Charles Bunn "Bunny" Hearn (May 21, 1891 – October 10, 1959) was a

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 ...

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, ...

, Major League scout, and minor league,

semi-pro ''Semi-Pro'' is a 2008 American sports comedy film. The film was directed by Kent Alterman in his directorial debut, written by Scot Armstrong, and produced by Jimmy Miller. It stars Will Ferrell, Woody Harrelson, André 3000 (credited as And ...

and college-level manager.

Biography

He was born on May 21, 1891, in

Chapel Hill, North Carolina Chapel Hill is a town in Orange County, North Carolina, Orange and Durham County, North Carolina, Durham counties, North Carolina, United States. Its population was 61,960 in the 2020 United States census, making Chapel Hill the List of municipa ...

. Hearn attended

Elon College Elon University is a private university in Elon, North Carolina, United States. Founded in 1889 as Elon College, the university is organized into six schools, most of which offer bachelor's degrees and several of which offer master's degrees or ...

and what is now

Mississippi State University Mississippi State University for Agriculture and Applied Science, commonly known as Mississippi State University (MSU), is a Public university, public land-grant university, land-grant research university in Mississippi State, Mississippi, Un ...

. His 109 strikeouts in 1910 was an Elon single-season record that stood for 67 years. In the minor leagues, Hearn won 22 games for the 1916

New London Planters The New London Planters were a minor league baseball team based in New London, Connecticut, that entered the now defunct Connecticut League in 1913, which had recently renamed itself the Eastern Association (baseball), Eastern Association with the ...

. The 1916 squad was named one of the one hundred greatest teams in minor league history by the official

Minor League Baseball Minor League Baseball (MiLB) is a professional baseball organization below Major League Baseball (MLB), constituted of teams affiliated with MLB clubs. It was founded on September 5, 1901, in response to the growing dominance of the National Le ...

website. During his Major League career, Hearn played for the

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

, the

New York Giants The New York Giants are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Giants compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East division. The ...

, the

Federal League The Federal League of Base Ball Clubs, known simply as the Federal League, was an American professional baseball league that played its first season as a minor league in 1913 and operated as a "third major league", in competition with the e ...

Pittsburgh Rebels The Pittsburgh Rebels were a baseball club based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, from 1913 to 1915. The team was a member of the short-lived Federal League. The team was originally called the Pittsburgh Stogies after an earlier Pittsburgh team tha ...

, and the

Boston Braves The Boston Braves were a Major League Baseball club that originated in Boston, Boston, Massachusetts, and played from 1871 to 1952. Afterwards they moved to History of the Atlanta Braves#Milwaukee, Milwaukee (and became the Milwaukee Braves). ...

. He compiled a record of 13–24 over six seasons. He was later a scout 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 ...

. Following the 1913 season, Hearn was a member of

John McGraw John Joseph McGraw (April 7, 1873 – February 25, 1934) was an American Major League Baseball (MLB) player and manager (baseball), manager who was for almost thirty years manager of the New York Giants (NL), New York Giants. He was also the ...

's world touring team. At a game in London, Hearn explained the various grips pitchers used on the ball to

King George V George V (George Frederick Ernest Albert; 3 June 1865 – 20 January 1936) was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India, from 6 May 1910 until his death in 1936. George was born during the reign of his pa ...

. Later in life, he would often brag that he taught the King of England how to throw a curve. In 1928, Hearn was a part-owner, manager, and pitcher for the

Piedmont League The Piedmont League was a minor league baseball league that operated from 1920 through 1955. The league operated principally in the Piedmont plateau region in the eastern United States. Cities represented The following cities hosted teams th ...

team in

Winston-Salem Winston-Salem is a city in Forsyth County, North Carolina, United States, and its county seat. At the 2020 census, the population was 249,545, making it the fifth-most populous city in North Carolina and the 91st-most populous city in the Uni ...

that won the title. During the 1930s, Hearn managed teams in the semi-professional

Coastal Plain League The Coastal Plain League (CPL) is a wood-bat collegiate summer baseball league, featuring college players recruited from throughout the nation. The league takes its name from the Class D level Coastal Plain League which operated in the area f ...

including the Kinston Eagles who won the league championship in 1935. Hearn served as head coach of the

North Carolina Tar Heels The North Carolina Tar Heels (also Carolina Tar Heels) are the college sports in the United States, intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. The name Tar Heel is a nickname used to refer to ...

in 1917 and 1918, and again from 1932 to 1946. He compiled a record of 214–133–2 while in Chapel Hill. Hearn's Tar Heels won six

Southern Conference The Southern Conference (SoCon) is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference affiliated with the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) NCAA Division I, Division I. Southern Conference College football, football teams c ...

titles and two Ration League titles. He died on October 10, 1959, in

Wilson, North Carolina Wilson is a city in and the county seat of Wilson County, North Carolina, United States. It is the List of municipalities in North Carolina, 23rd-most populous city in North Carolina. Located about east of the capital city of Raleigh, North Car ...

Legacy

Hearn was inducted into the

North Carolina Sports Hall of Fame The North Carolina Museum of History is a history museum located in downtown Raleigh, North Carolina. It is an affiliate through the Smithsonian Affiliations program. The museum is a part of the Division of State History Museums, Office of Archi ...

in 1993, the American Baseball Coaches Association Hall of Fame in 1966, and the Elon Sports Hall of Fame in 1975.

Sources

BR page

BR minors

NC Sports Hall bio

New London team
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Hearn, Bunny 1891 births 1959 deaths Minor league baseball managers Major League Baseball pitchers St. Louis Cardinals players New York Giants (baseball) players Pittsburgh Rebels players 20th-century American sportsmen Boston Braves players Boston Red Sox scouts North Carolina Tar Heels baseball coaches Sportspeople from Chapel Hill, North Carolina Sportspeople from Wilson, North Carolina Baseball players from North Carolina Wilson Tobacconists players Louisville Colonels (minor league) players Springfield Senators players Omaha Rourkes players Mississippi State Bulldogs baseball players Toronto Maple Leafs (International League) players New London Planters players Wilson Bugs players Winston-Salem Twins players York White Roses players Henderson Bunnies players Harrisburg Senators players