Colorado State University Athletics
Tonight’s Colorado Sports Hall of Fame banquet to feature induction of Alex Burl
4/18/2018 8:53:00 AM | Football, Track & Field
Former Colorado A&M football and track and field standout joins Hall in Class of 2018 that includes Peyton Manning
DENVER—Colorado State football and track and field great Alex Burl is among six athletes set to be inducted into the Colorado Sports Hall of Fame tonight at the organization's 54th annual banquet at the Hilton Denver City Center. He will be the 20th former Colorado State or Colorado A&M athlete to gain membership in the Colorado Sports Hall of Fame.
Burl joins Joe Glenn, Tracy Hill, Peyton Manning, Sam Pagano and Rashaan Salaam as members of the CSHOF's Class of 2018, which was announced last October.
A Class of 2000 inductee into the CSU Sports Hall of Fame, Burl was a three-year starter for then-Colorado A&M football, competing for the Aggies at defensive back and running back. He went on to earn a roster spot on the NFL's Chicago Cardinals, with whom he spent two seasons, becoming the first African-American from any university in Colorado to compete in the NFL.
In track and field, Burl was a three-time NCAA All-American and remains to this day one of the most decorated sprinters in program history. Most notably, Burl placed seventh in the 100 meters (10.8) at the 1952 NCAA Championships in Berkeley, Calif., to become the first African-American All-American in any sport in school history. Burl went on to qualify for the Olympic Trials that year.
The CSU legend added his next two All-America honors two years later, when he placed sixth in the 100 yards (9.8) and fifth in the 220 yards (21.3) at the 1954 NCAA Championships in Ann Arbor, Mich. No male athlete in the history of CSU track & field has earned as many All-America honors in the sprints as Burl. In 1954 Burl received the Nye Award, given to the top male athlete at CSU since the 1920s. He was the first black athlete to receive the coveted award.
After his NFL career ended, Burl—a 1950 graduate of Denver's Manual High School—went on to teach at Manual and Denver West High School as a premier coach in both football and track and field.
Burl passed away at the age of 78 in December 2009. His three sons, Gary, Farley and Gerald, all played football and ran track at Arizona State. Grandsons Cameron Burl and Davis Burl both played football at Colorado State, with Davis earning letters at CSU from 2009-12.
More information on the Colorado Sports Hall of Fame is available through its website at www.coloradosports.org.
Rams/Aggies in Colorado Sports Hall of Fame:
Name (Class)
Jack Christiansen (1967)
Glenn Morris (1969)
Thurman "Fum" McGraw (1971)
Harry Hughes (1972)
Ervin Hinds (1976)
Jim Williams (1990)
Chuck Bresnahan (1992)
Gary Glick (1992)
Dale Dodrill (1993)
Walter F. "Bus" Bergman (1995)
Bob Davis (2001)
Amy Van Dyken (2001)
Felix "Tippy" Martinez (2003)
Sonny Lubick (2009)
John Mosley (2009)
Bob Blasi (2010)
Keli McGregor (2011)
Greg Myers (2012)
Becky Hammon (2015)
Alex Burl (2018)