Leslie Mann Baseball Lantern Slide, No. 274

Item Information

Title:
Leslie Mann Baseball Lantern Slide, No. 274
Description:
George Burns, an outfielder for the Cincinnati Reds, stands in the outfield at Crosley Field in Cincinnati, Ohio. Burns holds his glove above him over his hand, and it appears he has attempted to angle his glove to block the sun from his eyes as Burns glances up in the air.
Creator:
Mann, Leslie
Creator:
Erker Bros. Optical Co., St. Louis Mo.,
Date:
September 6, 2017
Format:
Photographs
Location:
Springfield College Archives and Special Collections
Collection (local):
Leslie Mann Baseball Lantern Slide Collection
Subjects:
Baseball
Baseball caps
Burns, George Joseph
Cincinnati Reds
Fielding--Outfield
Crosley Field, Cincinnati, Ohio
Link to Item:
http://cdm16122.contentdm.oclc.org/cdm/ref/collection/p16122coll10/id/73
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:
In the slide, Burns is demonstrating the importance of blocking the sun when a fly ball is hit to you in the outfield. Burns's glove completely blocks the sun from his eyes, which is noticeable by the fact that the rest of the field is bright but his eyes are completely shaded by his glove. Burns will be able to tell exactly where the ball is going to fall by shading his eyes. This is important both for the success of the team, but also for Burns's own safety. Burns increases the chances of him successfully catching the baseball because he is able to get a better understanding of exactly where the baseball is going to land by shielding his eyes. He also protects himself because if he didn't know where the baseball was, there is a chance it could hit him in the head and cause him injury. This ability is very important for an outfielder to have.
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 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-274-03
274