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GRADY BURSON - INDUCTEE #37

hall of fame fast fact:

Some 70 years after Grady Burson was the Clayton N.M. football coach, much of the high school there still had his stamp on it. Burson, an industrial arts teacher, worked with his students to build desks, chairs, and other furniture that survived at Clayton High at the turn of the 21st century.

Grady Burson

Grady Burson of Hale Center, a standout for West Texas State Teachers College in the early 1920s, was described as a consistent center fielder. He was not a flashy player, but always did his best.

After graduating from college in 1924, Grady Burson took a vocation that he would keep for the better part of the next 30 years: coaching. His first short stop was at Friona, then Clayton High in northeastern New Mexico. His first two football teams went undefeated. Throughout a 21-year tenure, Burson’s squads consistently fared well against Clayton’s toughest rivals.

Until the Burson family left to return to Amarillo in 1951, Grady made use of his spare time by officiating ball games of all sorts.

Burson was inducted into the West Texas A&M Hall of Champions in 1989. Grady Burson became a familiar face at West Texas State games until he died in 1984.