Francis Burr
Encyclopedia
Francis Hardon Burr was an American football
player. He was a first-team All-American end in 1906 and captain of the 1908 Harvard Crimson football
team. After he died of typhoid fever
in 1910, the Francis H. Burr Award was established in his honor.
, the son of Herman M. Burr. He attended the Phillips-Andover Academy
before enrolling at Harvard University
in 1905. He was a starter at the guard
position for the Harvard football
team for four years from 1905 to 1908 and also did the punting and place-kicking for the team. He was selected as a first-team All-American in 1906 and as the captain of the 1908 Harvard football team. In addition to playing four years on the football team, Burr also competed for two years on Harvard's track team, one year on the baseball team and one year on the tennis team. He was also the first marshal of his class and president of his freshman class.
In 1909, he enrolled at Harvard Law School, and in 1910, he became the chief lineman coach at Harvard while in his second year as a law student. In early October 1910, he became ill with typhoid fever
. He died at Des Brisay Hospital in December 1910 at age 24 after his third relapse. Burr's funeral was held at the Appleton Chapel in Cambridge, Massachusetts
, and all recitations at Harvard were suspended for one hour on the day of his funeral.
In 1914, Burr's friends established the Francis H. Burr Award in his honor. The award was given each year to a senior, selected by the Dean of Harvard College and the Chairman of the Athletic Committee, who "combines as nearly as possible Burr's remarkable qualities of character, leadership, scholarship, and athletic ability." Past recipients of the Francis H. Burr Award include Henry Dunker (1924), J.P. Chase (1927), F. J. Mardulier (1929), Vernon Munroe Jr. (1930), Barry Wood (1931), Richard Ames (1933), Chester Litman (1934), Richard H. Sullivan (1938), Loren G. MacKinney (1941), Gary Singleterry, and Richard K. Hausler.
American football
American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...
player. He was a first-team All-American end in 1906 and captain of the 1908 Harvard Crimson football
Harvard Crimson football
The Harvard Crimson football program represents Harvard University in college football at the NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision . Harvard's football program is one of the oldest in the world, having begun competing in the sport in 1873...
team. After he died of typhoid fever
Typhoid fever
Typhoid fever, also known as Typhoid, is a common worldwide bacterial disease, transmitted by the ingestion of food or water contaminated with the feces of an infected person, which contain the bacterium Salmonella enterica, serovar Typhi...
in 1910, the Francis H. Burr Award was established in his honor.
Biography
Burr was raised in Brookline, MassachusettsBrookline, Massachusetts
Brookline is a town in Norfolk County, Massachusetts, United States, which borders on the cities of Boston and Newton. As of the 2010 census, the population of the town was 58,732.-Etymology:...
, the son of Herman M. Burr. He attended the Phillips-Andover Academy
Phillips Academy
Phillips Academy is a selective, co-educational independent boarding high school for boarding and day students in grades 9–12, along with a post-graduate year...
before enrolling at Harvard University
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...
in 1905. He was a starter at the guard
Guard (American football)
In American and Canadian football, a guard is a player that lines up between the center and the tackles on the offensive line of a football team....
position for the Harvard football
Harvard Crimson football
The Harvard Crimson football program represents Harvard University in college football at the NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision . Harvard's football program is one of the oldest in the world, having begun competing in the sport in 1873...
team for four years from 1905 to 1908 and also did the punting and place-kicking for the team. He was selected as a first-team All-American in 1906 and as the captain of the 1908 Harvard football team. In addition to playing four years on the football team, Burr also competed for two years on Harvard's track team, one year on the baseball team and one year on the tennis team. He was also the first marshal of his class and president of his freshman class.
In 1909, he enrolled at Harvard Law School, and in 1910, he became the chief lineman coach at Harvard while in his second year as a law student. In early October 1910, he became ill with typhoid fever
Typhoid fever
Typhoid fever, also known as Typhoid, is a common worldwide bacterial disease, transmitted by the ingestion of food or water contaminated with the feces of an infected person, which contain the bacterium Salmonella enterica, serovar Typhi...
. He died at Des Brisay Hospital in December 1910 at age 24 after his third relapse. Burr's funeral was held at the Appleton Chapel in Cambridge, Massachusetts
Cambridge, Massachusetts
Cambridge is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States, in the Greater Boston area. It was named in honor of the University of Cambridge in England, an important center of the Puritan theology embraced by the town's founders. Cambridge is home to two of the world's most prominent...
, and all recitations at Harvard were suspended for one hour on the day of his funeral.
In 1914, Burr's friends established the Francis H. Burr Award in his honor. The award was given each year to a senior, selected by the Dean of Harvard College and the Chairman of the Athletic Committee, who "combines as nearly as possible Burr's remarkable qualities of character, leadership, scholarship, and athletic ability." Past recipients of the Francis H. Burr Award include Henry Dunker (1924), J.P. Chase (1927), F. J. Mardulier (1929), Vernon Munroe Jr. (1930), Barry Wood (1931), Richard Ames (1933), Chester Litman (1934), Richard H. Sullivan (1938), Loren G. MacKinney (1941), Gary Singleterry, and Richard K. Hausler.
See also
- 1906 College Football All-America Team1906 College Football All-America TeamThe 1906 College Football All-America team is composed of college football players who were selected as All-Americans by various organizations and writers that chose College Football All-America Teams for the 1906 college football season...
- 1908 College Football All-America Team1908 College Football All-America TeamThe 1908 College Football All-America team is composed of college football players who were selected as All-Americans by various organizations and writers that chose College Football All-America Teams for the 1908 college football season...