BURL BUFKIN - INDUCTEE #16
hall of fame fast fact:
Glenn Bufkin scored two touchdowns for Blair Cherry's Amarillo Sandies as they blitzed Corpus Christi 48-0 for the 1934 state championship, Amarillo High's first. Despite being only four years younger that Burl Bufkin, Glenn actually was his nephew. Burl had six siblings, and Glenn was the son of an older brother.
Burl Bufkin
Burl Bufkin moved to Amarillo at a young age and was an all-around athlete at Amarillo High School. He starred in football, track, basketball, and baseball.
As a fullback, the 5-10, 185-pounder got his first start as a sophomore and played on the Sandies’ 9-2 and 10-2 teams in 1928 and 1929. Bufkin scored 161 points and was named to the all-state team.
Bufkin went to the University of Washington to play football, transferred to the U.S. Military Academy, and transferred back to Seattle. The transfer cost him a year of eligibility, but he played well enough in 1934 to earn All-American honorable mention and a berth in a college all-star game in Japan.
In 1935, Bufkin signed with the Brooklyn Dodgers, a professional football team; his contract required he supply his own equipment and receive $75 a game.
In order to fulfill his military obligation, Bufkin became an FBI special agent, following and capturing Russian spies.
Bufkin died in Louisville in 1996.
