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 and also known as gridiron football, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular American football field, field with goalposts at e ...

player. A halfback, he played high school football at Durant, Mississippi

college football College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football American football in the United States, firs ...

Mississippi State University Mississippi State University for Agriculture and Applied Science, commonly known as Mississippi State University (MSU), is a Public university, public land-grant university, land-grant research university in Mississippi State, Mississippi, Un ...

, 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 Cit ...

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'; it is 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, AFL–NFL merger, when it merged with the older National Football League (NFL), and became the American Foot ...

(AFL) for the

Houston Oilers The Houston Oilers were a professional American football team that played in Houston, Texas, from its founding in 1960 Houston Oilers season, 1960 to 1996 Houston Oilers season, 1996. The Houston Oilers began play as a charter member of the Ame ...

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 mellitus, commonly known as diabetes, is a group of common endocrine diseases characterized by sustained high blood sugar levels. Diabetes is due to either the pancreas not producing enough of the hormone insulin, or the cells of th ...

.Mississippi St., AFL football player Ode Burrell dies at 69
/ref>

References

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 in the United States {{runningback-1930s-stub