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George Burns
Nickname(s): Tioga George
1893-1978

1B 1914-29 Tigers, Athletics, Indians, Red Sox, Yankees

George Burns's Teammates

  • Most Valuable Player Award in 1926

GamesAverageHRRBI
Career 1866.30772948
World Series 6.25003


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Burns was in his thirteenth major league season in 1926 when he was named MVP, shining among the AL's greatest luminaries. Babe Ruth hit more home runs (47 to Burns's four), but Burns was second to Ruth in RBI, with 114. He tied Hall of Famer Sam Rice for most hits, 216, broke Tris Speaker's doubles record with 64, and batted .358.

Burns drove in the winning run for Cleveland in Game Seven of the 1920 WS, but the Indians traded him to Boston in 1921. Burns reciprocated by turning an unassisted triple play against Cleveland in 1923. Somewhat error-prone, he led the AL in that category four of the 12 seasons in which he played over 100 games at first base. Slumping at bat after 1927, he hung on for two final lackluster seasons. He found rejuvenation, though, in the Pacific Coast League, where he played and managed for five more years, hitting .335. (JK)


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FROM THE BASEBALL CHRONOLOGY
» August 10, 1915: In Washington, Detroit 3B Ossie Vitt is hit by a Walter Johnson fastball and, after being knocked out for five minutes, leaves the game with a concussion. A rattled Johnson then allows four runs in the first inning, two runs on a 2-run homer by George Burns, and another four through the 6th inning to lose (he will be 17–2 at home this year). Ty Cobb, observing Johnson's fear of hitting a batter, will begin crowd the plate on the Washington ace from here on. Cobb will average .435 for the rest of his career against Walter, after topping .222 only once in the previous eight years.

» June 9, 1916: In Detroit, consecutive doubles by Bobby Veach and George Burns stop Ruth's scoreless innings at 25. Ruth evens the score with a longest drive ever seen at Navin Field, into the RF bleachers. When Ruth tires in the 9th, Carl Mays relieves and loses, 6–5. Ruth is 3-for-3 at bat.

» August 19, 1917: Coaching at 3B in a 1–1 game against Washington, Ty Cobb gives base runner "Tioga" George Burns a shove when Burns stops at 3B on a long hit; Burns keeps going and scores the winning run. Clark Griffith protests, and Ban Johnson upholds him, as the rules now ban coaches from touching a runner. The game is replayed, and Washington wins 2–0.

» March 8, 1918: The Yankees buy 1B George Burns, 37, from Detroit, then swap him to the A's for another veteran Ping Bodie, 30. Burns will replace Stuffy McInnis, the last of the "$100,000 infield," who went to the Red Sox in January.

» September 11, 1920: In game 6, Brooklyn's P Sherry Smith gives up a 6th-inning single to Tris Speaker and double to George Burns. That's all the scoring for the day, as Brooklyn reject Duster Mails yields three hits for a 1–0 win and 4–2 lead for Cleveland in the best-of-9 series.

» September 26, 1921: Babe Ruth hits Nos. 57 and 58 plus a double and a walk to beat the Indians 8–7, and the Yankees take a two game lead. George Burns adds a triple and three singles for New York in the come-from-behind win. The Indians load the bases in the 9th inning but Steve Neill strikes out on a Carl Mays fastball in the dirt to end it.

» September 14, 1923: George Burns, 1B for the Boston Red Sox, makes an unassisted triple play in the 2nd on a line drive hit by Cleveland's Frank Brower. He tags out Rube Lutzke and rushes to 2B for the 3rd out before Riggs Stephenson returns. The Sox beat the visiting Indians, 4–3 in 12 innings.

» September 27, 1926: Cleveland 1B George Burns hits his 64th double of the year, as the Indians down Philadelphia 5–4. Indians righthander George Uhle gives up nine hits in winning his 27th against 11 losses. He leads the American League, despite giving up a league-high 300 hits and 118 walks, and posts a 2.83 ERA. It is his best record in a 17-year, 200-win career.

» May 21, 1927: It is George Burns Day in Cleveland as he is presented with a diploma as the MVP of 1926, a silver bat containing $1,150 in cash, and an automobile. Burns has a pair of doubles but the visiting Yankees win 6–4 in 12 innings.

» May 27, 1927: In St. Louis, the Indians beat the Browns, 7–3, scoring their only earned tun on John Hoddap's homer. For the 2nd game in a row, veteran 1B George Burns swipes home on the front end of a double steal with Joe Sewell, pulling it off in the 9th. The two did it yesterday in game two's 9–7 win.

» September 17, 1931: On his 32nd birthday, OF Earl Webb of the Red Sox ties and then sets the still-standing major-league record for 2-base hits at 65. Earl doubles in the lidlifter, a 9–2 win over the visiting Indians, to tie George Burns' double record at 64. Burns set his record in 1926. In game 2, a 2–1 Sox loss, Webb doubles off Jablonowksi to set the record. He double tomorrow and will finish the season with 67. He would have had 68, but on August 4th the league corrected a May 1st box score, turning what had been credited as a double into a single.