 | |
| No. 10 | |
|---|---|
| Position | Running back |
| Personal information | |
| Born | (1951-07-21)July 21, 1951 Raleigh, North Carolina, U.S. |
| Died | December 4, 2015(2015-12-04) (aged 64) Atlanta, Georgia, U.S. |
| Height | 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m) |
| Weight | 205 lb (93 kg) |
| Career information | |
| High school | William G. Enloe (NC) |
| College | North Carolina State |
| NFL draft | 1974: 6th round, 139th overall pick |
| Career history | |
| 1974 | Detroit Lions* |
| 1974–1981 | Calgary Stampeders |
* Offseason and/or practice squad member only | |
| Awards and highlights | |
| |
Canadian Football Hall of Fame (Class of 2001) | |
Willie Burden (July 21, 1951 – December 4, 2015) was an American professionalfootball player with theCalgary Stampeders of theCanadian Football League (CFL), who subsequently became anacademic andsports administrator. He was made a member of the Calgary Stampeder's Wall of Fame in 1992, and was inducted into theCanadian Football Hall of Fame in 2001. In 2006, Burden was voted to the Honour Roll of the CFL's top 50 players of the league's modern era by Canadian sports networkTSN.[1]
Following an outstandinghigh school football career atRaleigh'sWilliam G. Enloe High School, Burden andCharley Young became the firstAfrican-Americans recruited to theNorth Carolina State Universityfootball team in 1970.
As sophomore in 1971, he led the team with 227 carries for 910 yards (4.0-yard avg.) and 8 rushing touchdowns. He set the school's single-game record with 198 rushing yards againstKent State University.
In 1972, whenLou Holtz arrived as the new head coach atNorth Carolina State University, he implementedsplit-back veer offense to take advantage of the talent atrunning back, that included Burden, Young,Stan Fritts andRoland Hooks.[2] At the time, this was arguably the best group ofrunning backs in the nation, they were known as "The Four Stallions" and everyone of them went on to play in a professional football league.[3][4] He was third on the team behind Fritts and Young with 114 carries for 605 yards (5.3-yard avg.) and 6 rushing touchdowns.
In 1973, he was part of theAtlantic Coast Conference championship team as the startinghalfback. He led the team with 150 carries for 1,014 yards (6.8-yard avg.) and 8 rushing touchdowns. He became the first player in school history to break the 1,000 yard rushing mark in a single-season. He also received All-ACC andAtlantic Coast Conference Football Player of the Year honors.
He rushed for 2,529 yards, 7th best inWolfpack history. He graduated with abachelor's degree inEconomics. In 2009, he was inducted into theNorth Carolina Sports Hall of Fame.
Burden was selected by theDetroit Lions in the 6th round (139th overall) of the1974 NFL season. He was also selected by thePortland Storm in the 17th round (198th overall) of the1974 WFL Draft. He was waived by the Lions on September 11.
On September 17, 1974, he signed as afree agent with theCalgary Stampeders of theCanadian Football League.
The Stampeders would be Burden's home for eight seasons, between 1974 and 1981. He thrilled fans in his first season, rushing for 541 yards on 94 carries, but it was in his second season that he broke team and league records. He set a newCFL single-season rushing record, running 332 times for 1,896 yards. He also set a CFL record with 2,127 yards from scrimmage and led the league with 2,387 all-purpose yards and 15 total touchdowns. His best day was November 2 against theWinnipeg Blue Bombers, when he tiedLovell Coleman's team record of 238 yards in a game. Burden was rewarded with theCFL's Most Outstanding Player Award and All Canadian All Star honours in1975. His1975 record of 'most rushing yards in the first 5 games of a season' was beaten byKory Sheets in2013.[5] Burden was also named anAll West All Star in1977.
In 1978,James Sykes was named the starter atrunning back for the Stampeders, while Burden was used more as a blockingfullback and as a receiver out of the backfield. His statistics began to decline after that season.[6] In 1981, injuries limited him to play in only 8 games, registering 23 carries for 95 yards (4.1-yard avg.), 22 receptions for 183 yards and 4 touchdowns. He announced his retirement in June 1982.
Upon his retirement, Burden finished with 6,234 rushing yards, fifth best in Stampeders history afterKelvin Anderson,Earl Lunsford,Lovell Coleman andJoffrey Reynolds. He also recorded 1,242 carries, a 5.0 rushing average, 32 rushing touchdowns, 299 receptions (fourth in team history) for 2,669 yards and 16 receiving touchdowns.
His jersey number #10 wasretired by the Stamps in 1982. He was added to their Wall of Fame in 1992, was inducted into theCanadian Football Hall of Fame in 2001 and was chosen as one of the league's 50 greatest stars. He played at 5 foot 10 inches and a bruising 218 pounds and is remembered fondly in Canada.
| Year | Team | GP | Rush | Yards | Y/R | Lg | TD |
| 1974 | Calgary Stampeders | 6 | 94 | 541 | 5.8 | 71 | 3 |
| 1975 | Calgary Stampeders | 16 | 332 | 1896 | 5.7 | 40 | 10 |
| 1976 | Calgary Stampeders | 13 | 181 | 962 | 5.3 | 35 | 7 |
| 1977 | Calgary Stampeders | 16 | 220 | 1032 | 4.7 | 47 | 3 |
| 1978 | Calgary Stampeders | 15 | 160 | 627 | 3.9 | 23 | 2 |
| 1979 | Calgary Stampeders | 13 | 145 | 658 | 4.5 | 19 | 5 |
| 1980 | Calgary Stampeders | 16 | 87 | 423 | 4.9 | 23 | 2 |
| 1981 | Calgary Stampeders | 8 | 23 | 95 | 4.1 | 28 | 0 |
| CFL Totals | 103 | 1,242 | 6,234 | 5.0 | 71 | 32 |
Burden's post-pro football life was equally successful. He received hismaster's degree insports administration fromOhio University while working as an assistant football coach and instructor in the Department of Physical Education and Recreation. From 1984 to 1988, he served as Assistant Athletics Director atTennessee Technological University while working on hisdoctorate in education atTennessee State University (Ed.D.) which he received in 1990. In 1988, Burden returned toOhio University to serve as Assistant Athletic Director. From 1990 to 1999, he served as the athletic director and as an instructor of Health and Physical Education forNorth Carolina A&T University.
Later he was anAssociate Professor inSports Management atGeorgia Southern University. His research has been published in several academic journals. In 2005 Burden received another special honour, being inducted into Hall of Fame for theBoys & Girls Clubs of America ofRaleigh, North Carolina, for his lifetime of good works.
Burden suffered from congestive heart failure for several years. On September 2, 2015, it was reported in theCalgary Herald that Burden had been hospitalized in Atlanta for 209 days with a heart condition, awaiting a transplant.[7] He died in Atlanta on December 4, 2015, at the age of 64.[8] At the time of his death, Burden resided inStatesboro, Georgia, with his wife, Velma, and children Willie Jr. and Freddie. He also had a daughter, Courtney Bledsoe, who resides in North Carolina.