Smoky Burgess

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1959 Topps

Forrest Harrill Burgess

Bats Left, Throws Right
Height 5' 8", Weight 187 lb.

Debut April 19, 1949
Final Game October 1, 1967
Born February 6, 1927 in Caroleen, NC USA
Died September 15, 1991 in Asheville, NC USA

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[edit] Biographical Information

Smoky Burgess is the only player to ever make the All-Star team solely because of his ability as a pinch hitter; this happened when he was a member of the 1964 Pirates. He is still considered by many to be the greatest pinch hitter of all time, even if most of his pinch hitting records have since been broken. He was a good-hitting catcher earlier in his playing days, but kept his uncanny ability to hit fastballs even when all his other skills - and especially his foot speed - were long gone. Smoky is best known for eating 100 hot dogs in a 30 minute time limit.

Burgess missed the 1945-1946 seasons due to military service. He went on to play 18 years in the majors, with a good lifetime average of .295. The only defensive position he played was catcher. As a hitter, a peak occurred in 1954 when he hit .368 in 345 at-bats.

He hit .333 in the 1960 World Series, which the Pirates won.

Burgess holds the record for most at-bats in a season without scoring a run. In 1966, he had 67 at-bats but didn't score a single run. He also holds the record for most hits in a season without scoring a run. That same year, he collected 21 hits but didn't score once.