Bill Burgess dies at 82

[aubiefifty 16,893]

 

saturdaydownsouth.com

 

Auburn remembers Bill Burgess, former player and Jacksonsville State coach, who died at 82

Grant Bricker | 18 hours ago

2–3 minutes

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Auburn mourned the loss of former player Bill Burgess on Wednesday.

Burgess played running back for the Tigers from 1961-1962 and died at the age of 82. He is a member of the Alabama Sports Hall of Fame and was the coach at Jacksonville State for 12 seasons.

Alabama Sports Hall of Fame Executive Director Alvin Briggs shared some insight into the kind of person Burgess was as a coach. Burgess took pride in preparing players for life after football.

“We are indeed saddened to learn of Coach Bill Burgess’ death,” Briggs said. “He was a legendary coach and strong leader who helped mold his teams and players into champions – several former players following him into the coaching profession. He was a mentor to so many and always a gentleman of outstanding character and faith. Our thoughts and prayers go out to his family and to the many student-athletes who had the opportunity to play on one of his teams.”

Burgess had an overall record of 79-22-4 while with the Gamecocks. He won the 1992 Division II National Coach of the Year award at Jacksonville State.

Coaches don’t have to have an interest in their players lives, but Burgess did. The game of college football lost a great example of what it means to be a coach.

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Grant Bricker

Grant Bricker was a former freelancer for The News TN in his hometown of Nashville, Tennessee. He now freelances for Saturday Football. Follow on Twitter @GrantBricker.

Edited December 14, 2023 by aubiefifty

[aubiefifty 16,893]

i hate this. i knew rick burgess of rick and bubba from back in the day. he told some funny stories about his father. coach was standing out on the practice field getting into his players behinds a little bit. one player kept trying to interupt and he would not let him speak. finally he asked the player "WHAT"! the kid said coach you are standing on an ant bed. without flinching coach told the kid "i know i am and i am trying to show you men how to be tough! that is a true story and it is as close as my memory will allow. call rick or tune in as i bet he tells some wonderful stories. i can say from living in anniston off and on coach was verymuch loved..............

[aubiefifty 16,893]

[milehighfan 1,240]

I had the honor of playing for him in high school. I was working in Anniston when he became head coach at Jacksonville St. I was there when his teams at JSU played for the Division II championship and when they won it 92. I feel blessed to  have been provided the opportunity. 

[aubiefifty 16,893]

27 minutes ago, milehighfan said:

I had the honor of playing for him in high school. I was working in Anniston when he became head coach at Jacksonville St. I was there when his teams at JSU played for the Division II championship and when they won it 92. I feel blessed to  have been provided the opportunity. 

my band used to play at Katz. fran somebody was the owner and at one time the second leading receiver in state history. and i remember bill at oxford high. he was always a fun read in the papers.