Biography

A short bio from the Helmar “This Great Game” card back: Smoky has had his share of doubters in his career, but when you can wield a piece of lumber like Burgess can, those doubts quickly fade. The catcher from North Carolina is built like an iron fire hydrant, with thick legs, a barrel chest, and arms that wave a bat like it was a toothpick. Burgess has batted over .300 in six different professional circuits, going back to his first stop in the Pennsylvania/New York/Ontario League when he was a baby at 17 years of age. As a boy, Burgess was a Yankee fan, his favorite player Bill Dickey, the noted catcher, and the last receiver to bat as high as .360 in a season until Smoky pulled it off.

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