Ode Burrell Jr. (September 15, 1939 – February 28, 2009) 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. A halfback, he played high school football at Durant, Mississippi

college football College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States. Unlike most ...

Mississippi State University Mississippi State University for Agriculture and Applied Science, commonly known as Mississippi State University (MSU), is a public land-grant research university adjacent to Starkville, Mississippi. It is classified among "R1: Doctoral Unive ...

, where he was the MVP of the

Liberty Bowl The Liberty Bowl is an annual American college football bowl game played in late December or early January since 1959. For its first five years, it was played at Philadelphia Municipal Stadium in Philadelphia before being held at Atlantic City ...

and the

Blue-Gray Game Livid is a medium bluish-gray color. This color name comes from the Latin color term ''lividus'' meaning "'a dull leaden-blue color', and also used to describe the color of contused flesh, leading to the English expression 'black and blue'". ...

. He played professionally in the

American Football League The American Football League (AFL) was a major professional American football league that operated for ten seasons from 1960 until 1970, when it merged with the older National Football League (NFL), and became the American Football Conference. ...

(AFL) for the

Houston Oilers The Houston Oilers were a professional American football team that played in Houston from its founding in 1960 to 1996 before relocating to Memphis, and later Nashville, Tennessee becoming the Tennessee Titans. The Oilers began play in 1960 as ...

from 1964 through 1969. During his career he was a versatile player. In his best season, 1965, he rushed for 528 yards, caught 55 passes for 650 yards, and returned punts and kickoffs for an additional 241 yards. He was an American Football League All-Star in 1965. After retiring from the NFL, Burrell coached at numerous high schools including Bogalusa High School, Stone County in Wiggins, Mississippi, Vancleave High School, and St. Stanislaus High School. He also coached at two community colleges, Holmes Community College and Gulf Coast Community College. Burrell died February 28, 2009 of complications from

diabetes Diabetes, also known as diabetes mellitus, is a group of metabolic disorders characterized by a high blood sugar level ( hyperglycemia) over a prolonged period of time. Symptoms often include frequent urination, increased thirst and increased ap ...

.Mississippi St., AFL football player Ode Burrell dies at 69
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* 1939 births 2009 deaths People from Goodman, Mississippi Players of American football from Mississippi American football halfbacks American football punters American football wide receivers Holmes Bulldogs football players Mississippi State Bulldogs football players Houston Oilers players American Football League players American Football League All-Star players Deaths from diabetes {{runningback-1930s-stub

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