George Burns

First Baseman · Career Stats, Bio & Records (1914-1929)

George Burns was a first baseman who played in Major League Baseball from 1914 to 1929 for 5 teams, including the Detroit Tigers, a span of 16 seasons. In 1,866 career games, he hit .307 with 2,018 hits, 72 home runs, and 951 RBI. George Burns was an MVP. His career PIV — Baseball Data Hub's era-adjusted measure of offensive impact — is 14,034.

AVG (Batting Average):
Hits divided by at bats. .300 is the traditional mark of an excellent hitter.
HR (Home Runs):
Hits on which the batter circled the bases and scored, almost always by clearing the outfield fence.
RBI (Runs Batted In):
Runs that scored as a direct result of a batter's plate appearance.
OPS (On-Base Plus Slugging):
On-base percentage plus slugging percentage, the quickest single summary of offensive value. .900 or better is star-level.

Data updated

AVG .307
HR 72
RBI 951
H 2,018
OPS .783
PIV 14,034
Position
First Baseman
Bats / Throws
R / R
Height / Weight
6'1" / 180 lb
Born
1/31/1893 in Niles, OH, USA
Died
1/7/1978 in Kirkland, WA, USA
MLB Debut
1914-04-14
Last Game
1929-09-29
Awards
MVP

Full name: George Henry Burns

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Career Batting Statistics

George Burns — Career Batting Statistics
G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB BB SO AVG OBP SLG OPS PIV
1,866 6,573 901 2,018 444 72 72 951 154 363 433 .307 .354 .429 .783 14,034

Career AVG .307 vs. league average .273 across their career seasons — +12.5% above league average.

Career OBP .354 vs. league average .336 across their career seasons — +5.3% above league average.

Career SLG .429 vs. league average .373 across their career seasons — +15.1% above league average.

Career OPS .783 vs. league average .709 across their career seasons — +10.4% above league average.

Season-by-Season Batting

Career Arc

Click a stat to plot it across every season.

George Burns (b. 1893) Stats, Bio & Career Records
Year Team Lg G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB BB SO AVG Lg AVG Lg OBP Lg SLG Lg OPS PIV
1914 DET AL 137 478 55 139 22 5 5 57 23 32 56 .291 .255 (+14%) .322 (+9%) .339 (+15%) .661 (+12%) 1080.4
1915 DET AL 105 392 49 99 18 3 5 50 9 22 51 .253 .250 (+1%) .318 (-6%) .332 (+6%) .651 (avg) -58.9
1916 DET AL 135 479 60 137 22 6 4 73 12 22 30 .286 .248 (+15%) .314 (+4%) .326 (+17%) .640 (+11%) 802.5
1917 DET AL 119 407 42 92 14 10 1 40 3 15 33 .226 .248 (-9%) .312 (-16%) .323 (-2%) .635 (-9%) -634.9
1918 PHA AL 130 505 61 178 22 9 6 70 8 23 25 .352 .255 (+38%) .318 (+22%) .326 (+43%) .645 (+33%) 2889.9
1919 PHA AL 126 470 63 139 29 9 8 57 15 19 18 .296 .262 (+13%) .322 (+5%) .347 (+28%) .670 (+17%) 1357.1
1920 PHA AL 22 60 1 14 3 0 1 7 4 6 7 .233 .271 (-14%) .331 (-6%) .363 (-8%) .694 (-7%) -55.1
1920 CLE AL 44 56 7 15 4 1 0 13 1 4 3 .268 .271 (-2%) .331 (+2%) .363 (+3%) .694 (+3%) -55.1
1921 CLE AL 84 244 52 88 21 4 0 49 3 13 19 .361 .286 (+26%) .344 (+15%) .395 (+21%) .739 (+19%) 820.2
1922 BOS AL 147 558 71 171 32 5 12 73 8 20 28 .306 .285 (+7%) .345 (-2%) .397 (+12%) .743 (+6%) 552.1
1923 BOS AL 146 551 91 181 47 5 7 82 9 45 33 .328 .282 (+16%) .344 (+12%) .390 (+20%) .734 (+17%) 1877.8
1924 CLE AL 129 462 64 143 37 5 4 68 14 29 27 .310 .283 (+9%) .345 (+7%) .389 (+12%) .734 (+10%) 914.2
1925 CLE AL 127 488 69 164 41 4 6 79 16 24 24 .336 .288 (+17%) .349 (+6%) .407 (+16%) .756 (+12%) 1057.7
1926 CLE AL 151 603 97 216 64 3 4 114 13 28 33 .358 .279 (+28%) .345 (+14%) .390 (+27%) .735 (+21%) 2464.6
1927 CLE AL 140 549 84 175 51 2 3 78 13 42 27 .319 .282 (+13%) .344 (+9%) .392 (+11%) .736 (+10%) 1123.6
1928 CLE AL 82 209 29 52 12 1 5 30 2 17 11 .249 .280 (-11%) .342 (-6%) .395 (-2%) .737 (-4%) -116.6
1928 NYA AL 4 4 1 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 .500 — — — — -116.6
1929 NYA AL 9 9 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 4 .000 — — — — 0.0
1929 PHA AL 29 49 5 13 5 0 1 11 1 2 3 .265 — — — — 0.0
Career · 19 seasons 1,866 6,573 901 2,018 444 72 72 951 154 363 433 .307 — — — — 13,903

Lg columns show the league average for that season, with the player's figure as a percentage above or below it. Career totals the seasons listed above.

Postseason Statistics

Playoff Career Batting

George Burns — Playoff Career Batting
G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO AVG
6 12 1 3 1 0 0 3 3 4 .250

Playoff Batting by Year

George Burns — Playoff Batting by Year
Year Round Team G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO AVG
1929 WS PHA 1 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 .000
1920 WS CLE 5 10 1 3 1 0 0 3 3 3 .300

Game Log & Splits

View full game log (1869 games) →

Per-game data from Retrosheet (regular season, through 2025).

Batting — Home / Away

George Burns — Batting — Home / Away
SplitGABRHHRRBIAVG
Home9343180478102331500.322
Away935340242599841454.293

Last 10 Games — Batting

George Burns — Last 10 Games — Batting
DateTmOppResABRH2B3BHRRBIBBSO
1929-09-29 PHABOSL 000000000
1929-09-26 PHABOSW 000000000
1929-09-22 PHAMINL 111000000
1929-09-19 PHADETW 322100010
1929-09-14 PHACHWW 411100200
1929-09-02 PHANYYW 100000000
1929-09-01 PHAMINL 400000000
1929-08-31 PHABOSW 411001301
1929-08-30 PHABOSL 300000000
1929-08-28 PHANYYW 401100400

Fielding Statistics

Career Fielding Totals by Position

George Burns — Career Fielding Totals by Position
Position G GS PO A E DP
1B 1671 0 16892 1094 245 1117
OF 50 0 78 7 6 2

Season-by-Season Fielding

George Burns — Season-by-Season Fielding
Year Team Pos G GS PO A E DP
1914 DET 1B 137 0 1579 79 30 72
1915 DET 1B 104 0 1155 57 17 65
1916 DET 1B 124 0 1355 54 22 71
1917 DET 1B 104 0 1127 57 12 44
1918 PHA 1B 128 0 1384 104 26 109
1918 PHA OF 2 0 5 0 1 0
1919 PHA 1B 86 0 918 71 20 44
1919 PHA OF 34 0 53 4 4 2
1920 PHA OF 13 0 20 3 1 0
1920 CLE 1B 12 0 84 9 2 1
1920 CLE OF 1 0 0 0 0 0
1921 CLE 1B 73 0 534 41 6 40
1922 BOS 1B 140 0 1412 94 20 103
1923 BOS 1B 146 0 1485 92 16 103
1924 CLE 1B 127 0 1227 110 18 85
1925 CLE 1B 126 0 1195 82 14 94
1926 CLE 1B 151 0 1499 99 19 122
1927 CLE 1B 139 0 1362 102 15 111
1928 CLE 1B 53 0 470 38 8 44
1928 NYA 1B 2 0 7 0 0 0
1929 PHA 1B 19 0 99 5 0 9

Career Games by Position

Position Diamond

Circle size = games played at each position.

George Burns (b. 1893) Stats, Bio & Career Records
Position Games
First Base 1673
Left Field 1
Right Field 48

Awards & Honors

George Burns — Awards & Honors
Year Award Notes
1926 Baseball Magazine All-Star 1B
1926 Most Valuable Player
1926 TSN All-Star 1B

Award Voting History

George Burns — Award Voting History
Year Award League Finish Points Won Points Max Votes First
1926 Most Valuable Player AL 1st 63.0 64 0
1925 Most Valuable Player AL 21th 4.0 64 0
1923 Most Valuable Player AL 10th 8.0 64 0
1922 Most Valuable Player AL 21th 2.0 64 0

Most Similar Players

Career comps based on counting + rate stats and primary position. Score is relative — closest peer anchors at ~98%.

Career Spans

George Burns (highlighted) compared to peers across the same era.

  1. 98
    George Kell HOF
    .306 avg, 78 HR
  2. 96
    Marty McManus
    .289 avg, 120 HR
  3. 95
    Home Run Baker HOF
    .307 avg, 96 HR
  4. 95
    Harvey Kuenn
    .303 avg, 87 HR
  5. 94
    Jimmy Collins HOF
    .294 avg, 65 HR
  6. 93
    Freddie Lindstrom HOF
    .311 avg, 103 HR

Compare George Burns

Side-by-side career stat comparisons against Burns's closest peers by position and era.

vs George Sisler

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George Burns: the record in brief

According to the bio, George Burns debuted on April 14, 1914 and played a final game on September 29, 1929. The season rows list, in order, the Detroit Tigers (1914 to 1917), the Philadelphia Athletics (1918 to 1929), the Cleveland Indians (1920 to 1928), the Boston Red Sox (1922 to 1923), and the New York Yankees (1928 to 1929). Burns, born on January 31, 1893, in Niles, OH, USA, is listed as a first baseman and batted and threw right-handed. Burns's listed size is 6'1" and 180 pounds. The bio records the death on January 7, 1978, in Kirkland, WA, USA. George Burns was the playing name; the full given name is George Henry.

Across 1,866 games at the plate, Burns's career line reads 2,018 hits in 6,573 at bats for a .307 average, along with 72 home runs, 951 runs batted in, and 154 stolen bases. The on-base percentage is .354 and the slugging percentage .429, for an OPS of .783.

Frequently Asked Questions about George Burns

What years did George Burns play?
George Burns played in Major League Baseball from 1914 to 1929.
Was George Burns a pitcher?
No. George Burns was a position player (First Baseman).
How many home runs did George Burns hit?
George Burns hit 72 career home runs with 2,018 hits.
What teams did George Burns play for?
George Burns played for 5 teams: the Detroit Tigers (1914–1917), the Philadelphia Athletics (1918–1920, 1929), the Cleveland Indians (1920–1921, 1924–1928), the Boston Red Sox (1922–1923), and the New York Yankees (1928–1929).
How many MVP awards did George Burns win?
George Burns won 1 MVP award, in 1926.
What awards did George Burns win?
George Burns won the MVP award (1926).
What were George Burns's career stats?
In 1,866 games, George Burns had 2,018 hits, 72 home runs, 951 RBI, 901 runs, and 154 stolen bases, with a .307 batting average.
What position did George Burns play?
George Burns played primarily as a first baseman, the position where he appeared in the most games.
How tall was George Burns and how much did he weigh?
George Burns was listed at 6 feet 1 inch and 180 pounds.
How many home runs did George Burns hit each season?
George Burns's home runs by season: 5 in 1914, 5 in 1915, 4 in 1916, 1 in 1917, 6 in 1918, 8 in 1919, 1 in 1920, 0 in 1921, 12 in 1922, 7 in 1923, 4 in 1924, 6 in 1925, 4 in 1926, 3 in 1927, 5 in 1928, and 1 in 1929. His most in one season was 12, in 1922.
What was George Burns's career batting average?
George Burns batted .307 over his career, with 2,018 hits in 6,573 at bats.
How many RBI did George Burns have?
George Burns drove in 951 runs in his career.
Is George Burns in the Hall of Fame?
No. George Burns has not been inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame.