Willie Burden

NFL player
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DateOfBirth=
Birthplace= Raleigh, North Carolina, USA
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College=North Carolina State University
Position=Running back
DraftedYear=1974
DraftedRound=6 / Pick 139
(By the Detroit Lions)
Career Highlights=Y
CFLAllStar=1975
Awards=1975 CFL MOP
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years=1974-1981
teams=Calgary Stampeders
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CFHOF=24&player=Burden,%20Willie

Dr. Willie Burden, Ed.D is a former professional Canadian football player with the Calgary Stampeders of the Canadian Football League and is currently an academic and sports administrator.

Burden, a running back, was made a member of the Calgary Stampeder's Wall of Fame in 1992, and was inducted into the Canadian 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 network TSN.cite web | url = http://www.tsn.ca/cfl/feature/?fid=10855 | accessdate = 2007-07-02 | author = | title = TSN Top 50 Honour Roll | publisher = TSN.ca | date = 2006-11-28]

College career

Following an outstanding high school football career at Raleigh's Enloe High School, Burden attended North Carolina State University, where he played from 1971 to 1973 on scholarship. He rushed for 2,529 yards, 7th best in Wolfpack history. He was the 1973 Atlantic Coast Conference Football Player of the Year. He graduated with a bachelor's degree in Economics.

Following graduation, Burden was drafted twice in 1974, by the NFL's Detroit Lions in the 6th round (139th overall) and by the World Football League's Portland Storm, in the 17th round (198 overall.) Regardless, Canada would be his eventual professional football destination.

Professional football career

The Calgary 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 new CFL single season rushing record, running 332 times for 1896 yards. His best day was November 2 against the Winnipeg Blue Bombers, when he tied Lovell Coleman's team record of 238 yards in a game. Burden was rewarded with the CFL's Most Outstanding Player Award and All Canadian All Star honours in 1975. Burden was also named an All West All Star in 1977.

Upon his retirement, Burden had rushed for 6,234 yards, fourth best in Stampeders history after Kelvin Anderson, Earl Lunsford and Coleman.

He has since received many honours. His jersey number #10 was retired by the Stamps in 1982. He was added to their Wall of Fame in 1992, and was inducted into the Canadian Football Hall of Fame in 2001. Though small in size, at 5 foot 10 inches and a bruising 218 pounds, he is remembered fondly in Canada.

Post-football career

Burden's post pro football life has been equally successful. He received his master's degree in sports administration from Ohio 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 at Tennessee Technological University while working on his doctorate in education at Tennessee State University (Ed.D) which he received in 1990. In 1988, Burden returned to Ohio University to serve as Assistant Athletic Director. In 1990, he became the Director of Intercollegiate Athletics and Instructor of Health and Physical Education for North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University.

Presently he is an Associate Professor in Sports Management at Georgia 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 the Boys & Girls Clubs of America of Raleigh, North Carolina, for his lifetime of good works.

Burden currently resides in Statesboro, Georgia, with his wife, Velma, and children Willie, Jr. and Freddie. He also has a grown daughter, Courtney.

References

External links

* [http://chhs.georgiasouthern.edu/hospitality/faculty_staff.html Georgia Southern University, Department of Hospitality, Tourism and Family & Consumer Sciences Faculty Biography]