View source for Bunny Hearn

{{Short description|American baseball player (1891–1959)}}
{{distinguish|Bunny Hearn (1920s pitcher)}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=July 2024}}
{{Infobox baseball biography
|name=Bunny Hearn
|position=[[Pitcher]]
|image=Bunn Hearn.png
|caption=Hearn, c. 1938
|bats=Left
|throws=Left
|birth_date={{Birth date|1891|5|21|mf=y}}
|birth_place=[[Chapel Hill, North Carolina]], U.S.
|death_date={{death date and age|1959|10|10|1891|5|21}}
|death_place=[[Wilson, North Carolina]], U.S.
|debutleague = MLB
|debutdate=September 17
|debutyear=1910
|debutteam=St. Louis Cardinals
|finalleague = MLB
|finaldate=July 2
|finalyear=1920
|finalteam=Boston Braves
|statleague = MLB
|stat1label=[[Win–loss record (pitching)|Win–loss record]]
|stat1value=13–24
|stat2label=[[Strikeout]]s
|stat2value=111
|stat3label=[[Earned run average]]
|stat3value=4.91
|teams=
*[[St. Louis Cardinals]] (1910–11)
*[[New York Giants (NL)|New York Giants]] (1913)
*[[Pittsburgh Rebels]] (1915)
*[[Boston Braves (baseball)|Boston Braves]] (1918, 1920)
}}
'''Charles Bunn "Bunny" Hearn''' (May 21, 1891 &ndash; October 10, 1959) was a [[Major League Baseball]] [[pitcher]], Major League scout, and minor league, [[semi-professional|semi-pro]] and college-level manager.

==Biography==
He was born on May 21, 1891, in [[Chapel Hill, North Carolina]].
[[File:Bunny Hearn -Score Card 1923 - DPLA - 7a9ca8211a338ffdfdf81aac6f6e492e (page 9) (cropped).jpg|thumb|Hearn as a minor league pitcher in 1923.]]
Hearn attended [[Elon University|Elon College]] and what is now [[Mississippi State University]]. 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 1916 squad was named one of the one hundred greatest teams in minor league history by the official [[Minor League Baseball]] website.

During his Major League career, Hearn played for the [[St. Louis Cardinals]], the [[New York Giants (NL)|New York Giants]], the [[Federal League]] [[Pittsburgh Rebels]], and the [[Boston Braves (baseball)|Boston Braves]]. He compiled a record of 13–24 over six seasons. He was later a scout for the [[Boston Red Sox]].

Following the 1913 season, Hearn was a member of [[John McGraw]]'s world touring team. At a game in London, Hearn explained the various grips pitchers used on the ball to [[George V of the United Kingdom|King George V]]. 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]] team in [[Winston-Salem, North Carolina|Winston-Salem]] that won the title.

During the 1930s, Hearn managed teams in the semi-professional [[Coastal Plain League (semi pro)|Coastal Plain League]] including the [[Kinston Eagles (Coastal Plain League)|Kinston Eagles]] who won the league championship in 1935.

Hearn served as head coach of the [[North Carolina Tar Heels]] 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]] titles and two [[Ration League]] titles.

He died on October 10, 1959, in [[Wilson, North Carolina]]

==Legacy==
Hearn was inducted into the [[North Carolina Sports Hall of Fame]] in 1993, the American Baseball Coaches Association Hall of Fame in 1966, and the [[Elon University|Elon]] Sports Hall of Fame in 1975.

==Sources==
* [https://www.baseball-reference.com/h/hearnbu01.shtml BR page]
* [https://www.baseball-reference.com/minors/player.cgi?id=hearn-001cha BR minors]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20070927171604/http://www.ncshof.org/inductees_detail.php?i_recid=259 NC Sports Hall bio]
* [http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/milb/history/top100.jsp?idx=57 New London team]
* {{cite book | author=Gaunt, Robert| title=We Would Have Played Forever: The Story of the Coastal Plain Baseball League | publisher=Baseball America, Inc. | year=1997 | isbn=0-945164-02-5 }}

{{North Carolina Tar Heels baseball coach navbox}}

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