Ronnie Burgess (March 7, 1963 – January 4, 2021) was an American professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

player who was a

defensive back In gridiron football, defensive backs (DBs), also called the secondary, are the players on the defensive side of the ball who play farthest back from the line of scrimmage. They are distinguished from the other two sets of defensive players, the ...

for the

Green Bay Packers The Green Bay Packers are a professional American football team based in Green Bay, Wisconsin. The Packers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. It ...

of the

National Football League 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 ...

(NFL). He played

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 ...

for the

Wake Forest Demon Deacons The Wake Forest Demon Deacons are the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent Wake Forest University, located in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. They compete at the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I level as a mem ...

Biography

Burgess was born on March 7, 1963 in

Sumter, South Carolina Sumter ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Sumter County, South Carolina, United States. Known as the Sumter Metropolitan Statistical Area, the namesake county adjoins Clarendon and Lee to form the core of Sumter-Lee-Clarendon Tri-county (o ...

, and was a graduate of Sumter High School. He died on January 4, 2021, in

Socastee, South Carolina Socastee is a census-designated place (CDP) in Horry County, South Carolina, United States. The population was 19,952 at the 2010 census. History Socastee is an Indigenous American name referred to as "Sawkastee" in a 1711 land grant to Percival P ...

, after a cardiac arrest related to medical issues stemming from a car accident in late 2019. He was 57 years old.

Career

Burgess played college football at

Wake Forest University Wake Forest University is a private research university in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. Founded in 1834, the university received its name from its original location in Wake Forest, north of Raleigh, North Carolina. The Reynolda Campus, the un ...

and was drafted by the

in the tenth round of the

1985 NFL Draft The 1985 NFL draft was the procedure by which National Football League teams selected amateur college football players. The draft was held April 30 and May 1, 1985, at the Omni Park Central Hotel in New York City, New York. The league also hel ...

. He played seven games for the Packers in 1985 and retired after that season.

After football

Burgess served as an

assistant principal In larger school systems, a head teacher principal is often assisted by someone known as a vice-principal, deputy principal, or assistant/associate principal. Unlike the principal, the vice-principal does not have quite the decision-making authorit ...

at Carolina Forest High School, and was a long-time administrator with

Horry County Schools Horry County Schools (HCS) is a public school district serving Horry County, South Carolina and is the third-largest school district in South Carolina. It serves over 45,000 students (as of the 2018–19 school year) in 56 schools (as well as off ...

, having previously served as principal of

Myrtle Beach High School Myrtle Beach High School (abbreviated MBHS) is a public school located in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. The school is one of nine high schools within Horry County Schools. The school serves the city of Myrtle Beach. MBHS has over 1,500 students ...

, St. James High School, and the Academy for the Arts, Science and Technology.

References

1963 births 2021 deaths Sportspeople from Sumter, South Carolina Players of American football from South Carolina Green Bay Packers players American football defensive backs Wake Forest University alumni Wake Forest Demon Deacons football players Educators from South Carolina {{Defensiveback-1960s-stub

Biography

Career

After football

See also

References