Spiro QB Henry Burris receives in-person induction into Canadian Football Hall of Fame
His acceptance speech after receiving his Hall of Fame Jacket.
Posted by Caresse Burris on Monday, June 20, 2022
When Spiro native Henry Burris Jr. was growing up, his father made it a point to give his son a glimpse of the ghetto but finished the trip with something like a visit to Six Flags.
On June 17, Burris would have overcome stereotypes, injuries and a good-natured secret from his family on the way to the Canadian Football Hall of Fame.
"For me, I enjoyed every bit of that," Burris said on the June 17 induction ceremony held at the Hamilton Tiger-Cats' Tim Hortons Field. "It was just so good to be able to give thanks but during my speech, I made sure that I gave thanks to the people who truly mattered the most and who made me who I am: my wife and my kids, my parents and of course my coaches and agents who helped make it possible for me but even more importantly, the guys on the field."
The 1993 graduate was a four-sport four-year letterman at Spiro. In 1991, Burris contributed to the Bulldogs’ only baseball state championship.
In his younger years, the quarterback’s strong arm and football smarts quickly became apparent. Beginning in seventh grade, his father sent him to out-of-town camps for the two-fold benefit of developing skills and the college-like experience of living away from home.
Starting his junior and senior seasons for coach Chris Bunch, Burris led the Bulldogs to a 3A state quarterfinal in 1991, where a 99-yard touchdown passto Anthony Eubanks will remain as an unsurpassed record. In the 1993 Oklahoma All-State Game, the combination connected again for the 50th time in a two-year span.
Heavily recruited, Burris attracted offers from Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Texas and Penn State. However, not every school wanted him as a quarterback, a mindset that would reappear as he approached NFL talent evaluators.
Eventually, new Temple coach Ron Dickerson came for a home visit, with the appeal of Philadelphia, possibly playing quarterback right away and a potential turnaround. With the Owls, the self-named “country boy” finished his college career as the Big East Conference’s second all-time passer with 7,495 yards.
At 6-foot-2, he was considered not tall enough. Even more so, a prevalent prejudice prevailed that being a black quarterback meant he must be a runner and not a pro-style passer.
" I was even asked by NFL teams if I would think about playing safety, but I was like, 'Shoot, I can burn the free safety who you drafted,'" Burris said. "The guy you drafted, we threw for three touchdowns on him, so why would I want to play that position when I'm smoking the guy you drafted in the first round?"
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After beginning his professional career in Canada, Burris reached the NFL but received limited opportunity. In 2001 with Green Bay, he was third string behind starter Brett Favre and Doug Pederson. The following year with the Chicago Bears – in his lone NFL start – he was thrown into the fire against the top-ranked Tampa Bay defense.
After being allocated to NFL Europe’s Berlin Thunder, the Bears signed Kordell Stewart and drafted Rex Grossman in the first round. From there, Burris chose playing time over the NFL’s prestige, electing to continue his career in the Canadian Football League.
In total, Burris spent 18 seasons on four different teams in the CFL and ranks third in CFL history for both 63,369 passing yards and 373 touchdown passes. The two-time Most Outstanding Player also holds a league record with 45 completions in a game and 481 for a season. His seven game-winning drives in 2015 is also a CFL record.
After winning his first of two Grey Cup MVPs in 2008, the Oklahoma State Legislature wrote a Resolution for the Calgary Stampeder.
In 2014, he joined the Ottawa Redblacks franchise and reached the Grey Cup in each of his final two seasons. In 2016, the overtime championship victory was the city’s first CFL title in 40 years, with the Grey Cup MVP going to the oldest starting quarterback to win at 41 years and 176 days.
With COVID-19 coming into the picture, the first-ballot Canadian Football Hall of Famer's formal induction was put on hold. Originally set for late March 2020, his wife, Nicole, and sons Armand and Barron kept the surprise announcement a secret.
That July, Burris' "big brother" Damon Allen, another CFL great, appeared in a zoom video to break the news to him.
"When they turned on the video and I saw his face and I saw that logo in the background, tears just started to flow..."
On June 17, 2022, the process was officially complete with the in-person ceremonies for the Class of 2020 and 2021 taking place at the Hamilton Tiger-Cats' Tim Hortons Field.
You can follow Bryant Roche on Twitter @BRocheSports and you can email him at BRoche@gannett.com
This article originally appeared on Fort Smith Times Record: Henry Burris gets in-person induction into Canadian Football Hall of Fame
