Johnny Burnett (baseball)

Johnny Burnett
Shortstop
Born: (1904-11-01)November 1, 1904
Bartow, Florida
Died: August 12, 1959(1959-08-12) (aged 54)
Tampa, Florida
Batted: Left Threw: Right
MLB debut
May 7, 1927, for the Cleveland Indians
Last MLB appearance
September 29, 1935, for the St. Louis Browns
MLB statistics
Batting average .284
Home runs 9
Runs batted in 213
Teams

John Henderson Burnett (November 1, 1904 – August 12, 1959) was an American professional baseball player who was a utility infielder in Major League Baseball for nine seasons during the 1920s and 1930s. Burnett played second base, third base, shortstop, and outfielder for the Cleveland Indians and St. Louis Browns.[1]

Born in Bartow, Florida, he made his major league debut for the Cleveland Indians at the age of 22 on May 7, 1927 against the Philadelphia Athletics after graduating from the University of Florida.[2][3] Burnett wore uniform number 1 in all eight of his seasons with the Indians.[2] In 1930, Burnett's first season as an everyday starter, he was batting above .300 into July when, on July 19, he broke his wrist and was sidelined for the season.[1][4] Without Burnett, the Indians narrowly missed the playoffs after finishing eight games above .500.[5][6] On July 10, 1932, still playing for the Indians, Burnett had a major league record nine hits in eleven at-bats in an eighteen inning game against the Philadelphia Athletics.[4][7][8] Burnett's record for hits in a game still stands today. He was also the first man to hit more than 7 hits in extra innings. Since then, only Rocky Colavito in 1962, Cesar Gutierrez in 1970, Rennie Stennett in 1975, and Brandon Crawford in 2016 have collected 7 or more hits in 1 game.[7]

In late 1934, in the waning years of his career, after eight seasons with the Indians, Burnett was traded by the Indians to the St. Louis Browns for outfielder Bruce Campbell.[1] Wearing number 4, Burnett played only one season for the Browns before being traded to the Cincinnati Reds near the start of the 1936 season for first baseman Jim Bottomley.[1][2] Burnett never played a game for the Reds, and never played major league baseball again. His last game was on September 29, 1935.[2] Burnett died in Tampa, Florida on August 12, 1959 at the age of 54 from acute leukemia.[1][2][9]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 "Johnny Burnett Statistics". Baseball Cube. Retrieved 2008-08-21.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 "Johnny Burnett Baseball Stats". Baseball Almanac. Retrieved 2008-08-21.
  3. ↑ "1927 Cleveland Indians Schedule". Baseball Almanac. Retrieved 2008-08-21.
  4. 1 2 "The Ballplayers – Johnny Burnett". Baseball Library. Retrieved 2008-08-21.
  5. ↑ "1930 Cleveland Indians Schedule". Baseball Almanac. Retrieved 2008-08-21.
  6. ↑ "1930 Cleveland Indians Statistics". Baseball Cube. Retrieved 2008-08-21.
  7. 1 2 "Hits Records by Baseball Almanac". Baseball Almanac. Retrieved 2008-08-21.
  8. ↑ "Hits Records by Baseball Almanac". Baseball Almanac. Retrieved 2008-08-21.
  9. ↑ "Johnny Burnett, 54, Dies". The Dead Ball Era. Archived from the original on November 13, 2006. Retrieved 2008-08-23.
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