Walt Burrows, Long-Time South Jersey Sports Writer
Sunday, November 29, 2020
by CNBNews Staff
MARLTON, NJ (November 29, 2020)--Walt Burrows, a sportswriter for decades at the Courier Post, Cherry Hill, died November 24, 2020 at the age of 93. Mr. Burrows started his career in journalism writing for the Gloucester High School newspaper, The Lions Roar. At the same time he covered sports for his hometown newspaper, The Gloucester City News when it was owned by George F. and Mazie Cleary Sr. and later after their son Bill and his wife Connie purchased it in 1984.
After graduating from high school he worked at the Hinde & Dauche Paper Company, King and Fifth Street, Gloucester City, and also continued to cover sports for The Gloucester City News.
"Walt always gave credit to my father for helping him get started in the business," said Bill Cleary. In return Walt continued to write for the paper reporting on both Gloucester High and Gloucester Catholic sports. What ever season, be it baseball, basketball, or football. For many years he submitted two articles, one for the Lions, one for the Rams every Sunday at our office. He continued that tradition for several years after my wife and I purchased the paper. He didn't want his byline on those articles."
"Walt was a stand up guy. He always thought about the kids he was covering, never wanting to hurt their self esteem. I recall him saying, a reporter should never criticize a high school player for making a mistake. You could highlight their game accomplishment (s) but to single out a player for making a fumble that cost the game or committing an error in baseball that had the same result you could ruin the player's confidence", Bill Cleary said.
He was awarded the Jim Kelly Memorial Award as well as being inducted into the Alumni Hall of Fame. Walter was a sportswriter for the Courier Post for over sixty years and was known as one of fairest in the field. He was very well respected. He belonged to the NJ State Interscholastic Athletic Assn., Brooks Irvine Football Club, International Assn. of Approved Basketball Officials, NJ Interscholastic Coaches Association, NJ Football Officials Association and NJ Scholastic Baseball Coaches Association. During his career he was recognized for his hard work and was honored with many appreciation awards like the Distinguished American Award presented by the SJ Chapter of National Football Foundation, College Hall of Fame, GSHS Football Coaches Hall of Fame, SJ Sportswriter Hall of Fame, Riversharks Baseball Hall of Fame (Sports Writing), Tom B. Wilson Memorial Good Guy Award, NJFOA Edward G. Myer Chapter Good Guy Award and NJSBCA Awards.
He was recognized for his hard work and dedication in the journalism field with the Distinguished American Award presented by the South Jersey Chapter of the National Football Foundation, College Hall of Fame, GSHS Football Coaches Hall of Fame, South Jersey Sportswriter Hall of Fame, Riversharks Baseball Hall of Fame for sports writing, along with the Tom B. Wilson Memorial Good Guy Ward, the NJFOA Edward G. Myer Chapter Good Guy Award and NJSBCA Awards.
Burrows was predeceased by his wife, Eileen (Hallahan), and his brother, John Williams Burrows. He is survived by his son Gregory Walter Burrows and daughter Amy Eileen Borders.
Relatives and friends are invited to his viewing on Monday November 30th from 9:30-11 AM at the Bradley Funeral Home, Rt.73 and Evesham Rd., Marlton, NJ 08053. A funeral service will be held at 11 AM Monday at the funeral home. Entombment Parkview Cemetery, Medford, NJ. In lieu of flowers memorial donations may be made to the Voorhees Animal Orphanage, 419 Cooper Road, Voorhees, NJ 08043 or at www.vaonj.org/support/donate/
Walt Burrows, a sportswriter for the Courier Post
Even after covering a high school doubleheader every Saturday, Walt Burrows never hesitated when a young reporter wanted to talk even more football.
Between tapping out his tales on a typewriter and later on the computer keyboard, Burrows would reminisce about all the great teams and great players that he covered throughout his six-plus decades at the Courier-Post.
It was the same routine with basketball during the winter months and baseball during the spring.
“Walt was the storyteller for high school sports in South Jersey for many generations,” Bishop Eustace veteran baseball coach Sam Tropiano said.
Burrows passed away on Tuesday, He was 93.
“Walt Burrows was the dean of covering high school sports,” said Millville coach Tony Surace, who guided the Thunderbolts in football for 25 years and baseball for 19. “He’s a legend who made his mark on South Jersey sports.
“He covered them all but his love of football was apparent. His knowledge of all the teams and players was extraordinary. He knew all the coaches personally. The thing that sticks out the most is his writing of games, of individual profiles, how he always wanted to make it about the kid and what he had done.”
Burrows, a Gloucester City High School graduate, was an athlete during his scholastic days but it was his sports reporting that had a huge impact on the athletes he was covering and on his fellow scribes.
“If you played high school football, basketball or baseball in South Jersey from 1950-2010, Walt Burrows was the narrator of that time of your life,” former Courier-Post Sports editor Phil Anastasia said in a Facebook post.
“He started writing for the Courier-Post in 1948. He made $1 an hour as a part-time sports writer in those days. He soon became the newspaper’s best example of its approach to local sports coverage – supportive, fair-minded, wide-ranging, tireless.”
Anastasia, now with the Philadelphia Inquirer, told the story of how Burrows would celebrate Thanksgiving dinner on the last Wednesday of November because the following day was dedicated to his job.
Burrows was one of the heavy hitters in the Courier-Post’s sports department lineup, including the newspaper’s weekly sought-after Varsity section.
“I grew up in Philly and it was all about the four professional teams and Big 5,” Tropiano said. “When I moved to New Jersey, it was refreshing to see how high school sports got coverage. It was awesome. Walt was a huge part of that.”
Once the Flyers’ beat writer for the Courier-Post, Burrows’ passion ran deep for high school athletics, telling the tales of some of the greatest athletes ever to play in South Jersey.
“It was always about the kids with Walt,” said Bob Viggiano, a long-time co-worker with Burrows. “He loved being around the games, but it was about the kids who played them that were so important to him.”
With a calm and warm demeaner, Burrows was easy to talk to and took time to help the next generation of sports reporters.
“Walt was a true gentlemen and someone I deeply respected as a mentor and eventually a colleague,” said Kevin Minnick, a long-time Courier-Post reporter who now writes for NJ.com. “It takes a certain passion to cover high school sports and he did it longer than most. There was no ego, just someone who knew how important it was to tell the stories of student-athletes.”
Asbury Park Press’ Steve Falk added, “Walt Burrows was one of the true gentlemen in this business – old school, nothing fancy and the athletes always came first with him.”
When Burrows wasn’t writing about games, he was picking them. "Want Ad Willie" was one of the paper’s most popular features as he picked the football winners each week.
“When I was a kid, you’d look for Want Ad Willie and see who he was picking,” Highland football coach Brian Leary, who played at Paul VI during his scholastic days. “Walt and high school sports went hand in hand. He was a great man, an icon in high school sports.”
According to his obituary, Burrows was awarded Gloucester High’s Jim Kelly Memorial Award and was a member of the school’s Alumni Hall of Fame.
He was recognized for his hard work and dedication in the journalism field with the Distinguished American Award presented by the South Jersey Chapter of the National Football Foundation, College Hall of Fame, GSHS Football Coaches Hall of Fame, South Jersey Sportswriter Hall of Fame, Riversharks Baseball Hall of Fame for sports writing, along with the Tom B. Wilson Memorial Good Guy Ward, the NJFOA Edward G. Myer Chapter Good Guy Award and NJSBCA Awards.
Burrows was predeceased by his wife, Eileen (Hallahan), and his brother, John Williams Burrows. He is survived by his son Gregory Walter Burrows and daughter Amy Eileen Borders.
Relatives and friends are invited to his viewing on Monday, Nov. 30 from 9:30 to 11 a.m. at Bradley Funeral Home in Marlton. A service will be held at 11 a.m. on Monday at the funeral home.
Tom McGurk is a regional sports reporter for the Courier-Post and The Daily Journal, covering South Jersey sports for over 30 years. If you have a sports story that needs to be told, contact him at (856) 486-2420 or email [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter at @McGurkSports. Help support local journalism with a Courier-Post subscription.
Marlton - Burrows Jr., Walter. At home and surround by his family passed away on November 24, 2020. Of Marlton, NJ. Age 93. Beloved husband of the late Eileen Burrows (nee Hallahan). Devoted father of Gregory Walter Burrows and Amy Eileen Borders. Dear brother of the late John William Burrows. Walter graduated from Gloucester City High School where he was awarded the Jim Kelly Memorial Award as well as being inducted into the Alumni Hall of Fame. Walter was a sportswriter for the Courier Post for over sixty years and was known as one of fairest in the field. He was very well respected. He belonged to the NJ State Interscholastic Athletic Assn., Brooks Irvine Football Club, International Assn. of Approved Basketball Officials, NJ Interscholastic Coaches Association, NJ Football Officials Association and NJ Scholastic Baseball Coaches Association. During his career he was recognized for his hard work and was honored with many appreciation awards like the Distinguished American Award presented by the SJ Chapter of National Football Foundation, College Hall of Fame, GSHS Football Coaches Hall of Fame, SJ Sportswriter Hall of Fame, Riversharks Baseball Hall of Fame (Sports Writing), Tom B. Wilson Memorial Good Guy Award, NJFOA Edward G. Myer Chapter Good Guy Award and NJSBCA Awards. Relatives and friends are invited to his viewing on Monday November 30th from 9:30-11 AM at the Bradley Funeral Home, Rt.73 and Evesham Rd., Marlton, NJ 08053. A funeral service will be held at 11 AM Monday at the funeral home. Entombment Parkview Cemetery, Medford, NJ. In lieu of flowers memorial donations may be made to the Voorhees Animal Orphanage, 419 Cooper Road, Voorhees, NJ 08043 or at www.vaonj.org/support/donate/