 Baseball historian Bill James in "The New Bill James Historical Baseball Abstract" has cited Burns as one of the players supporting his view that the UA was not a true major league.James noted that Burns did not make the grade with Detroit in 1883, became "one of the best players" in the UA, earning him "another look" in the National League, lasting only 14 games.In support of his contention that Burns was not able to compete at a major league level, James asserts that Burns was "released by Detroit in mid-summer, 1883."