Jefferson Davis Burkett (July 15, 1921 – October 24, 1947) was an

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team with ...

player. He was a part of the

Chicago Cardinals The professional American football team now known as the Arizona Cardinals previously played in Chicago, Illinois, as the Chicago Cardinals from 1898 to 1959 before relocating to St. Louis, Missouri, for the 1960 through 1987 seasons. Roots ca ...

NFL The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the major ...

championship team in 1947. He died in a

plane crash An aviation accident is defined by the Convention on International Civil Aviation Annex 13 as an occurrence associated with the operation of an aircraft, which takes place from the time any person boards the aircraft with the ''intention of fl ...

while returning to the team following surgery for

appendicitis Appendicitis is inflammation of the appendix. Symptoms commonly include right lower abdominal pain, nausea, vomiting, and decreased appetite. However, approximately 40% of people do not have these typical symptoms. Severe complications of a rup ...

Pro career

After playing at LSU, Burkett was signed by the Cardinals. He was not only a punter for the Cardinals, but was also one of the team's receivers as well. Though his career only consisted of three games before his untimely death, Burkett had caught two passes for 44 yards and a touchdown. In addition to playing end and punter, Burkett also played as a defensive back, intercepting a pass and returning it for 25 yards.

Death

Burkett was suffering from appendicitis after a game against the

Los Angeles Rams The Los Angeles Rams are a professional American football team based in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. The Rams compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) West division. The Rams play ...

, who had beaten the Cardinals 27–7, handing Chicago their first loss of the season. Burkett opted to stay behind and have the surgery to remove his appendix. Once he was released from the hospital, Burkett boarded a

United Airlines United Airlines, Inc. (commonly referred to as United), is a major American airline headquartered at the Willis Tower in Chicago, Illinois.

DC-6. The flight,

United Air Lines Flight 608 United Air Lines Flight 608 was a Douglas DC-6 airliner, registration NC37510, on a scheduled airline, passenger flight from Los Angeles to Chicago when it crashed at 12:29 pm on October 24, 1947 about southeast of Bryce Canyon Airport, Utah, ...

, crashed in Utah, killing all 52 people aboard. At the time of his death, Burkett was the league's leading punter. After Burkett's death, Cardinals quarterback

Charley Trippi Charles Louis Trippi (December 14, 1921 – October 19, 2022) was an American professional football player for the Chicago Cardinals of the National Football League (NFL) from 1947 to 1955. Although primarily a running back, his versatility al ...

took over the punting duties. Trippi admitted taking over for Burkett was hard and he thought of his fallen teammate every time he punted in a game.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Burkett, Jeff 1921 births 1947 deaths American football wide receivers LSU Tigers football players Chicago Cardinals players Players of American football from Hattiesburg, Mississippi Victims of aviation accidents or incidents in 1947 Victims of aviation accidents or incidents in the United States Accidental deaths in Utah