Lawrence Godfrey Burton (born December 15, 1951) is a former professional

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 and world-class Olympic sprinter, finishing fourth for the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

team in the 200 meter final at the 1972 Summer Olympic Games. He held the world record in the 60-yard dash at 5.9 seconds. As a Senior at

Purdue University Purdue University is a public land-grant research university in West Lafayette, Indiana, and the flagship campus of the Purdue University system. The university was founded in 1869 after Lafayette businessman John Purdue donated land and money ...

, he finished his season with 38 catches for 702 yards (18.5 YPR) and 4 TD. He led the Big 10 in catches, receiving yards, and was 2nd in yards per reception. He was named to numerous All-American teams. Burton was selected by the

New Orleans Saints The New Orleans Saints are a professional American football team based in New Orleans. The Saints compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. Since 1975, the te ...

in the first round (7th overall) of the

1975 NFL Draft The 1975 National Football League draft was held January 28–29, 1975, at the New York Hilton at Rockefeller Center in New York City, New York. With the first overall pick of the draft, the Atlanta Falcons selected quarterback Steve Bartko ...

; a wide receiver from

, he played in the

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 ...

for five seasons for the Saints and the

San Diego Chargers The San Diego Chargers were a professional American football team that played in San Diego from 1961 until the end of the 2016 season, before relocating to Los Angeles, where the franchise had played its inaugural 1960 season. The team is now ...

between 1975 and 1979. Despite having over 250 receiving yards in each of his first two seasons, he was never able to become a regular starter for any team.

Boys Town Career

In 1980, Larry, along with his wife Ida, became Family Teachers at Boys Town located outside of Omaha, Nebraska. In 1992, after being Family Teachers, Larry became the Director of the Long Beach Shelter, where he worked until 2008. Larry said, "Many of the youth who come to our Long Beach Shelter are in crisis upon arrival. This is a safety net for them. Otherwise, their lives would be endangered for this is an emergency place." The Burtons earned the Civic Leader Award, given by the National Academy of Sports and Athletics.

Personal

In 2013, Burton was inducted into the

Virginia Sports Hall of Fame The Virginia Sports Hall of Fame honors athletes, coaches, administrators, journalists and other contributors to athletics. Many of the more than 350 inductees since 1972 were born in Virginia or enjoyed success in college, professional, amateur or ...

. He has 3 children, and Burton's grandsons, Clay and

Trey Trey may refer to: Places * Trey, Switzerland, a commune in Vaud, Switzerland * Trey Peaks, Coats Land, Antarctica Other uses * Trey (playing card), the Three in card games * Trey (given name) * Trey, slang for a three-point shot in basketball ...

, played football for the

Florida Gators The Florida Gators are the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the University of Florida, located in Gainesville. The University of Florida, its athletic program, its alumni and its sports fans are often collectively referred to as t ...

. Trey is a tight end for the Indianapolis Colts, and has been for the Philadelphia Eagles, and the Chicago Bears.

References

External links

pro-football-reference.com stats

1951 births Living people People from Northampton County, Virginia American male sprinters Players of American football from Virginia Track and field athletes from Virginia American football wide receivers Purdue Boilermakers football players New Orleans Saints players San Diego Chargers players Athletes (track and field) at the 1972 Summer Olympics Olympic track and field athletes of the United States Track and field athletes in the National Football League {{widereceiver-1950s-stub