Wilner Edward Burke (May 12, 1908 – June 14, 1985) was an American

band director A music(al) director or director of music is the person responsible for the musical aspects of a performance, production, or organization. This would include the artistic director and usually chief conductor of an orchestra or concert band, the di ...

known for leading the

Lumberjack Band The Lumberjack Band was a marching band that played at Green Bay Packers' games. The band earned its name because of the plaid flannel jackets its members originally wore. Formed in 1921, the Lumberjack Band was originally made up of volunteers. ...

, the team band 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 ...

. Burke, a native of

Green Bay, Wisconsin Green Bay is a city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. The county seat of Brown County, it is at the head of Green Bay (known locally as "the bay of Green Bay"), a sub-basin of Lake Michigan, at the mouth of the Fox River. It is above sea lev ...

, served as an

alderman An alderman is a member of a Municipal government, municipal assembly or council in many Jurisdiction, jurisdictions founded upon English law. The term may be titular, denoting a high-ranking member of a borough or county council, a council membe ...

for the city for 21 years and served on the

county board A county board is a common form of county legislature, particular of counties in the United States. Related forms of county government include: * Board of Supervisors — a form of county legislature in some U.S. states * County commission, ...

. However, he became known for his relationship with the Packers. Starting in 1939, he was put in charge of the Packers team band, which he had been part of since the early 1920s. From 1939 to 1981, Burke served as the band director and also coordinated all

half-time In several team sports, matches are played in two halves. Half-time (also written halftime or half time) is the name given to the interval between the two halves of the match. Typically, after half-time, teams swap ends of the field of play in or ...

entertainment. The band, which changed its name to the Green Bay Packers Band, played across the state at parades and other special events. Burke retired prior to the

1982 NFL season The 1982 NFL season was the 63rd regular season of the National Football League. A 57-day-long players' strike reduced the 1982 season from a 16-game schedule per team to an abbreviated nine game schedule. Because of the shortened season, th ...

and died three years later, at the age of 77.

Early life

Wilner Burke was born on May 12, 1908, in

. Burke was an early supporter of the

in the 1930s, playing the

saxophone The saxophone (often referred to colloquially as the sax) is a type of single-reed woodwind instrument with a conical body, usually made of brass. As with all single-reed instruments, sound is produced when a reed on a mouthpiece vibrates to pr ...

for a makeshift band that attended home games in

lumberjack Lumberjacks are mostly North American workers in the logging industry who perform the initial harvesting and transport of trees for ultimate processing into forest products. The term usually refers to loggers in the era (before 1945 in the Unite ...

clothing.

Career

Politics and business

From 1950 to 1971, Burke was an alderman for the Fifth Ward of the city of Green Bay. When he was first elected, in 1950, he was the only candidate to win who was not an incumbent. He also served on the

County board A county board is a common form of county legislature, particular of counties in the United States. Related forms of county government include: * Board of Supervisors — a form of county legislature in some U.S. states * County commission, ...

. From the business side, he had an association with Schneider Allied Van Lines for 24 years, from 1952 to 1976.

Band director

As early as 1921, an unorganized group of fans attended games in lumberjack clothing and played musical instruments to show support for the Packers. The official

was formed in 1938 and the Packers then took control of the band in 1939. Burke was first named the band's business manager and then the

in 1939. Burke would continue in this role until retiring in 1982. During his time as band director, the Lumberjack Band became well-known, with head coach Vince Lombardi calling it "the best playing band in the National Football League". Lombardi made one change during Burke's tenure; he asked that the name of the band be changed to the Green Bay Packer Band to dispel the myth that everything north of

Milwaukee, Wisconsin Milwaukee ( ), officially the City of Milwaukee, is both the most populous and most densely populated city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin and the county seat of Milwaukee County, Wisconsin, Milwaukee County. With a population of 577,222 at th ...

, is related to logging. In addition to playing at Packers home games, the band also played at special events, parades and rallies throughout Wisconsin. Burke not only led the band, but also took on the additional responsibility of organizing the

entertainment for the Packers. In 1966, Burke became the chairman 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 ...

's half-time directors. Lovell Ives, who played under Burke for 13 years and became band director after the latter's retirement, noted that Burke was "a wonderful director" and that "he ran the band with a great deal of care". Burke was inducted into the

Green Bay Packers Hall of Fame Green is the color between cyan and yellow on the visible spectrum. It is evoked by light which has a dominant wavelength of roughly 495570 nm. In subtractive color systems, used in painting and color printing, it is created by a combina ...

in 1986 in recognition of his contributions to the team.

Personal life

Burke was married to Mabel Burke () and they had two daughters. He was an active member of the community, serving on the Bishops Charity Committee for 24 years. He was also a member of the local Elks Club and Knights of Columbus. Burke died on June 14, 1985, at the age of 77.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Burke, Wilner 1908 births 1985 deaths Green Bay Packers employees Green Bay Packers Hall of Fame