Thanks, Bill, and RIP
- Updated: December 13, 2023
For all that Burgess was to former players and associates, I’ll remember two voicemails to which I listened over and over. (Includes tributes from Jim Skidmore, Larry Davidson, Wendell Kelley, Jeff Smith, Steve Smith, Don Killingworth and Greg Seitz)
JACKSONVILLE — For years in my Anniston Star incarnation, I kept a handful of voicemails saved as new in the company system. I didn’t want the system to delete them.
I listened to those voicemails on those days. You know the days, the ones when you question why you do it.
All of those messages came from precious people at their most precious, reminding me that, on occasion, folks find value in what I do. Sometimes, it even brings them joy in small doses.
Three voicemails came from two coaches I’ve encountered in my sports writing travels … former Western Kentucky football coach Jack Harbaugh and Bill Burgess.
Burgess gets the distinction of having left two of those messages, both rejuvenating in their thankfulness and encouragement.
Burgess will never know how many times he uplifted me through the years, but I find myself wanting to leave the great Oxford High and Jacksonville State University football coach voicemails in Heaven today.
Burgess died overnight. He was 82.
Son and radio personality Rick Burgess confirmed his father’s passing this morning, Birmingham’s WIAT-42 reported, adding that he died at 1:11 a.m. No cause of death was released.
The memorial service will be Sunday at 2:30 p.m. at Valleydale Church, in Birmingham.
Well-earned tributes will pour forth from Burgess’ former players and associates. For many, he was their avatar for the way things used to be, and should be today.
Few knew Burgess better than long-time Jax State trainer Jim Skidmore, who called him “tough but equitable.”
“He’d chew on a guy then go back and love him up,” Skidmore said. “He tried for years to teach me about shades and ‘4 eye’ and other football terminology. I refused, to his dismay, but he got to where he could explain a gastrocnemius or sternocleidomastoid during a staff meeting.
“He knew when a game was ‘over.’ Several times he eased up to me before time expired and said, ‘You are not gonna put an injured guy back in the game are you?’”
The record speaks for itself. Burgess went 106-42-4 in 14 seasons at Oxford then gave Jax State its greatest glories in the program’s Division II era, including the 1992 national championship.
I never had the pleasure of playing for Burgess, but I’ll never forget that first conversation, in 1992. Then sports editor for the Bowling Green Daily News, I called for advance material ahead of Jax State’s game at Western Kentucky.
Some calls feel like business. This call felt like a conversation with Jerry Clower.
Four years later, the two teams played again, on what’s now named Burgess-Snow Field. I didn’t know it at the time, but I covered his last win on the same weekend that I interviewed for my first job at The Star.
Fast forward 14 years, and there Burgess stood, outside of the newly expanded Burgess-Snow Field’s stadium club, overlooking his former office with wonderment. It was all still there. There was just a lot more of it.
He was there as part of a ceremony to put his name on the field.
His time as Jax State’s coach didn’t have the happiest of endings, but field-naming day seemed to bring him peace. He could feel in love with JSU again. He could feel loved by JSU again.
He could take satisfaction in all that the “Burgess Boys” group of former players did to bring about that day.
I did my best to find to match the occasion, and then he outdid me in the first of the two voicemails. I’ll keep the specifics for us, but thankful words quickly turned to profound compliments.
Profound, considering the source.
Those heartfelt words served up better than I deserved, but they had a way of making slings and arrows that come with the job hurt less.
No Jerry Clower this time, but the joy of listening to the man was hearing the happiness in his voice. It was the occasion, far more than the writer. It had to be.
His heart was so full.
He called again, some time after that. My job was always more out of the office than in it, so, once again, I wasn’t there.
The next little piece of Bill he left on tape came on an unrelated occasion. It came just because, and it further sweetened every dialing of my pass code.
I lost those messages when our newsroom downsized and moved across the building, to what had been The Star’s circulation office. I wish I could go back and listen to them now.
RIP. Bill Burgess, and thanks for the coach’em-up nuggets you left me. From our first conversation to our last, I’ll treasure the samplings of what others knew so well and loved so much.
Bill Burgess tributes
LARRY DAVIDSON,
Long-time Oxford High athletics director and former coach
We are saddened by the passing of Coach Bill Burgess and our thoughts and prayers go out to the family.
Coach Burgess spent 14 years here as head football coach but his influence goes way beyond those years and is still felt here today.
His reach went well beyond the football field. He impacted not only a school and athletic department but a community.
He was the best at getting people to be the best at whatever they were doing. No one wanted to disappoint Coach Burgess.
His influence is still felt here today but not only here, his presence was felt throughout this state. That he could impact so many people in so many places is a testament to the man Coach Burgess was.
WENDELL KELLEY,
Former Oxford High football standout
Co-captain of Jax State’s 1992 Division II national championship team
Coach Burgess has always been my reason to play at JSU. If it was not for Coach Burgess, I would not have played at Jacksonville State. That’s how much I love and respect him from his day at Oxford. Coach Burgess was the toughest and also the fairest coach you could play for. If you were doing what you were supposed to be doing as his players, he would have your back, no matter the situation. That’s why so many of us former Gamecocks would still run through a brick wall for him! He demanded so much from you because he put in so much for you! And as a player playing for him, that’s all you could ask for! I love Coach Burgess and his wonderful family! One thing is for certain, today’s players could not make playing for Coach Burgess! The world has lost a true legend, and the state flag should be flown at half staff in his honor. That’s how amazing of a man he was! #BurgessBoys4Life
JEFF SMITH
Wellborn High football coach
Former Jax State player
Coach Burgess was more than my Coach. He was the example of a great coach and man that taught me how to be the coach, husband, and father that I am today. I owe much of my success in coaching and in life to him. He didn’t just care about you when you played for him, he cared about you long after when the playing days were over. He always wanted to hear about your family and your life. He was never too busy to take your calls or visits. He truly wanted the best for you and made you feel like you and your family mattered to him. I will forever be grateful and proud to be a Burgess Boy!
STEVE SMITH
Westbrook Christian head football coach
Former Jax State player
We all want to send our prayers to Mrs. Geynell and the entire Burgess family. To say that Coach Burgess had a profound impact on me and my career would be a huge understatement. I learned the two most important aspects of coaching from him … loyalty and relationships. Coach had a tight circle of family and team; and if you were in his circle, you were in it for life. Thus, a whole group of guys who proudly call ourselves Burgess Boys. The things he taught us about relationships and how to treat people go far beyond a chosen career. They have helped us be the best we could be in all aspects of life. Quitting isn’t an option and you always take care of your family first. He modeled that for us and didn’t care about fame or popularity. He was the ultimate team guy and we will surely miss him.
DON KILLINGSWORTH,
Jax State president
“On behalf of the entire JSU Family, we extend our deepest sympathies to the entire Burgess Family. Coach Burgess launched JSU to national recognition in football and was one of the best at building young men into the great husbands, fathers and community members that they are today. He will surely be missed, and all of the Burgess family and Gamecock Football family are in our prayers.”
GREG SEITZ,
Jax State athletics director
“We are deeply saddened by the loss of Coach Burgess. He was one of the best coaches to ever stand on a sideline and had as much of an impact on his players as any coach I’ve ever met. He had a tremendous career, but he was an even better man that left a lasting impression on anyone who had the honor of knowing him. Our thoughts and prayers are with his wife Geynell, his children, family, players and staff members family during this difficult time.”
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