Dick Burns
Richard Simon Burns (December 26, 1863 – November 16, 1937) was an American professional baseball player from 1883 to 1890. He played three seasons in Major League Baseball, principally as a pitcher and outfielder, for the Detroit Wolverines (37 games, 1883), Cincinnati Outlaw Reds (79 games, 1884) and St. Louis Maroons (14 games, 1885).
| Dick Burns | |
|---|---|
| Pitcher/Outfielder | |
| Born: December 26, 1863 Holyoke, Massachusetts, U.S. | |
| Died: November 16, 1937 (aged 73) Holyoke, Massachusetts, U.S. | |
Batted: Left Threw: Left | |
| MLB debut | |
| May 3, 1883, for the Detroit Wolverines | |
| Last MLB appearance | |
| July 23, 1885, for the St. Louis Maroons | |
| MLB statistics | |
| Win–loss record | 25–27 |
| Earned run average | 3.07 |
| Strikeouts | 199 |
| Teams | |
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| Career highlights and awards | |
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During his major league career, Burns appeared in 82 games as an outfielder, 58 as a pitcher and two as a shortstop. He compiled a .267 batting average and scored 97 runs in 544 at bats. As a pitcher, he compiled a 25–27 (.481) win–loss record with a 3.07 earned run average (ERA).
During the 1884 season, he led the Union Association (UA) with 12 triples, ranked third in the league with a .457 slugging percentage, and compiled a 23–15 record and 2.46 ERA as pitcher, and threw a no-hitter. Baseball historian Bill James in The New Bill James Historical Baseball Abstract has cited Burns's dramatically improved performance in 1884 in support of his view that the UA was not a true major league. Although his major league career ended in July 1885, Burns continued to play minor league baseball through the 1890 season and later became a cigar and tobacco seller in his hometown of Holyoke, Massachusetts.