SPORTS HALL of FAME ATHLETE
William 'Bill' Burdick - 1958 (deceased)

Sports discussions among alumni old enough to remember the days when our school building was downtown, have often included a question, or rather a "wonder". As in, "I wonder why they don't put Bill Burdick in the Hall of Fame?" Well wonder no more.

The very first Ralph Pyle Award recipient as Outstanding Male Athlete is finally honored. And what a resume! He was a 5'8" dynamo who won 10 varsity letter in an era where 95% off male athletes were considered good if they garnered six - three sports for two years

Football schedules were shorter during the 1950s, usually six or seven games per autumn and no playoffs. In 1954, just one game into the season, the freshman debuted as a kicker for Sidney. The Warriors finished 4-3 for their first winning season since 1951. Their season finale was a victory but several players, Bill included, were unable to finish the game due to injury. He also started as a second baseman on the 2^nd place baseball team in the spring of 1955. It is believed Bill was the first male Sidney athlete to play two varsity sports as a freshman.

1955-56 showed improvement in both sports individually and team-wise. Fall '55, a 3-0 start was followed by a tie and two losses with Bill as starting QB. Coach Redmond's offense was not geared for much passing, so statistics are not going to pop out at you. Short passes were the style and Bill was excellent at it; he also kicked extra points. And was adept at the two-point conversion. In baseball, Coach Al Drake's club won the Northern Division of the Sus League after winning its final 5 games (8-2 mark). Bill played his position well. In fact, a co-captain from that team, HOF '13 Dave Ineich, remarked that, as a catcher, he "had every confidence in Bill catching (my) throws to second base" even as a younger player. That said a lot.

Fall of 1956 was a magic season in football for the unbeaten 7-0 Warrior machine. Three shutouts: one their season opener 35-0/Oxford and two more (13-0/Greene and 25-0/Sherburne in the title game) to end the year, and only one close game, 21-14 over Walton, in between. While statistics are sparse, one Sidney passing record Bill set in 1956 was for completion percentage (58.62%) which stood for 54 years!!

Bill made his varsity basketball presence felt right away in the1956-57 campaign. His defensive tenacity rewarded Coach Ted Huntington's cagers with some easy transition baskets. Sidney's student newspaper named Bill its player of the week as the Warriors raced out to a 4-0 record. They won the Northern Division of the Sus then beat Bainbridge, champions of the South, for the overall title.

The baseball team stayed in the thick of the division race but settled for 2^nd place. By this time Bill had moved up in the lineup and was still the defensive rock at second base.

For his senior and final season of football, Bill's experience was needed as all but three starters had graduated form that unbeaten team. Three resounding wins by a combined 118-21 (two shutouts) gave way to disaster. First, a 26-14 loss to Walton, then a widespread flu epidemic, which canceled the remainder of the season! But Bill got to play once more the next summer, in the first Section 4 All-Star Game (now the Ernie Davis Classic) and was teammates for one day with the legendary Ernie Davis.

Basketball came, as the Warriors returned to the Sus title game after winning division honors a second straight year. Bainbridge not only avenged 1956, they handed the Warriors, all of their three losses for the entire season. Bill averaged over 9 points a game and again led the defense. His scholastic career in a Sidney uniform ended as a baseball captain. Though slowed by injury, Bill returned to pitch Sidney to an 18-0 shellacking of Sherburne, adding 4 hits to help his own cause.

The Pyle award certainly was deserved. Following school, Bill scouted and coached for Sidney football and became an avid softball player and golfer. He won marksmanship honors from the NRA. He and a bunch of alumni men formed the victorious Western Auto Wizards Canoe Relay team.

Bill was a career Keith Clark employee and was so proud of his family. He was and is, a true Hall of Famer.