Leslie Mann Baseball Lantern Slide, No. 279

Item Information

Title:
Leslie Mann Baseball Lantern Slide, No. 279
Description:
George Burns, an outfielder for the Cincinnati Reds, stands in left field at Crosley Field in Cincinnati, Ohio. Burns is looking forward towards the outfield as he brings his arm back behind his body in order to build up strength to throw the baseball to the infield.
Creator:
Mann, Leslie
Creator:
E.W. Goodrich (Tremont Temple, Boston)
Date:
1920–1925
Format:
Photographs
Location:
Springfield College Archives and Special Collections
Collection (local):
Leslie Mann Baseball Lantern Slide Collection
Subjects:
Baseball
Baseball caps
Baseball cards
Baseball fields
Burns, George Joseph
Cincinnati Reds
Fielding--Outfield
Throwing
Crosley Field, Cincinnati, Ohio
Link to Item:
https://cdm16122.contentdm.oclc.org/cdm/ref/collection/p16122coll10/id/91
Terms of Use:
Rights status not evaluated.
This work is licensed for use under a Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial Share Alike License (CC BY-NC-SA).
CC BY-NC-SA icon
Publisher:
Springfield College
Language:
English
Notes:
This lantern slide is a continuation of slide 278, as Burns transitions from fielding a ground ball to actually throwing the baseball to the infield in this slide. Burns demonstrates a proper throwing stance as he extends his throwing arm backwards. Burns is in the middle of his continuous motion process of throwing the baseball. His right foot is positioned under his throwing hand as he extends backward to gain momentum on his throw. As he begins to throw the baseball towards the infield and brings his arm forward, Burns will continue his continuous motion as his right foot will move inward along with his arm as he begins to throw the ball.
George Joseph Burns was born November 24, 1889 in Utica, New York. He spent most of his career playing leftfield for the New York Giants, but also played for the Cincinnati Reds and the Philadelphia Phillies at the end of his career. Burns’ name was actually popular during this time period, as two other famous people, another baseball player and comedian, shared the exact same name of George Burns with him. This may be why he is often forgot about today because of the success of the comedian. George Burns may actually be the most consistent hitter ever in the history of baseball. Burns career batting average was .287, but over 15 years, he never hit higher than .303 or lower than .272. He consistently hit around the .300 mark with little to no fluctuations throughout his 15 year career. Burns also consistently led the league in hits, runs, walks, and stolen bases. He made his debut in the Major Leagues at the end of the 1911 season for the Giants, and the manager John McGraw chose not to farm Burns out, which was a common practice during this time period. Instead, Burns remained on the team and sat on the bench, learning from McGraw. Burns became the starter for the Giants in 1913. The Giants field was known for being one of the sunniest fields, making it one of the most difficult baseball fields for a left fielder to play in. Burns adopted a special cap with blue sunglasses attached to it to deal with catching these fly balls. Burns became very successful at catching these fly balls. Burns was also known for his speed and being a very successful leadoff man. In 1914, he led the league in runs scored and stolen bases and hit .303, his career high batting average, finishing fourth in MVP voting. Along with his incredible consistency, Burns was also a very reliable player, as he played in 459 straight games from 1915-1917. Burns also has stolen home base 28 times in his career, the third most all-time. In 1921, Burns won the World Series with the New York Giants, and was the hero in Game 4, hitting a walk-off double. Shockingly, he was traded the next year to the Cincinnati Reds. He played in the Major Leagues until 1925 and then moved to the Minor Leagues until 1930.
Leslie Mann identifies the player in slide 278 as George Burns on page 50 of his manual titled the Fundamentals of Baseball.
Good condition;
This digital image is made from two separate digital scans; one scan of the lantern slide (reflective); one scan of the image (transparency); the two image were then combined in Photoshop to create the final image.
Lantern slide from the Leslie Mann baseball instruction course, "The Fundamentals of Baseball"
Lesch, R.J. "George Burns." Society for American Baseball Research, [ https://sabr.org/bioproj/person/c31a8104 ]. Accessed 21 Feb. 2018. _____Internet Archive_____. [http://web.archive.org/web/20180221175510/https://sabr.org/bioproj/person/c31a8104].
Identifier:
LANT-BSBL-279-03
279