:Frank R. Burns
{{Short description|American football player and coach (1928–2012)}}
{{other people|Frank Burns}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=July 2024}}
{{Infobox college coach
| name = Frank R. Burns
| image =
| alt =
| caption =
| birth_date = {{Birth date|1928|3|16}}
| birth_place =
| death_date = {{Death date and age|2012|7|14|1928|3|16}}
| death_place = Holland, Pennsylvania, U.S.
| alma_mater =
| player_years1 = 1945–1948
| player_team1 = Rutgers
| player_positions = Quarterback
| coach_years1 = 1949–1950
| coach_team1 = Rutgers (freshman backfield)
| coach_years2 = 1951–1952
| coach_team2 = Johns Hopkins
| coach_years3 = 1955–1956
| coach_team3 = Rutgers (backfield)
| coach_years4 = 1957–1960
| coach_team4 = Chatham HS (NJ)
| coach_years5 = 1961–1972
| coach_team5 = Rutgers (assistant)
| coach_years6 = 1973–1983
| coach_team6 = Rutgers
| overall_record = 84–52–2 (college)
| bowl_record = 0–1
| tournament_record =
| championships = 2 Middle Three (1973–1974)
| awards = First-team All-Eastern (1947)
Walter Camp Coach of the Year (1976)
| coaching_records =
}}
Frank Robert Burns (March 16, 1928 – July 14, 2012) was an American football player and coach. He served as the head coach at Johns Hopkins University from 1951 to 1952 and at Rutgers University from 1973 to 1983, compiling a career college football record of 84–52–2. In 1978, Burns led the Rutgers Scarlet Knights to their first bowl game, the now-defunct Garden State Bowl.
Playing career
Raised in Roselle Park, New Jersey,[https://scarletknights.com/news/2012/7/25/Frank_Burns_Memorial_Service_Set_for_September_9.aspx "Frank Burns Memorial Service Set For September 9"], Rutgers Scarlet Knights, July 25, 2012. Accessed August 12, 2019. "Frank was born March 16, 1928 and was raised in Roselle Park, NJ." Burns played baseball, basketball and football at Roselle Park High School, serving as captain of the football and basketball teams, and winning state championships in both of those sports.Amdur, Neil. [https://www.nytimes.com/1978/04/02/archives/new-jersey-weekly-sports-frank-burns-man-in-motion.html "Sports; Frank Burns: Man in Motion"], The New York Times, April 2, 1978. Accessed August 12, 2019. "Like most aggressive, hard‐working individualists, Frank Burns, a former all‐stater at Roselle Park High School and a star quarterback when he played for Rutgers, never considered himself a likely candidate for a heart attack."[https://s3.amazonaws.com/sidearm.sites/scarletknights.com/documents/2017/10/6/1980fb_mediaguide.pdf#page=4 "Frank Burns - A Singular Career"], p. 3, in Rutgers Football 1980 Media Guide, Rutgers Scarlet Knights football. Accessed August 12, 2019. "The young QB brought in some weighty credentials from Roselle Park, where he was a three-sport standout for four years. He had captained his football and basketball squad, had earned All-State honors in football and baseball for two seasons and in basketball once. His grid team had taken the Group II state title in 1943 and 1944 and the court squad was the state champ in 1945."
Burns played football as a quarterback at Rutgers University for four years, from 1945 to 1948. There he ran the T formation under head coach Harvey Harman, completing 117 of 270 passes for 2,389 yards and 35 touchdowns with a 27–7 career record.{{cite news |title=Burns, 23, to Coach At Johns Hopkins |newspaper=The New York Times |agency=United Press |date=August 12, 1951 |url=https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1951/08/12/90744227.pdf |access-date=September 29, 2010}} He was drafted by the Redskins in the 2nd Round of the 1949 NFL draft (19th overall) but never played.
Coaching career
Burns coached football at Johns Hopkins University from 1951 to 1952 and at Rutgers University from 1973 to 1983. Burns has the second-most wins of any head coach in Rutgers Scarlet Knights football history with a record of 78–43–1 including an undefeated 11–0 campaign in 1976. He led Rutgers to a 13–7 upset victory over Tennessee in 1979.{{cite web|title=Legendary Rutgers Football Head Coach Frank Burns Passes Away|url=http://www.scarletknights.com/football/news/release.asp?prID=11923#.VB2WzFdW3y0|website=ScarletKnights.com|access-date=September 20, 2014|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140924042055/http://www.scarletknights.com/football/news/release.asp?prID=11923#.VB2WzFdW3y0|archive-date=September 24, 2014}}
During Burns's tenure as head coach, Rutgers began playing outside of its traditional schedule of Eastern teams such as Ivy League opponents, Colgate, and Lehigh. Burns was dismissed from Rutgers in 1983 after three consecutive losing seasons.{{cite news |author= |title=Burns Dismissed As Rutgers Coach |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1983/11/21/sports/burns-dismissed-as-rutgers-coach.html |newspaper=The New York Times |date=November 21, 1983 |access-date=September 20, 2014 }}
Later life and death
Burns retired to the Twining Village Continual Care Retirement Village in Holland, Pennsylvania. He died there on July 14, 2012.{{cite news |title=Frank Burns, former Rutgers football coach, dies at 84 |first=David |last=Giambusso |url=http://www.nj.com/rutgersfootball/index.ssf/2012/07/frank_burns_former_rutgers_foo.html |newspaper=The Star-Ledger |publisher=New Jersey On-Line LLC |date=July 14, 2012 |access-date=July 14, 2012}}
Head coaching record
=College=
{{CFB Yearly Record Start | type = coach | team = | conf = | bowl = | poll = both }}
{{CFB Yearly Record Subhead
| name = Johns Hopkins Blue Jays
| conf = Mason–Dixon Conference
| startyear = 1951
| endyear = 1952
}}
{{CFB Yearly Record Entry
| championship =
| year = 1951
| name = Johns Hopkins
| overall = 2–5–1
| conference = 0–2–1
| confstanding = 5th
| bowlname =
| bowloutcome =
| bcsbowl =
| ranking =
| ranking2 =
}}
{{CFB Yearly Record Entry
| championship =
| year = 1952
| name = Johns Hopkins
| overall = 4–4
| conference = 1–2
| confstanding = T–3rd
| bowlname =
| bowloutcome =
| bcsbowl =
| ranking =
| ranking2 =
}}
{{CFB Yearly Record Subtotal
| name = Johns Hopkins
| overall = 6–9–1
| confrecord = 1–4–1
}}
{{CFB Yearly Record Subhead
| name = Rutgers Scarlet Knights
| conf = Middle Three Conference
| startyear = 1973
| endyear = 1975
}}
{{CFB Yearly Record Entry
| championship = conference
| year = 1973
| name = Rutgers
| overall = 6–5
| conference = 2–0
| confstanding = 1st
| bowlname =
| bowloutcome =
| bcsbowl =
| ranking =
| ranking2 =
}}
{{CFB Yearly Record Entry
| championship = conference
| year = 1974
| name = Rutgers
| overall = 7–3–1
| conference = 2–0
| confstanding = 1st
| bowlname =
| bowloutcome =
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| ranking =
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}}
{{CFB Yearly Record Entry
| championship =
| year = 1975
| name = Rutgers
| overall = 9–2
| conference = 1–1
| confstanding = 2nd
| bowlname =
| bowloutcome =
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| ranking =
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}}
{{CFB Yearly Record Subhead
| name = Rutgers Scarlet Knights
| conf = NCAA Division I/I-A Independent
| startyear = 1976
| endyear = 1983
}}
{{CFB Yearly Record Entry
| championship =
| year = 1976
| name = Rutgers
| overall = 11–0
| conference =
| confstanding =
| bowlname =
| bowloutcome =
| bcsbowl =
| ranking = 17
| ranking2 = 17
}}
{{CFB Yearly Record Entry
| championship =
| year = 1977
| name = Rutgers
| overall = 8–3
| conference =
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{{CFB Yearly Record Entry
| championship =
| year = 1978
| name = Rutgers
| overall = 9–3
| conference =
| confstanding =
| bowlname = Garden State
| bowloutcome = L
| bcsbowl =
| ranking =
| ranking2 =
}}
{{CFB Yearly Record Entry
| championship =
| year = 1979
| name = Rutgers
| overall = 8–3
| conference =
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}}
{{CFB Yearly Record Entry
| championship =
| year = 1980
| name = Rutgers
| overall = 7–4
| conference =
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| bowloutcome =
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{{CFB Yearly Record Entry
| championship =
| year = 1981
| name = Rutgers
| overall = 5–6
| conference =
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{{CFB Yearly Record Entry
| championship =
| year = 1982
| name = Rutgers
| overall = 5–6
| conference =
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{{CFB Yearly Record Entry
| championship =
| year = 1983
| name = Rutgers
| overall = 3–8
| conference =
| confstanding =
| bowlname =
| bowloutcome =
| bcsbowl =
| ranking =
| ranking2 =
}}
{{CFB Yearly Record Subtotal
| name = Rutgers
| overall = 78–43–1
| confrecord = 5–1
}}
{{CFB Yearly Record End
| overall = 84–52–2
| bowls = no
| poll = no
| polltype =
}}
References
{{Reflist}}
{{navboxes|list=
{{Johns Hopkins Blue Jays football coach navbox}}
{{Rutgers Scarlet Knights football coach navbox}}
{{Eagles1949DraftPicks}}
{{Walter Camp Coach of the Year}}
}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Burns, Frank R.}}
Category:American football quarterbacks
Category:Johns Hopkins Blue Jays football coaches
Category:Rutgers Scarlet Knights baseball players
Category:Rutgers Scarlet Knights football coaches
Category:Rutgers Scarlet Knights football players
Category:High school football coaches in New Jersey
Category:Roselle Park High School alumni
Category:People from Roselle Park, New Jersey
Category:Players of American football from Union County, New Jersey