November 21, 2002

Bob Burdette dies 11/19.

From Walt Murphy's News and Results Service:


This has been a tough week for the track community in the Philadelphia area. People were still talking about the passing of Kim Gallagher when word came out yesterday that Bob Burdette, the Penn Relays Secondary Schools Chairman since 1986, was found dead in his apartment on Tuesday evening.

Burdette had been the Executive Secretary of the Track and Field Coaches Association of Greater Philadelphia for more than 15 years, until a stroke this summer forced him to relinquish his duties. Bob was also past president of the Pennsylvania Track and Field Coaches Association and Middle-Atlantic USATF, and a former track and cross country coach and athletic director at Interboro High School in suburban Philadelphia.

He also served as an assistant coach at Villanova in coach Jumbo Elliott's last year. A referee at many meets, he was an active official who had worked the Olympic Games at Los Angeles in 1984 and Atlanta in 1996. In 1996 he became the second contributor to the sport to be elected to the Pennsylvania High School Track and Field Hall of Fame, following Ken Doherty.

No details yet on the cause of death (or services), but Burdette had battled various medical problems in recent years, and most recently was recovering from a pair of strokes in the past two years. Penn Relays Director Dave Johnson said, "Bob was one of the dynamic forces of track in Philadelphia and the East Coast. His passing is a great personal loss to his many friends and colleagues. Few people have ever matched his service or dedication to the sport."