Tom Burgess (born March 6, 1964) is a former all-star

quarterback The quarterback (commonly abbreviated "QB"), colloquially known as the "signal caller", is a position in gridiron football. Quarterbacks are members of the offensive platoon and mostly line up directly behind the offensive line. In modern Ame ...

in the

Canadian Football League The Canadian Football League (CFL; french: Ligue canadienne de football—LCF) is a professional sports league in Canada. The CFL is the highest level of competition in Canadian football. The league consists of nine teams, each located in a ci ...

(CFL). Burgess was a graduate of

Colgate University Colgate University is a private liberal arts college in Hamilton, New York. The college was founded in 1819 as the Baptist Education Society of the State of New York and operated under that name until 1823, when it was renamed Hamilton Theologi ...

, playing from 1982 to 1985, and was inducted into the Colgate University Athletic Hall of Honor in 1986. As a senior on the 1985 squad, he was named honorable mention Associated Press All-American after setting 14 school records in passing and total offense. He finished ninth in the nation in total offense with 266.1 yards per game. Burgess also received Colgate's Andy Kerr Trophy, given annually to the squad's most valuable offensive player. He threw for a school-record 2,565 yards in 1985 and gained a school-record 2,927 yards of total offense. He moved to

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

in 1986, and played for the

Ottawa Rough Riders The Ottawa Rough Riders were a Canadian Football League team based in Ottawa, Ontario, founded in 1876. Formerly one of the oldest and longest-lived professional sports teams in North America, the Rough Riders won the Grey Cup championship nine ...

, the

Saskatchewan Roughriders The Saskatchewan Roughriders are a professional Canadian football team based in Regina, Saskatchewan. The Roughriders compete in the Canadian Football League (CFL) as a member club of the league's West Division. The Roughriders were founded in 1 ...

and the

Winnipeg Blue Bombers The Winnipeg Blue Bombers are a professional Canadian football team based in Winnipeg, Manitoba. The Blue Bombers compete in the Canadian Football League (CFL) as a member club of the league's West division. They play their home games at IG Fiel ...

. He was instrumental in the Roughriders playoff run for their 1989

Grey Cup The Grey Cup (french: Coupe Grey) is both the championship game of the Canadian Football League (CFL) and the trophy awarded to the victorious team playing in the namesake championship of professional Canadian football. The game is contested be ...

victory and quarterbacked the Blue Bombers to a

win in 1990. Burgess was named the Grey Cup's Most Valuable Player on Offence of the

78th Grey Cup The 78th Grey Cup was the 1990 Canadian Football League championship game played between the Winnipeg Blue Bombers and the Edmonton Eskimos at BC Place Stadium in Vancouver, British Columbia. The Blue Bombers defeated the Eskimos, 50–11. Game s ...

. Tom Burgess was part of a quarterback tandem in Saskatchewan with

Kent Austin Kent is a county in South East England and one of the home counties. It borders Greater London to the north-west, Surrey to the west and East Sussex to the south-west, and Essex to the north across the estuary of the River Thames; it faces ...

. Burgess defeated the 16-2

Edmonton Eskimos The Edmonton Elks are a professional Canadian football team based in Edmonton, Alberta. The club competes in the Canadian Football League (CFL) as a member of the league's West Division and plays their home games at the Brick Field at Commo ...

in the 1989 CFL Western Final replacing an injured Austin who would return to start and win the 1989 Grey Cup. Both quarterbacks were capable starters and Burgess requested a trade in the off-season to pursue a full-time starting opportunity, getting that chance with the Blue Bombers. Burgess was a full-time starter for the next five seasons. He won a Grey Cup starting with the Winnipeg Blue Bombers in 1990, and became an East Division All-Star selection. He enjoyed a 5,000 yard, 30 TD passing season with Ottawa. He spent his final two seasons as a Roughrider and was inducted into the Saskatchewan Roughrider Plaza of Honor in 2009.

References

1964 births Living people American football quarterbacks Canadian football quarterbacks American players of Canadian football Colgate Raiders football players Ottawa Rough Riders players Saskatchewan Roughriders players Winnipeg Blue Bombers players People from Newark, New York Players of American football from New York (state) {{Canadianfootball-quarterback-stub