Before Don Burgess became a hall-of-fame rugby player, he was a Victoria High School track star and set a B.C. provincial high school record for one mile on the first B.C. high school track at Vic High in 1951.
On what was then a brand new track, Burgess’s time of 4:35.2 minutes smashed Phil Matson of Oak Bay’s 1949 high school mark by a full five seconds.
Today, with new track construction material and better training methods, Burgess’s time might seem like crawling.
He wasn’t the only Victoria athlete to set new time standards at the third annual high school meet held on June 2, 1951.
Vic High’s Ted Whan won what was then called the “hop, step and jump” (later changed to broad jump and now known as the long jump) with a 41-foot, nine-inch leap, beating a two-year-old record by more than two feet.
And Burgess’s buddy and Vic High teammate, Pete Kirchner, won the competition’s first three-mile race, setting the mark at 16.21 minutes.
“We were all excited about the [Vic High] track going in,” Burgess recalled.
Burgess, who also won the mile race in 1952, attracted the attention of the Western Washington University track coach and accepted a track scholarship to the Bellingham school, an offer rarely made to Canadian athletes in those days.
He also ran for the Victoria “Y” track club, played basketball at Vic High for legendary George (Porky) Andrews and played high school rugby. His “Y” track coaches were Archie McKinnon and Bruce Humber.
But it was his love of and abilities in rugby, a sport he excelled at, that won in the end. He was lauded for his speed, fitness and toughness in the game.
After attending Esquimalt High School for Grade 9 and 10, Burgess finished Grade 11 and 12 at Vic High, graduating in 1952. He fondly remembers Vic High principal Harry Smith popping into classrooms and his English teacher, Stan Murphy.
“I learned a lot from him,” Burgess said of Murphy.
His father, Tom Burgess, was the trainer for the James Bay Athletic Association rugby program, as well as being a boxing coach. That meant Don had to do road work as part of his training.
After university, Burgess also played soccer and was an inside-centre for Victoria West.
Burgess embarked on a teaching career after Western Washington and first taught at Brentwood College. He taught at Mount Newton from 1967 to 1973 and at Parkland from 1973 to 1998, when he retired. He taught social studies and physical education.
“I really enjoyed teaching.”
His prowess as a rugby player is respected across Canada. He played fullback, scrum half, standoff and centre and was also an outstanding place-kicker.
Burgess played most of his rugby for Oak Bay Wanderers.
He was “capped” for the first time on Nov. 17, 1962 in an international match between Canada and Gosforth, and was a member of the British Columbia team that scored a stunning 8-3 upset over the famed British Lions on Sept. 14, 1966, before about 7,000 spectators at Empire Stadium in Vancouver. That match was described in the B.C. Rugby Hall of Fame as “one of the most brilliant matches in Canadian rugby history.”
Burgess converted on the game-winning try by Peter Grantham and also kicked a penalty goal for the home team.
That team became the first group to be inducted into the B.C. Rugby Hall of Fame in 2006.
In 1996, Burgess won the Jack Patterson Memorial Award for his 45 years of service to the sport, including 35 years as a high school rugby coach. He was also recognized for being Canada’s first rugby coaching organizer.
He invented the Burge kicking tee, which is still in use today.
In 2000, he was inducted into the B.C. Sports Hall of Fame as a builder and he received the same honours from the B.C. Rugby Hall of Fame in 2005 (player and builder) and the Greater Victoria Sports Hall of Fame in 2008.
Burgess created some controversy in 2006 when he spoke out against what he called Canada’s “bash and crash” style of rugby.
Even at Vic High, Burgess was known for his outspokenness. His 1952 Camosun thumbnail sketch said he was known as “Green Pea” and was someone “who, generally speaking, is generally speaking” and “can verbally never be stumped.” He also took part in the school’s Calamity Players drama group.
Burgess married Barbara (formerly Hill), who was described in her 1953 Vic High annual as a “starry” grass-hockey player.
Their daughter, Lisa, was also a track athlete and is an operating-room nurse in Kamloops.
Burgess said he supports Victoria High School’s efforts to raise $6.5 million for a track and stadium upgrade project.
“I think it’s a great idea.”
He recalled that at one time, Victoria High School was one of the top track schools in the province.
