 games played
. He collected 2,077 hits with a .366 on base percentage
, and his 383 stolen bases ranked 12th all-time at that point. Although he never had more than 181 hits in a season, playing in an era of diminished hitting, he was among the league's top five players six times. His NL record of leading the league in outfield games six times was later matched by Billy Williams and Dale Murphy
; his Giants record of 1184 games in left field was broken by Jo-Jo Moore in .
In he became a player-coach
with Williamsport
in the New York-Penn League, and he returned to the Giants in as a coach. He later worked for a tannery
, and retired in 1957.
Burns died in Gloversville, New York
at age 76.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
left fielder
Left fielder
In baseball, a left fielder is an outfielder who plays defense in left field. Left field is the area of the outfield to the left of a person standing at home plate and facing towards the pitcher's mound...
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 spent most of his career as the leadoff hitter for the New York Giants
San Francisco Giants
The San Francisco Giants are a Major League Baseball team based in San Francisco, California, playing in the National League West Division....
. A soft-spoken person, he was nicknamed "Silent George" by his teammates, and he was said to be one of the best pool players ever to play major league baseball. He led the National League
National League
The National League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the National League , is the older of two leagues constituting Major League Baseball, and the world's oldest extant professional team sports league. Founded on February 2, 1876, to replace the National Association of Professional...
in runs scored
Run (baseball)
In baseball, a run is scored when a player advances around first, second and third base and returns safely to home plate, touching the bases in that order, before three outs are recorded and all obligations to reach base safely on batted balls are met or assured...
a record five times, later equaled by only Rogers Hornsby
Rogers Hornsby
Rogers Hornsby, Sr. , nicknamed "The Rajah", was an American baseball infielder, manager, and coach who played 23 seasons in Major League Baseball . He played for the St. Louis Cardinals , New York Giants , Boston Braves , Chicago Cubs , and St. Louis Browns...
and Stan Musial
Stan Musial
Stanley Frank "Stan" Musial is a retired professional baseball player who played 22 seasons in Major League Baseball for the St. Louis Cardinals . Nicknamed "Stan the Man", Musial was a record 24-time All-Star selection , and is widely considered to be one of the greatest hitters in baseball...
, and also led the league in walks
Base on balls
A base on balls is credited to a batter and against a pitcher in baseball statistics when a batter receives four pitches that the umpire calls balls. It is better known as a walk. The base on balls is defined in Section 2.00 of baseball's Official Rules, and further detail is given in 6.08...
five times and stolen base
Stolen base
In baseball, a stolen base occurs when a baserunner successfully advances to the next base while the pitcher is delivering the ball to home plate...
s twice. He holds the Giants franchise record for stolen bases in a single season (62, in ), and held the club's career record from 1919 to 1972. At the end of his career, his 1262 games in left field ranked eighth in major league history, and his total of 1844 games in the outfield
Outfielder
Outfielder is a generic term applied to each of the people playing in the three defensive positions in baseball farthest from the batter. These defenders are the left fielder, the center fielder, and the right fielder...
ranked sixth in NL history.
Born in Utica, New York
Utica, New York
Utica is a city in and the county seat of Oneida County, New York, United States. The population was 62,235 at the 2010 census, an increase of 2.6% from the 2000 census....
, Burns started his baseball career as a catcher
Catcher
Catcher is a position for a baseball or softball player. When a batter takes his turn to hit, the catcher crouches behind home plate, in front of the umpire, and receives the ball from the pitcher. This is a catcher's primary duty, but he is also called upon to master many other skills in order to...
, and reached the Giants in the latter half of the season. Because of his strong throwing arm and outstanding speed, manager
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...
John McGraw
John McGraw
John McGraw may refer to:* John McGraw , , New York lumber tycoon, and one of the founding trustees of Cornell University* John McGraw , , Governor of Washington state from 1893–1897...
converted him into an outfielder. He joined the regular lineup in and, becoming one of the first players to wear sunglassese and using a long-billed cap, came to excel defensively in left field at the Polo Grounds
Polo Grounds
The Polo Grounds was the name given to four different stadiums in Upper Manhattan, New York City, used by many professional teams in both baseball and American football from 1880 until 1963...
with its difficult angles; the left field bleachers came to be known as "Burnsville," and his teammates would later describe him as the "greatest 'sunfielder' in the history of the game." In his rookie season he hit 37 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....
, bettering Jim O'Rourke's club record of 36; the mark would stand for only two years, however, before Larry Doyle hit 40 in . 1913 also marked Burns' first World Series
1913 World Series
In the 1913 World Series, the Philadelphia Athletics beat the New York Giants four games to one.The A's pitching gave the edge to a closer-than-it-looked Series in 1913...
appearance, though he only batted .158 as the Giants lost.
In 1914 he led the NL in runs for the first time and batted
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 :...
a career-high .303, and also edged Josh Devore's 1911 club record of 61 steals by one; he finished fourth in the voting for the Chalmers (MVP) Award
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 the last year such an award would be given in the NL until 1924. In 1917 he batted .302, led the NL in runs a third time and in walks for the first time, and finished second in the NL in 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....
behind Hornsby; he also appeared in his second World Series
1917 World Series
In the 1917 World Series, the Chicago White Sox beat the New York Giants four games to two. The Series was played against the backdrop of World War I, which dominated the American newspapers that year and next....
, but had another poor performance, hitting .227 as the Giants again lost. In he led the league in runs, walks and steals again, and also led NL outfielders in fielding percentage
Fielding percentage
In baseball statistics, fielding percentage, also known as fielding average, is a measure that reflects the percentage of times a defensive player properly handles a batted or thrown ball...
for the first time. He surpassed his teammate Doyle's franchise record for career stolen bases; his eventual record of 334 was broken by Willie Mays
Willie Mays
Willie Howard Mays, Jr. is a retired American professional baseball player who played the majority of his major league career with the New York and San Francisco Giants before finishing with the New York Mets. Nicknamed The Say Hey Kid, Mays was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1979, his...
in . Burns hit for the cycle
Hitting for the cycle
In baseball, hitting for the cycle is the accomplishment of one batter hitting a single, a double, a triple, and a home run in the same game. Collecting the hits in that order is known as a "natural cycle". Cycles are uncommon in Major League Baseball , occurring 293 times since the first by Curry...
on September 17, , and led the NL in runs for the fifth time that year.
In the 1921 World Series
1921 World Series
In the 1921 World Series, the New York Giants beat the New York Yankees five games to three. This was the last of the experimental best-five-of-nine series....
, Burns finally had a successful postseason; he had four 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....
in Game 3 as the Giants rolled to a 13-5 win, and had a 2-run double in the 8th inning of Game 4, breaking a 1-1 tie as New York evened the Series at two games each. He scored the deciding run in Game 6, and batted .333 for the Series as the Giants won their first title since 1905. Two months later he was sent to the Cincinnati Reds
Cincinnati Reds
The Cincinnati Reds are a Major League Baseball team based in Cincinnati, Ohio. They are members of the National League Central Division. The club was established in 1882 as a charter member of the American Association and joined the National League in 1890....
in a trade that brought third baseman
Third baseman
A third baseman, abbreviated 3B, is the player in baseball whose responsibility is to defend the area nearest to third base — the third of four bases a baserunner must touch in succession to score a run...
Heinie Groh
Heinie Groh
Henry Knight "Heinie" Groh was an American third baseman in Major League Baseball who spent nearly his entire career with the Cincinnati Reds and New York Giants. He was the National League's top third baseman in the late 1910s and early 1920s, and captained championship teams with the Reds and ...
to the Giants. In Burns set an NL record with his 28th steal of home, surpassing the old mark held by Honus Wagner
Honus Wagner
-Louisville Colonels:Recognizing his talent, Barrow recommended Wagner to the Louisville Colonels. After some hesitation about his awkward figure, Wagner was signed by the Colonels, where he hit .338 in 61 games....
; Max Carey
Max Carey
Max George Carey was an American center fielder in Major League Baseball who starred for the Pittsburgh Pirates and was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1961...
broke his record later in the decade. He also set a Reds club record with 631 at bat
At bat
In baseball, an at bat or time at bat is used to calculate certain statistics, including batting average, on base percentage, and slugging percentage. It is a more restricted definition of a plate appearance...
s (Hughie Critz
Hughie Critz
Hugh Melville Critz was an American second baseman in Major League Baseball for the Cincinnati Reds in the 1920s and the New York Giants in the 1930s.-Career overview:...
broke the mark in ). In the Reds' first game at New York that season, he was given a day in his honor and presented with a diamond-studded watch.
Burns ended his major league career with 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 . In a 15-season career, he was a .287 hitter with 1,188 runs, 41 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 and 611 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...
in 1853 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,...
. He collected 2,077 hits with a .366 on base percentage
On base percentage
In baseball statistics, on-base percentage is a measure of how often a batter reaches base for any reason other than a fielding error, fielder's choice, dropped/uncaught third strike, fielder's obstruction, or catcher's interference In baseball statistics, on-base percentage (OBP) (sometimes...
, and his 383 stolen bases ranked 12th all-time at that point. Although he never had more than 181 hits in a season, playing in an era of diminished hitting, he was among the league's top five players six times. His NL record of leading the league in outfield games six times was later matched by Billy Williams and Dale Murphy
Dale Murphy
Dale Bryan Murphy is a former Major League Baseball outfielder and first baseman. During an 18-year baseball career, 1976–1993, he played for three different teams, but is noted for his time with the Atlanta Braves...
; his Giants record of 1184 games in left field was broken by Jo-Jo Moore in .
In he became a player-coach
Coach (sport)
In sports, a coach is an individual involved in the direction, instruction and training of the operations of a sports team or of individual sportspeople.-Staff:...
with Williamsport
Williamsport Crosscutters
The Williamsport Crosscutters are a Short-Season A classification minor league baseball team based in Williamsport, Pennsylvania, in the United States...
in the New York-Penn League, and he returned to the Giants in as a coach. He later worked for a tannery
Tanning
Tanning is the making of leather from the skins of animals which does not easily decompose. Traditionally, tanning used tannin, an acidic chemical compound from which the tanning process draws its name . Coloring may occur during tanning...
, and retired in 1957.
Burns died in Gloversville, New York
Gloversville, New York
Gloversville is a city in Fulton County, New York, that was once the hub of America's glovemaking industry with over two hundred manufacturers in Gloversville and Johnstown. In 2000, Gloversville had a population of 15,413. Ten years later, the population had increased to 15,665- History :The...
at age 76.
Related links
- List of major league players with 2,000 hits
- List of Major League Baseball players with 100 triples
- List of Major League Baseball leaders in career stolen bases
- Hitting for the cycleHitting for the cycleIn baseball, hitting for the cycle is the accomplishment of one batter hitting a single, a double, a triple, and a home run in the same game. Collecting the hits in that order is known as a "natural cycle". Cycles are uncommon in Major League Baseball , occurring 293 times since the first by Curry...
- List of Major League Baseball runs scored champions
- List of Major League Baseball stolen base champions
- Major League Baseball titles leadersMajor League Baseball titles leadersAt the end of each Major League Baseball season, the league leaders of various statistical categories are announced. Leading the league in a particular category is referred to as a title....
- Major League Baseball titles streaksMajor League Baseball titles streaksAt the end of each Major League Baseball season, the league leaders of various statistical categories are announced. Leading the league in a particular category is referred to as a title....