John Burns signed his first professional contract with the Pittsburgh Pirates in 1948. He was paid $150 a month and assigned to the Greenville Pirates team. Burns spent 1948-49 in Greenville, then the Pirates sent him to the York(Pa) White Roses of the Interstate League where he completed his 1949 season and played through 1950. After the 1950 season John got married, and he felt it was time for a more stable career. Being a Pennsylvania native, John looked for work in his home state. Many of the coal-mining towns in that era supported corporate teams, so John accepted a job at the Robena Coal Mine and played baseball with their team. John spent the next 35 years working in the coal mines. He didn't regret giving up professional ball, but he sometimes feels he was born too soon: He would have liked a chance to earn what modern ballplayers pull in.