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, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...
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 of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. They ar ...
of the
National Football League
The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...
(NFL). He played
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 ...
for the
Wake Forest Demon Deacons
The Wake Forest Demon Deacons are the college athletics in the United States, intercollegiate athletic teams that represent Wake Forest University, located in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. They compete at the National Collegiate Athletic Assoc ...
.
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. The city makes up the Sumter, SC Metropolitan Statistical Area. Sumter County, along with Clarendon and Lee counties, form the core of Sumter–Lee ...
,
and was a graduate of
Sumter High School
Sumter High School is a co-educational four-year public high school serving grades 9 through 12 in Sumter School District located in the south side of Sumter, South Carolina, United States. With an enrollment of approximately 2,400 students, Sum ...
. 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 Perciva ...
, 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 (WFU) is a private research university in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, United States. Founded in 1834, the university received its name from its original location in Wake Forest, north of Raleigh, North Carolina. The R ...
and was drafted by 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 of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. They ar ...
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 NFL draft, draft was held April 30 and May 1, 1985 NFL season, 1985, at the Omni Park Central Hotel in New York City, New ...
with the 266th overall pick. 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 author ...
at
Carolina Forest High School, and was a long-time administrator with
Horry County Schools,
[ having previously served as principal of Myrtle Beach High School, St. James High School, and the Academy for the Arts, Science and Technology.
]
References
1963 births
2021 deaths
Players of American football from Sumter, South Carolina
Green Bay Packers players
American football defensive backs
Wake Forest University alumni
Wake Forest Demon Deacons football players
Educators from South Carolina
20th-century American sportsmen
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