Burt Shotton
Burton Edwin Shotton
(Barney)
- Bats Left, Throws Right
- Height 5' 11", Weight 175 lb.
- Debut September 13, 1909
- Final Game April 21, 1923
- Born October 18, 1884 in Brownhelm, OH USA
- Died July 29, 1962 in Lake Wales, FL USA
Biographical Information[edit]
Burt Shotton had a 14-year major league career as an outfielder, mostly in the dead-ball era, and then managed 11 seasons in the big leagues, including two pennant-winning Brooklyn Dodgers teams in the late 1940s.
Almost all of his major league playing career was spent in St. Louis, either with the Browns or with the Cardinals. His tendency to draw walks was of great value in the dead-ball era when hits were hard to come by.
He had a lifetime .271 average and stole 293 bases.
The most similar players to Shotton, according to the similarity scores method, are two outfielders who were well-known players a bit before him - Jimmy Slagle and Topsy Hartsel.
Shotton was a coach for the St. Louis Cardinals from 1923 to 1925, the Cincinnati Reds in 1934, and Cleveland Indians from 1942 to 1945.
As a manager, Shotton is best remembered for wearing street clothes in the dugout rather than a uniform. In 1947, he replaced Leo Durocher in Brooklyn after Commissioner Happy Chandler suspended Durocher for the entire season for "conduct detrimental to baseball" - notably, Leo's association with gamblers. Shotton was known for playing hunches and taking some surprising tactical risks (for example, when he had Al Gionfriddo steal second in Game 4 of the 1947 World Series, down 2-1 in the 9th inning).
New York Daily News sportswriter Dick Young gave him the sardonic nickname "Kindly Old Burt Shotton" (reduced to the acronym KOBS).
David Gough wrote a book called Burt Shotton, Dodgers Manager: A Baseball Biography.
Notable Achievements[edit]
- AL At Bats Leader (1916)
- 2-time AL Bases on Balls Leader (1913 & 1916)
- 100 Runs Scored Seasons: 1 (1913)
- NL Pennants: 2 (1947 & 1949)
| Preceded by Stuffy McInnis |
Philadelphia Phillies Manager 1928-1933 |
Succeeded by Jimmie Wilson |
| Preceded by Clyde Sukeforth |
Brooklyn Dodgers Manager 1947 |
Succeeded by Leo Durocher |
| Preceded by Leo Durocher |
Brooklyn Dodgers Manager 1948-1950 |
Succeeded by Chuck Dressen |
Year-By-Year Managerial Record[edit]
Further Reading[edit]
- Kevin Cook: Electric October: Seven World Series Games, Six Lives, Five Minutes of Fame That Lasted Forever, Henry Holt and Co., Macmillan, New York, NY, 2017. ISBN 9781250116567
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