 He appeared in 37 games for the Wolverines, 24 as an outfielder and 17 as a pitcher.In early April 1883, the "Detroit Free Press" reported on the Wolverines' pre-season pitching practice—conducted in the main hall of Detroit's Music Hall.The newspaper reported that the team's new pitcher, Burns, was 5 feet, 7 inches tall, weighed only 140 pounds (a weight that, "with proper training, will doubtless increase"), showed good command of the ball and was developing an "up-shoot" pitch that was "a beauty."