Jeff Burkett

Jefferson Davis Burkett (July 15, 1921 – October 24, 1947) was an American football player. He was a part of the Chicago Cardinals NFL championship team in 1947.[1] He died in a plane crash while returning to the team following surgery for appendicitis.

Jeff Burkett
Position:Wide receiver, punter
Personal information
Born:(1921-07-15)July 15, 1921
Hattiesburg, Mississippi
Died:October 24, 1947(1947-10-24) (aged 26)
Bryce Canyon, Utah
Career information
College:LSU
Career history
  • Chicago Cardinals (1947)

Pro career

After playing at LSU, Burkett was signed by the Cardinals. Burkett was suffering from appendicitis after a game against the Los Angeles Rams, who had beaten the Cardinals 27-7, handing Chicago their first loss of the season. Burkett opted to stay behind and have the surgery to remove his appendix. Once he was released from the hospital, Burkett boarded a United DC-6. The plane crashed in Utah, killing all 52 people aboard. At the time of his death, Burkett was the league's leading punter. After Burkett's death, Cardinals quarterback Charley Trippi took over the punting duties. Trippi admitted taking over for Burkett was hard and he thought of his fallen teammate every time he punted in a game.[2]

Burket had not only been a punter for the Cardinals, but was also one of the team's receivers as well. Though his career only consisted of three games before his untimely death, Burkett had caught two passes for 44 yards and a touchdown. In addition to playing end and punter, Burkett also played as a defensive back, intercepting a pass and returning it for 25 yards.[3]

Death

The United DC-6, which was carrying Burkett and several other passengers, crashed in Bryce Canyon, Utah. The pilot of the plane, E.L. McMillian, was credited by investigators for his vain attempt to keep the doomed plane in the air. Sadly, the plane crashed just a miles short of the landing strip at Bryce Canyon airport. Jeff Burkett was one of three prominent individuals who perished in the crash. the crash also claimed the life of Jack Guenther, editor of Look Magazine, and Clement Ryan, the former head of Montgomery Ward. The wreckage and the plane, along with scattered debris led to a theory that the passengers and some crew members may have been tossing items from the plane in order to lighten the load. There was another cause of concern, as the DC-6 model was also used by president Harry S. Truman as a private plane, thus leading to the suspension of production of the DC-6 until the cause of the crash was found.[4] It was later suspected that faulty wiring led to a fire in a section of the plane that could not readily be accessed played a role in the crash.

References

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