Willie Burden’s advice to his three children will likely be applied well this weekend when his younger son Freddie, Georgia Tech’s dependable center, graduates Saturday.
“He was not the overbearing dad that (said) ‘You have to do this’ and ‘You have to do that,’” said Velma Burden’s Willie Burden’s widow and Freddie’s mother. “His one piece of advice was always enjoy every day.”
Graduation from Tech is a commendable achievement under any circumstances, but particularly under his. For Burden and his family, graduation will bring an end to a life season that has been trying, exhausting and stricken with grief, but also hopeful. Willie Burden died in December after a 10-month hospitalization awaiting a heart transplant that never came. He was 64.
Along with his brother Willie Jr., an academic coordinator in Tech’s athletic department, Freddie was at his father’s bedside at Piedmont Hospital on a near-daily basis, no small amount of devotion and love considering his commitments to school and football. (Their sister, Courtney Bledsoe, lives in Raleigh, N.C.)
“We all are taking it day by day, but we know that God’s still in charge, and he has a reason for us all,” said Velma Burden, the registrar at Georgia Southern. “We get through this, and as (Freddie) knows, he’s got an angel looking down from above.”
Willie Burden’s professional career played out in three acts, each a testaments to his gifts and his diligence to use them. After being named the ACC football player of the year as an N.C. State running back in 1973, he went on to an eight-year playing career in the CFL and was later inducted into the Canadian football hall of fame. After his career ended, he earned master’s and doctorate degrees, and served 10 years as athletic director at North Carolina A&T. After that, he taught sports management at Georgia Southern in Statesboro, where Freddie played at Statesboro High.
“I used to poke fun at him because we used to hear all these stories about (his father’s game film) but the film was so old that you needed some special device that we couldn’t seem to find anywhere,” Freddie Burden said.
Sacrifices for family
When his father was hospitalized, even during the football season, Freddie made daily visits a part of his schedule. Class, team meetings and practice until 7 and then off to the hospital. He stayed there until 10:30 or 11 and then returned home for schoolwork, sometimes until 2 or 3 o’clock in the morning. Then up at 6 a.m. to start over again.
“I had to give up a lot to make those sacrifices, but I would have done for the rest of my life if I had to,” he said. “I wouldn’t have changed it for the world.”
During the season, Burden also re-aggravated a thumb injury that had required surgery after the 2014 season. The injury required additional surgery in December, but Burden played through the pain. He started every game, even as the Yellow Jackets limped home to a 3-9 finish.
“I couldn’t let my teammates down. I couldn’t let my family down,” Burden said. “My dad loved seeing me play. I couldn’t just quit. He would have missed the last games … I couldn’t have done that.”
On a Saturday in April, Velma, Willie Jr. and Freddie gathered at the College Football Hall of Fame to honor Willie Sr.’s memory as part of a fund-raising dinner for Wings From Above, a charity that provides free flights to organ transplant candidates and others requiring transport for medical care. Among those in attendance were his N.C. State coach, Lou Holtz, and several Wolfpack teammates.
“He was an amazing athlete,” said Ron Sewell of Alpharetta, the non-profit’s founder and an N.C. State teammate. “Always had a smile on his face. He was probably the most positive person on the team.”
Looking ahead
It was a trait that was evidently passed down, demonstrated most clearly last fall.
“I’m amazed that he did as well as he did,” coach Paul Johnson said of his center. “I don’t think I could have, with all that he had going on.”
“Kind of the big thing that stuck out to me was his grit to really get through this tough time,” said Chris Breen, Tech’s director of academic services. “I think that’s the leader in him, still fighting through and keeping his head up and being a teammate for others.”
Following graduation, Burden has an internship lined up for the summer. He is considering his options for the fall semester, including enrolling in a master’s program or working a part-time job for credit.
The family has set up a scholarship at Georgia Southern in his father’s memory. The day after the fund-raiser at the hall of fame, Holtz committed himself to creating some form of memorial at N.C. State with plans to receive contributions from each of Burden’s teammates on the 1973 ACC championship team.
Due to his thumb injury, Burden missed spring practice, but is expected to be ready for his senior season. The offensive line, wobbly at times in the spring, will gladly welcome him back. Burden said he wants to practice the leadership lessons he learned from his father in his final season.
As is usually the case at graduation, the days ahead look bright.
Said Velma Burden, “I know his dad is smiling.”
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