1934-1936 Diamond Stars: #75 Irving Burns

Sunday, February 26, 2023

#75 Irving Burns - St. Louis Browns

John Irving Burns

St. Louis Browns

First Base

Bats: Left Throws: Left Height: 5'10" Weight: 175

Born: August 31, 1907, Cambridge, MA

Major League Teams: St. Louis Browns 1930-1936; Detroit Tigers 1936

Died: April 18, 1975, Brighton, MA (67)

Jack Burns was given the nicknames "Slug" or "Slugger" at an early age, and from what I can tell didn't officially go by his middle name, Irving, as shown on this Diamond Stars card. Burns rose to stardom in New England where he played for a number of semi-pro teams, tallying high home run totals, before the Browns signed him in 1929. He'd take over regular first base duties for the Browns in 1931, playing in almost all of the Browns' games between 1931 and 1935. Burns was consistent, driving in at least 70 runs each year between 1931 and 1934. He peaked in 1932 when he batted .305 with 111 runs scored, 11 home runs and 70 RBIs, and was one of the Browns' top hitters along with catcher Rick Ferrell (#48). Burns saw his last major league action in 1936 with the Tigers, and then spent the next four seasons playing in the minor leagues. In 890 big league games, he batted .280 with 44 home runs and 417 RBIs.

Burns would stay in baseball, coaching and managing in the minor leagues through the 1946 season. He'd work in the Red Sox organization as a scout and minor league manager between 1947 and 1954, then serve as the third base coach for the Red Sox between 1955 and 1959. Burns scouted for the Red Sox between 1960 and his death in 1975, and he's credited with recommending the Red Sox sign Carlton Fisk, who was a first-round selection in the January 1967 amateur player draft.

Building the Set

February 13, 2023 from Pembroke, MA - Card #73

In early February, I came across a few auctions from eBay seller vg-grego with reasonably set Buy It Now prices, and also with Make Offer options. There were two cards I needed, this Bruns card and the Zeke Bonura (#65) card, so I submitted reasonable offers for both cards simultaneously and both offers were quickly accepted. That in itself was the boring part of the story. The fun part of the story is how the cards arrived. On February 13th, while working from home, I checked our mailbox mid-afternoon and was surprised to see two identical bubble-wrapped cylinders stuffed in our mailbox from Pembroke, Massachusetts. The packages were light and addressed to me, and I had absolutely no idea what could be inside. Coffee mugs? Something fragile I had ordered and forgotten about? I usually wait until after my work day to open and admire mailday treasures, but I had to see what was in these packages.

I carefully cut open the top of the first bubble wrapped package, which had been tightly wound with packing tape. Inside was a tube of bubble wrap, with "Zeke" written in Sharpie on it, and once I unwound the tube, I found the Bonura card in a sandwich bag in a thick screw-down plastic holder. Burns was behind the wall of bubble wrap with "Irving" written on it. This was the most impressively packaged, and protected, eBay mailings I had ever received. If you ever purchase anything from eBay seller vg-grego, rest assured your parcel will arrive safe and secure.

Variations Available

1 - 1935 / green back / 1934 statistics / 1935 copyright

2 - 1935 / blue back / 1934 statistics / 1935 copyright

3 - 1936 / blue back / 1935 statistics / 1935 copyright ✅

Cards 73 through 84 were issued in 1935 with either green or blue ink on the back and statistics from 1934. These same 12 cards were issued again in 1936 with blue ink on the back and statistics from 1935. The Burns card for my set is the third of the three variations available, issued in 1936.

The Card / Browns Team Set

There's a fantastic art deco style scene of an imaginary St. Louis skyline behind Burns on this card, complete with a clock tower, smoke from a distant factory's smokestacks, and construction on a building in progress behind Burns' bat. The tip on the back covers how to stretch for the ball, catching it one-handed, on close plays at first base. The last line is great, describing how umpires listen "for the the spat of the ball on the baseman's mitt," in order to judge if the runner is safe or out.

1936 Season

Burns had slumped somewhat in 1935, and it appears he lost the Browns' starting first baseman's job to Jim Bottomley (#59) to start the 1936 season. After just nine games with the Browns in April, he was traded to the Tigers on April 30th for left-handed pitcher Elon Hogsett. Burns took over the first base job from Hank Greenberg (#54), who had suffered a wrist injury early in the season. In 138 games with the Tigers, Burns batted .283 with four home runs and 63 RBIs. The 29-year-old played in his final big league game on September 27th, going 0 for 2 against the Indians. He remained in the Tigers' system, but with Greenberg returning to full health in 1937, Burns' services were no longer needed at the big league level.