Tirrel Burton (November 19, 1929 – January 17, 2017) was an American football player, coach, and radio broadcaster. He played halfback for Ara Parseghian's championship teams at Miami University in 1954 and 1955 and led the undefeated, untied 1955 team in rushing, scoring, pass interceptions, kickoff returns and punt returns, while breaking the university's all-time single-season scoring record. He played one year of professional football in 1956 for the Ottawa Rough Riders of the Canadian Football League. He was an assistant football coach at Central State University (1968), Miami University (1969) and the University of Michigan (1970–1991). He became a radio announcer for Michigan Wolverines football games on WUOM radio in 1994.
Biography
Athlete at Miami University
After three-and-a-half years of military service, Burton enrolled at Miami University in Oxford, Ohio. Miami's head football coach at the time, Ara Parseghian, recruited Burton to Miami. Parseghian recalled, "He had tremendous speed and we were anxious to have him. He could break the line. That's what every coach looks for." Burton became a two-sport star at Miami, lettering three years each in both football and track from 1953 to 1955. As a halfback on Parseghian's football teams, Burton helped lead Miami to Mid-American Conference championships in both 1954 and 1955. The 1955 team compiled a perfect 9-0 record, and Burton led the team in rushing (722 yards in 82 carries), scoring (84 points), pass interceptions (4), kickoff returns (3 for 68 yards) and punt returns (14 for 216 yards). Burton's 84 points in 1955 (14 touchdowns in nine games) broke the school's single-season scoring record. His average of 7.2 yards per carry also set a new school record. At the conclusion of the 1955 season, Burton received more votes than any other player on the All-Mid-American Conference team. He was also selected by Associated Press for its second-team All-Midwestern team behind first-team selection Howard "Hopalong" Cassidy.
Despite its undefeated, untied record, the 1955 Miami football team was not invited to a post-season bowl game, leading the university's president, John D. Millet, to state publicly that he believed "Southern 'social customs'" may have blocked a post-season football bowl bid. An anonymous university of official stated, "That's a roundabout way of saying we weren't chosen because we have colored boys on our squad."
Burton's career rushing total at Miami was 1,298 yards on 157 carries for an average of 8.3 yards per carry. His career scoring total at Miami was 151 points.
In track, Burton won Mid-American Conference championships in the low hurdles three consecutive years and also placed in the high jump and 100-yard dash. As a senior, he placed second in the low hurdles at the national AAU meet and third at the national NCAA meet.
Ottawa Rough Riders
After graduating from Miami in 1956, Burton played one year of professional football for the Ottawa Rough Riders in the Canadian Football League. After a November 1956 win over the Hamilton Tiger-Cats, the Ottawa Citizen described Burton as one of Ottawa's stars: "Burton, one of Ottawa's stars, played a leading role in the 95-yard drive which brought the Riders their game-winning field goal. He took a long, 40-yard pass from Ledyard at center field and scurried like a scared rabbit to the Hamilton 27 before being nailed." In his one season of professional football, Burton led the league with eight interceptions. He scored four touchdowns (three rushing, one receiving), and had 155 rushing yards (29 carries for 5.34 yards per carry), 319 receiving yards (14 receptions for 22.79 yards per reception), and 175 kickoff return yards (11 returns for 15.91 yards per return).
Coaching career
After retiring as a player, Burton returned to Miami where he studied physical education and received a master's degree in education in 1962. Burton taught and coached for several years at Ach Junior High School in Cincinnati. He also coached football for five years at Withrow High School and Hughes High School, both in Cincinnati. Burton credited his college coach for inspiring him to be a coach: "Ara Parseghian was a great coach, ahead of his time as a teacher of all aspects of football. Because of him, I wanted to be a coach."
In June 1968, Burton was hired as an assistant football coach at the historically black Central State College in Wilberforce, Ohio. He was given responsibility for the offensive and defensive backfields.