Jack Burns (burnsja02)

John Irving Burns
(Slug)

• Bats Left, Throws Left
• Height 5' 10½", Weight 175 lb.

• Debut September 17, 1930
• Final Game September 27, 1936
• Born August 31, 1907 in Cambridge, MA USA
• Died April 18, 1975 in Brighton, MA USA

BR page

Biographical Information

Slick-fielding Jack Burns was the St. Louis Browns regular first baseman from 1931 to 1935, leading the league three times in double plays and twice in assists. Nicknamed "Slug", short for Slugger, while playing semipro ball in New England (according to Baseball Nicknames), he was not a power hitter in the bigs, with a best of just 13 homers in 1934. Perhaps more unusually for a first baseman, he led the AL with 20 sacrifice hits in 1935, something that might make people's heads explode if it were to happen in MLB today. After wrapping his playing career with the Detroit Tigers in 1936, Jack managed the Toronto Maple Leafs (1938-1939), Bradford Bees (1942) and Fall River Indians (1946). He was a Boston Red Sox scout in 1947 and 1948, managed the Scranton Red Sox from 1949-1951, piloted the Albany Senators from 1952-1954, was a Red Sox coach again from 1955 to 1959 and scouted for Boston again from 1961 to 1973. His son, John Jr., played in the Tiger organization in the mid-1950s.

Year-by-Year Managerial Record

Year	Team	League	Record	Finish	Organization	Playoffs	Notes
1938	Toronto Maple Leafs	International League	48-44	5th	none		replaced Dan Howley (24-37)
1939	Toronto Maple Leafs	International League	19-37	--	none	--	replaced by Tony Lazzeri (44-53) on June 19
1942	Bradford Bees	Pennsylvania-Ontario-New York League	56-68	6th	Boston Bees
1946	Fall River Indians	New England League	30-94	7th	none
1949	Scranton Red Sox	Eastern League	65-45	2nd	Boston Red Sox	Lost in 1st round	replaced Mike Ryba (14-16) May 29
1950	Scranton Red Sox	Eastern League	54-85	8th	Boston Red Sox
1951	Scranton Red Sox	Eastern League	77-60	2nd	Boston Red Sox	League Champs
1952	Albany Senators	Eastern League	82-54	1st	Boston Red Sox	Lost in 1st round
1953	Albany Senators	Eastern League	68-66	4th	Boston Red Sox	Lost in 1st round	replaced by Elmer Yoter (10-8) from July 27-August 9
1954	Albany Senators	Eastern League	75-64	3rd	Boston Red Sox	League Champs