Jimmy Burke

James Timothy Burke
(Sunset Jimmy)

• Bats Right, Throws Right
• Height 5' 7", Weight 160 lb.

• Debut October 6, 1898
• Final Game October 8, 1905
• Born October 12, 1874 in St. Louis, MO USA
• Died March 26, 1942 in St. Louis, MO USA

BR page

Biographical Information

“I had to be a fighting ballplayer. That’s how I got by. I wasn’t a great ballplayer, so I made the best of such assets as I possessed. I put all of the fight and enthusiasm I could into my work. So even if I had shortcomings, owners knew I always worked and hustled for them. Besides, in the old days a player had to have a reputation as a fighter in self-defense. It didn’t do to be too meek. Everyone would step on you.” - Jimmy Burke, to The Sporting News, February 24, 1931

Jimmy Burke saw stop and start big league action between 1898 and 1902 before becoming the regular third baseman for the St. Louis Cardinals from 1903 to 1905, serving as player-manager of the club for part of 1905. He enjoyed his finest season in his first with a steady gig, batting .285 in 115 games for the '03 Cards. He moved to the minors as manager of the Kansas City Blues in 1906 and 1907, the Louisville Colonels in 1908, Fort Wayne Billikens in 1910, the Indianapolis Indians in 1911 and 1912, and the Fort Wayne Railroaders in 1913. After being released as manager of Indianapolis in 1912, he signed a contract to scout for the Detroit Tigers. He made it back to the majors as a Detroit Tigers coach from 1914 to 1917 then became manager of the St. Louis Browns in 1918, holding that post for two and a half years. He managed the Tulsa Oilers for part of 1921. He was a member of the Boston Red Sox staff from 1921 to 1923 before going back to the minors as skipper of the Toledo Mud Hens in 1924 and 1925. He was then a Chicago Cubs coach from 1926 to 1930 and ended his big league coaching career on the New York Yankees staff from 1931 to 1933.

Preceded by Kid Nichols

St. Louis Cardinals Manager 1905

Succeeded by Stanley Robison

Preceded by Jimmy Austin

St. Louis Browns Manager 1918-1920

Succeeded by Lee Fohl

Year-By-Year Managerial Record

Year	Team	League	Record	Finish	Organization	Playoffs	Notes
1905	St. Louis Cardinals	National League	54-98	--	St. Louis Cardinals		replaced Kid Nichols (5-9) on May 4 / replaced by Stanley Robison on August 10
1906	Kansas City Blues	American Association	69-79	6th	none
1907	Kansas City Blues	American Association	78-76	4th	none
1908	Louisville Colonels	American Association	88-65	2nd	none	none
1910	Fort Wayne Billikens	Central League	79-58	2nd	none	none
1911	Indianapolis Indians	American Association	78-88	7th	none
1912	Indianapolis Indians	American Association		--	none		replaced by Charley O'Leary
1913	Fort Wayne Railroaders	Central League	77-63	2nd	none
1918	St. Louis Browns	American League	29-31	5th	St. Louis Browns		replaced Fielder Jones (22-24) and Jimmy Austin (7-9) on June 28
1919	St. Louis Browns	American League	67-72	5th	St. Louis Browns
1920	St. Louis Browns	American League	76-77	4th	St. Louis Browns
1921	Tulsa Oilers	Western League	29-56	--	none		replaced by Bill Clymer on July 12
1924	Toledo Mud Hens	American Association	82-83	5th	none
1925	Toledo Mud Hens	American Association	77-90	6th	none

Further Reading

• Gary Livacari: "Jimmy Burke", in Gregory H. Wolf, ed.: Winning on the North Side: the 1929 Chicago Cubs, SABR, Phoenix, AZ, 2015, pp. 190-193. ISBN 978-1-933599-89-2

Related Sites

• Jimmy Burke at the SABR Bio Project
• BR Manager page
• Baseball History Daily story on Jimmy Burke