William Edwin Burwell (March 27, 1895 – June 11, 1973) was an American professional

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball sport played between two team sport, teams of nine players each, taking turns batting (baseball), batting and Fielding (baseball), fielding. The game occurs over the course of several Pitch ...

player,

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and coach. Born in Jarbalo, Kansas, Burwell was a right-handed

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("Pitch (baseball), pitches") the Baseball (ball), baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of out (baseball), retiring a batter (baseball), batter, ...

who stood tall and weighed .

World War I service

In 1917, Burwell was drafted into the United States Army. During the

Battle of Saint-Mihiel The Battle of Saint-Mihiel was a major World War I battle fought from 12 to 15 September 1918, involving the American Expeditionary Forces (AEF) and 110,000 French troops under the command of General John J. Pershing of the United States again ...

in 1918, Burwell volunteered for the dangerous mission of attacking German machine gun nests, and his pitching hand was injured by a bullet. One of his fingers was shattered and the tip of the finger was lost, causing his fingers to have a slight curl. He'd discover after his hand healed that he could throw a sinker.

Pitching career

Burwell won 239

minor league Minor leagues are professional sports leagues which are not regarded as the premier leagues in those sports. Minor league teams tend to play in smaller, less elaborate venues, often competing in smaller cities/markets. This term is used in Nort ...

games during a 22-year playing career (1915–17, 1919–35, 1937–38). He pitched for all or parts of 12 straight seasons, between 1923 and 1934, for the

Indianapolis Indians The Indianapolis Indians are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League (IL) and the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A affiliate of the Pittsburgh Pirates. They are located in Indianapolis, Indiana, and play their home games at Victory ...

of the American Association. In

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league composed of 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (baseball), National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. MLB i ...

, he appeared in 66 career games for the 1920–21 St. Louis Browns and four contests for the 1928

Pittsburgh Pirates The Pittsburgh Pirates are an American professional baseball team based in Pittsburgh. The Pirates compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Central ...

. In his 70 MLB

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, six as a

starting pitcher In baseball (hardball or softball), a starting pitcher or starter is the first pitcher in the game for each team. A pitcher is credited with a game started if they throw the first pitch to the opponent's first batter of a game. Starting pit ...

, he won nine games and lost eight, with a 4.37

earned run average In baseball statistics, earned run average (ERA) is the average of earned runs allowed by a pitcher per nine innings pitched (i.e. the traditional length of a game). It is determined by dividing the number of earned runs allowed by the number ...

. He posted six saves and one

complete game In baseball, a complete game (CG) is the act of a pitcher pitching an entire game without the benefit of a relief pitcher. A pitcher who meets this criterion will be credited with a complete game regardless of the number of innings played—pitche ...

, allowing 253

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and 79

bases on balls A base on balls (BB), better known as a walk, occurs in baseball when a batter receives four pitches during a plate appearance that the umpire calls '' balls'', and is in turn awarded first base without the possibility of being called out. The bas ...

, with 49

strikeout In baseball or softball, a strikeout (or strike-out) occurs when a batter accumulates three strikes during a time at bat. It means the batter is out, unless the third strike is not caught by the catcher and the batter reaches first base safe ...

s, in 218

innings pitched In baseball, the statistic innings pitched (IP) is the number of innings a pitcher has completed, measured by the number of Batter (baseball), batters and baserunners that have been put out while the pitcher is on the Baseball field#Pitcher's mou ...

As manager and coach

He also fashioned a lengthy post-pitching career as a minor league

(including two seasons, 1945–46, as skipper of the Indianapolis franchise) and Major League coach. He worked in the latter role for the

Boston Red Sox The Boston Red Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Boston. The Red Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League East, East Division. Founded in as one of the Ameri ...

(1944) and

(1947–48; 1958–62). While serving as pitching coach on Danny Murtaugh's staff, Burwell was a member of the Pirates' 1960 world championship team. Burwell was acting manager of the Pirates for the final game of the 1947 season, after

player-manager A player–coach (also playing coach, captain–coach, or player–manager) is a member of a sports team who simultaneously holds both playing and coaching duties. Player–coaches may be head coaches or assistant coaches, and they may make chang ...

Billy Herman resigned with one game remaining.Finoli, David, and Bill Rainer. ''The Pittsburgh Pirates Encyclopedia'', Sports Publishing LLC, 2003, p. 447. Under Burwell, the Pirates defeated the Cincinnati Reds, 7–0. He also was a longtime scout and roving minor league coach for the Pirates. While working as pitching instructor in the Pirate organization in 1949, Burwell was instrumental to the development of pitcher Vern Law, then toiling for the Class B Davenport Pirates of the Illinois–Indiana–Iowa League. Burwell taught the 19-year-old Law how to change speeds and throw the change-up. Law — winner of the

Cy Young Award The Cy Young Award is given annually to the best pitchers in Major League Baseball (MLB), one each for the American League (AL) and National League (baseball), National League (NL). The award was introduced in 1956 by Commissioner of Baseball ( ...

as the top pitcher in the majors — later cited Burwell as the coach who most helped him during his time in the minor leagues. Burwell died at age 78 in Ormond Beach, Florida, and is buried in nearby Daytona Beach.

References

External links

*
Playing, cosching and managing record
from

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* {{DEFAULTSORT:Burwell, Bill 1895 births 1973 deaths Baseball coaches from Kansas Baseball players from Kansas Boston Red Sox coaches Clinton Pilots players Columbus Senators players Crookston Pirates players Elgin Watch Makers players Fort Wayne Chiefs players Indianapolis Indians managers Indianapolis Indians players Joplin Miners players Louisville Colonels (minor league) managers Major League Baseball pitchers Major League Baseball pitching coaches Mason City Claydiggers players Minneapolis Millers (baseball) players People from Leavenworth County, Kansas Sportspeople from Ormond Beach, Florida Baseball players from Volusia County, Florida Pittsburgh Pirates coaches Pittsburgh Pirates players Pittsburgh Pirates scouts Rockford Wakes players Rock Island Islanders players St. Louis Browns players 20th-century American sportsmen Terre Haute Tots players Topeka Savages players Davenport Pirates players United States Army personnel of World War I American expatriate baseball players in Cuba