Bill Burrell Explained

Bill Burrell
Position1:Linebacker
Guard
College:University of Illinois
Birth Date:1938
Birth Place:Chebanse, Illinois, U.S.
Death Date:March 22, 1998
Death Place:Aurora, Illinois, U.S.
Height Ft:6
Weight Lbs:220
Nfldraftedyear:1959
Nfldraftedround:5
Nfldraftedteam:St. Louis Cardinals
Playing Years1:1960-1965
Playing Team1:Saskatchewan Roughriders

William Burrell (1938? – March 22, 1998) was an American football player at the University of Illinois.

A linebacker and guard, in 1959 Burrell won the Chicago Tribune Silver Football as the MVP of the Big Ten Conference. Burrell also finished fourth as a Heisman Trophy candidate that year,[1] and was a consensus All-American.[2]

Burrell was drafted by the Buffalo Bills in the 1960 American Football League Draft,[3] and by the St. Louis Cardinals in the fifth round of the 1960 NFL draft.[4]

He played for the Saskatchewan Roughriders of the Canadian Football League, and was that team's nominee for the Schenley Award as Outstanding Lineman in 1960.

Burrell is an alumnus of Central High School in Clifton, Illinois.

The football field at Central High was named Bill Burrell Field on September 15, 2017.

Bill Burrell is included in The Pigskin Club of Washington, D.C. National Intercollegiate All-American Football Players Honor Roll.

Bill Burrell died on March 22, 1998 in Aurora, Illinois.[5]

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Heisman Trophy Voting 1950 to 1959 – College Football News . 2006-05-20 . bot: unknown . https://web.archive.org/web/20021228081302/http://www.collegefootballnews.com/Almanac/Heisman/1950_1959.htm . 2002-12-28 .
  2. Web site: HickokSports.com – History – Football All-America Teams 1937–1976 . 2006-05-20 . https://web.archive.org/web/20060322142908/http://www.hickoksports.com/history/footall2.shtml#1959 . 2006-03-22 . dead .
  3. http://www.buffalobills.com/history/Draft1960.jsp Draft – 1960 – Buffalo Bills
  4. http://www.databasefootball.com/draft/draftyear.htm?yr=1960&lg=NFL 1960 NFL Draft on databaseFootball.com
  5. http://www.smallnewspapers.com/djwebsite/collections/data/obituaries/032498ob.html Bill Burrell – Small Newspaper Group, 24 March 2012