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Adult Honorees<br />
Jim Burt<br />
Jim Burt is a former American football player<br />
who played for the New York Giants and<br />
San Francisco 49ers in the National Football<br />
League (NFL). Burt played nose tackle for the<br />
Giants team that won Super Bowl XXI and<br />
the 49ers team that won Super Bowl XXIV.<br />
Burt attended the University of Miami,<br />
where he started on the football field for<br />
the Hurricanes and was inducted into the<br />
University of Miami Sports Hall of Fame.<br />
Burt joined the Giants as an undrafted free<br />
agent in 1981. He made the Pro Bowl in 1986<br />
and finished his career with 20 quarterback<br />
sacks. Burt was respected throughout the<br />
league for his toughness and determination,<br />
which resulted in him going from being an<br />
undrafted rookie free agent to a Pro Bowler.<br />
He is also known for knocking out 49ers<br />
quarterback Joe Montana on a pass in the<br />
1986 Divisional Playoff game. Montana’s pass<br />
was picked off and returned for a touchdown<br />
by Giants linebacker Lawrence Taylor. The<br />
Giants won, 49-3, on their way to winning<br />
Super Bowl XXI.<br />
Although many people often credit<br />
Harry Carson and Lawrence Taylor with<br />
inventing the “Gatorade Shower” on coaches<br />
following wins, Burt actually created it in<br />
1985. As Carson stated in his 1987 book<br />
Point of Attack: The Defense Strikes Back<br />
head coach Bill Parcells was especially hard<br />
on Burt in practice. Parcells often made Burt<br />
raise a 50 lb. dumbbell repeatedly off the<br />
ground in practice to simulate raising his arm<br />
powerfully out of his stance at the snap of the<br />
ball. Burt exacted revenge on Parcells after a<br />
win in 1985 by dousing him with a cooler of<br />
Gatorade. This has since become a tradition<br />
in football analogous to the champagne<br />
showers teams make in their locker rooms<br />
after winning a championship.<br />
Burt battled back problems with the New<br />
York Giants which ultimately caused Parcells<br />
to announce his retirement in 1988. Burt,<br />
however, was not ready to retire and instead<br />
joined the San Francisco 49ers for the 1989<br />
season. He won his second Super Bowl with<br />
the team when they defeated the Denver<br />
Broncos in Super Bowl XXIV.<br />
During the 2006 season, Burt traveled to<br />
Dallas to give moral support to his former<br />
tormentor, Parcells, who was then head coach<br />
of the Dallas Cowboys. He also delivered a<br />
pre-game speech and stood on the sidelines<br />
exulting Dallas’ defensive players.<br />
Trey Whitfield Foundation, Inc. 19<br />
Twenty-First Anniversary Banquet
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