Kurt Burris

Kurt Bane Burris (June 27, 1932 – July 21, 1999) was an American gridiron football player. He played college football as a center and linebacker for the University of Oklahoma from 1951 to 1954. He was a consensus All-American at center in 1954 and finished second in the 1954 Heisman Trophy voting. He was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1960.

Burris also played in the Western Interprovincial Football Union (WIFU), helping the Edmonton Eskimos win the 43rd Grey Cup in 1955. He played a total of four seasons in the WIFU, including stints with the Saskatchewan Roughriders (1958) and Calgary Stampeders (1960).

After his football career ended, Burris worked in the oil drilling business in Alberta, Colorado, and Montana.

Early life Burris was born in 1932 in Nowata, Oklahoma. He was raised in Muskogee, Oklahoma, in a family of 11 children. His five brothers all played college football, including older brother Buddy Burris who was a consensus All-American guard for Oklahoma in 1948.

Burris played on Muskogee High School football teams that won Oklahoma state championships in 1948 and 1950. The 1950 team compiled a 13–0 record, shut out six opponents, included Burris, his younger brother Bobby Burris, Max Boydston, and Preston Carpenter, and has been rated the best high school football team in Oklahoma during the post–World War II era.

Burris was recruited to play football by several universities and attended a six-week camp with the Army Cadets in the summer of 1951. He announced in August 1951 that he intended to play for Bud Wilkinson at Oklahoma.

Oklahoma Sooners Burris played college football for the Oklahoma Sooners from 1951 to 1954. He was a starter at center and linebacker on the 1953 and 1954 teams that won the first 19 games in Oklahoma's 47-game winning streak.

Burris was known for his blocking on offense and for his fierce tackling on defense. Brother Bob Burris, who played with Kurt at Oklahoma, recalled Kurt as a "headhunter" who "usually knocked two or three guys out of a game," adding, "Kurt wasn't happy with tackling a runner. He wanted to hit him in the nose."

Western Interprovincial Football Union Burris was selected by the Cleveland Browns in the first round with the 13th overall pick in the 1955 NFL draft. He instead signed with the Edmonton Eskimos of the Western Interprovincial Football Union, which later became the West Division of the Canadian Football League. He played center and linebacker for the Eskimos, appearing in 15 games during the 1955 season and helping Edmonton win the 43rd Grey Cup championship. He appeared in eight games for the 1960 Calgary team. He stopped playing after the 1960 season due to a knee injury that required surgery.

Family, later years and honors Burris married Rosemary Major in 1955 in Oklahoma City. They had three children: Kurt Major, Bryan Kyle, and Mary Jane. He continued that work after his football career ended, working for the Commonwealth Drilling Ltd. in Calgary. He moved to Denver in 1974 to set up drilling operations for Westburne Drilling, Inc., the American branch of Canada's largest drilling company. He later formed his own company, Burris Drilling, in Denver. Burris later moved to Billings, Montana, where he was president of Cardinal Oil Company. He died in 1999 of an apparent heart attack at age 67 at his home in Billings.

He was posthumously inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in April 2000. He was also inducted into the Oklahoma Sports Hall of Fame in 2015.