Don Burroughs
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Position: | Defensive back | ||||
Personal information | |||||
Born: | Fillmore, California, U.S. | August 19, 1931||||
Died: | October 20, 2006 Ventura, California, U.S. | (aged 75)||||
Height: | 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) | ||||
Weight: | 190 lb (86 kg) | ||||
Career information | |||||
College: | Colorado A&M (1951–1952) | ||||
Undrafted: | 1953 | ||||
Career history | |||||
Career highlights and awards | |||||
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Career NFL statistics | |||||
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Player stats at PFR |
Donald Edward Burroughs (August 19, 1931 – October 20, 2006) was an American professional football player who was a defensive back in the National Football League (NFL) for the Los Angeles Rams and the Philadelphia Eagles. He played college football as a quarterback at Colorado A&M, now known as Colorado State University. Burroughs was notable for his 6'5" height, an anomaly at the safety position.
Early life and college career
Burroughs was born in Fillmore, California, as the only son of a family with four daughters.[1]
Burroughs excelled in Ventura Country for
Pro football career
Due to a logjam of quarterbacks, he elected to switch positions to become a defensive back. His stature and frame earned him the nickname of "The Blade" from Rams quarterback
The next year, Burroughs would only pick off two passes in twelve games, and the next year saw him start ten games and pick three passes off. 1958 proved slightly better, as he would record seven interceptions in twelve games (with one fumble and one fumble recovery), aided by a three-interception game on November 16 against the Green Bay Packers (quarterbacked by Babe Parilli).[7][8] In 1959, he played in just ten games with six starts that resulted in no interceptions (with one fumble recovery). After the season, he traded to the Philadelphia Eagles under the request of Van Brocklin, who had joined the Eagles the previous year.
He started ten games and recorded nine interceptions that season while recording one fumble recovery, which included two games with two interceptions.[9] The Eagles finished as one of the best teams in the league and thus advanced to the 1960 NFL Championship Game against the Green Bay Packers on December 26. While he did not record a statistic, the Eagles won the game 17-13, earning Burroughs his first and only championship.[10] He was named a Second Team All-Pro that season by three of the five selectors (the Associated Press and the Newspaper Enterprise Association, and the New York Daily News).
He recorded seven interceptions in both 1961 and 1962, and in the former year, he was second-team All Pro from the NEA, the Daily News, and the UPI.[11][12][13] Burroughs recorded his third and final game with three interceptions on December 3, 1961, against the Pittsburgh Steelers (who used Bobby Layne, Rudy Bukich, and John Henry Johnson as quarterbacks).[14] He recorded four interceptions in 1963 before closing out his career with two interceptions in 1964. His final interception came against the Pittsburgh Steelers on October 25.[15][16]
He finished in the top ten for interceptions in five different seasons, finishing second in 1955, fifth in 1958, third in 1960, fifth in 1961, and third in 1962. At the time of the retirement of Burroughs, he was the seventh player to have recorded fifty interceptions in NFL history; in the prevailing half-century, he moved from tied for fifth best to 35th.[17]
Personal life
After his retirement at the age of 33, Burroughs ran a variety of businesses, which included a trucking company. With his wife Elaine, he had four children along with nine grandchildren. In 2006, Burroughs died of cancer at the age of 75.[18]
References
- ^ "Don "The Blade" Burroughs Obituary (2006) Ventura County Star". Legacy.com.
- ^ "Colorado State Athletics Hall of Fame - Don Burroughs". Colorado State Athletics. Retrieved December 9, 2021.
- ^ "Don Burroughs". 30 January 2017.
- ^ "Don Burroughs 1955 Game Log". Pro-Football-Reference.com.
- ^ "Los Angeles Rams at San Francisco 49ers - September 25th, 1955". Pro-Football-Reference.com.
- ^ "Championship - Cleveland Browns at Los Angeles Rams - December 26th, 1955". Pro-Football-Reference.com.
- ^ "Don Burroughs 1958 Game Log". Pro-Football-Reference.com.
- ^ "Los Angeles Rams at Green Bay Packers - November 16th, 1958". Pro-Football-Reference.com.
- ^ "Don Burroughs 1960 Game Log". Pro-Football-Reference.com.
- ^ "Championship - Green Bay Packers at Philadelphia Eagles - December 26th, 1960". Pro-Football-Reference.com.
- ^ "1961 NFL All-Pros". Pro-Football-Reference.com.
- ^ "Don Burroughs 1961 Game Log". Pro-Football-Reference.com.
- ^ "Don Burroughs 1962 Game Log". Pro-Football-Reference.com.
- ^ "Philadelphia Eagles at Pittsburgh Steelers - December 3rd, 1961". Pro-Football-Reference.com.
- ^ "Don Burroughs 1964 Game Log". Pro-Football-Reference.com.
- ^ "Philadelphia Eagles at Pittsburgh Steelers - October 25th, 1964". Pro-Football-Reference.com.
- ^ "NFL Career Interceptions Leaders Through 1965". Pro-Football-Reference.com.
- ^ Ben Bolch (November 1, 2006). "Don Burroughs, 75; back was All-Pro for the Rams, Eagles". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved October 6, 2009.