Elmer Burnham

---

title: "Elmer Burnham" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["1894-births", "1977-deaths", "purdue-boilermakers-football-coaches", "rochester-yellowjackets-football-coaches", "springfield-pride-baseball-players", "springfield-pride-men's-basketball-players", "springfield-pride-football-players", "college-men's-tennis-players-in-massachusetts", "high-school-football-coaches-in-indiana", "university-of-notre-dame-alumni", "united-states-army-personnel-of-world-war-i", "people-from-west-newbury,-massachusetts", "players-of-american-football-from-essex-county,-massachusetts", "coaches-of-american-football-from-massachusetts", "baseball-players-from-essex-county,-massachusetts", "basketball-players-from-essex-county,-massachusetts", "tennis-players-from-massachusetts", "20th-century-american-sportsmen"] description: "American football player and coach (1894–1977)" topic_path: "history" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elmer_Burnham" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::summary American football player and coach (1894–1977) ::

::data[format=table title="Infobox college coach"]

Field	Value
name	Elmer Burnham
image	Elmer Burnham.jpg
caption	Burnham pictured in Debris 1943, Purdue yearbook
birth_date
birth_place	West Newbury, Massachusetts, U.S.
death_date
death_place	Rochester, New York, U.S.
player_years1	1910s
player_team1	Springfield
coach_years1	1916–1934
coach_team1	South Bend Central HS (IN)
coach_years2	1935–1941
coach_team2	Purdue (freshmen)
coach_years3	1942–1943
coach_team3	Purdue
coach_years4	1944–1960
coach_team4	Rochester (NY)
overall_record	92–56–6 (college)
118–30–8 (high school)
championships	1 Big Ten (1943)
::

| name = Elmer Burnham | image = Elmer Burnham.jpg | alt = | caption = Burnham pictured in Debris 1943, Purdue yearbook | birth_date = | birth_place = West Newbury, Massachusetts, U.S. | death_date = | death_place = Rochester, New York, U.S. | alma_mater = | player_years1 = 1910s | player_team1 = Springfield | player_positions = | coach_years1 = 1916–1934 | coach_team1 = South Bend Central HS (IN) | coach_years2 = 1935–1941 | coach_team2 = Purdue (freshmen) | coach_years3 = 1942–1943 | coach_team3 = Purdue | coach_years4 = 1944–1960 | coach_team4 = Rochester (NY) | overall_record = 92–56–6 (college) 118–30–8 (high school) | bowl_record = | tournament_record = | championships = 1 Big Ten (1943) | awards = | coaching_records = Elmer Harold Burnham (September 8, 1894 – March 9, 1977) was an American football coach and all-around athlete, known particularly for his basketball skills both in college and in amateur YMCA play in Indiana. He was the head football coach at Purdue University in 1942 and 1943. Burnham's 1943 Purdue squad went 9–0 and shared the Big Ten Conference title with Michigan. From 1944 to 1960, Burnham served as the head coach at the University of Rochester, where he compiled a record of 82–48–6 in 17 seasons. Burnham served as Purdue's freshman football coach for seven years before assuming the role as varsity head coach in 1942. Before coming to Purdue, Burnham coached football at Central High School in South Bend, Indiana, for 16 seasons, tallying a mark of 118–30–8.

Early life, education, and YMCA work

Elmer Harold Burnham was born on September 8, 1894, at his family's home at 154 Main Street, West Newbury, Massachusetts. He was the only son among four children of Benjamin Franklin Burnham (a milkman) and Mary Choate Stanley Burnham. Burnham's athletic ability was evident from an early age. He won track and field events at local YMCA meets, played high school basketball, captained his high school baseball team. Burnham did not play high school football because West Newbury was too small to field a team. When playing local league baseball at 17, he was described as "[w]ithout a doubt the best amateur infielder in this vicinity," having begun playing "as soon as he was big enough to lift a bat." Decades after his playing days ended, Burnham was called "an exceptional athlete, possibly the best West Newbury High ever had," who could have done well in a much larger school. ::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f3/Samuel_Chase_House_082411.jpg" caption="Burnham Family Home, West Newbury, Massachusetts"] ::

After graduating high school in 1911 (as a classmate of noted WAC commander Captain Frances Keegan Marquis), Burnham entered Springfield Training School, a Springfield, Massachusetts, college closely connected to the YMCA and known for its strong physical education program. In August 1913, after two years' study at Springfield, Burnham became an assistant athletics director of South Bend, Indiana's YMCA. Advisors at Springfield suggested the year's break because Burnham was so youthful in appearance, they doubted they could place him in a coaching position.

Burnham returned to Springfield in the 1915-16 school year to complete his physical education training, where he won letters in football, baseball, tennis, and basketball, starring particularly in the latter. In 1924-25, he attended coaching schools under famed University of Notre Dame football coach Knute Rockne, At the time of Burnham's graduation, Springfield offered only a three-year program: in 1935 he completed coursework to obtain a bachelor's degree in physical education from Notre Dame.

Coaching career

In a career not known for job security, Burnham served for years at each school where he coached, always leaving on good terms and on his own terms. His decades of high school and college coaching in Indiana were appreciated by "all Hoosiers, who have come to call him one of their own," and in 1975 Burnham was inducted into the Indiana Football Hall of Fame. In Rochester, New York, he was viewed as "a quiet, modest man," respected and admired by those on his teams: "There has been a lot of silly talk about the character building purposes of football. When Elmer Burnham is mentioned in this connection, it doesn't sound so silly."

Central High School

In 1916, Burnham was appointed coach at South Bend's Central High School, where, in addition to teaching phys ed, he coached all sports, but also for its successful sports teams. and 1920-21 (when he returned to West Newbury, staying with his parents and working with his father in the family dairy) Burnham coached steadily at Central High School until 1935, becoming a South Bend institution himself: as one columnist stated, "Many of the young, successful business men of South Bend today received their early training from Elmer Burnham." ::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/15/Central_High_School_&_Boys_Vocational_School.jpg" caption="Central High School, South Bend, Indiana"] ::

During Burnham's tenure at the high school, South Bend took off as a manufacturing hub. The city's population grew from 58,684 in 1910 to 70,983 in 1920 to 104,193 in 1930. Central High School—and its athletic program—grew as well. In early years at Central, Burnham was one of only two phys ed teachers, coaching a range of high school sports (taking his football, basketball, baseball, and track teams to championships), and serving as City Recreational Director.

Later, Burnham was particularly known as the high school's football coach. In his last five years, the Central football team "won 42 games, lost six and tied five, scoring 1,083 points against their opponents' 181." By 1934 Central's coaching program had been revamped and several new coaches had been added, including an English teacher and basketball coach named John Wooden, who succeeded Burnham as baseball coach and in the South Bend city recreation job, and whose subsequent basketball coaching career at the University of California, Los Angeles earned him the sobriquet "Wizard of Westwood." As Burnham was leaving in 1935 to coach at Purdue University, South Bend held a testimonial banquet in his honor, attended by 400 friends and admirers.

Purdue

Freshman football coach

In the spring of 1935, Purdue athletic director/head football coach Noble Kizer, with whom Burnham played basketball at the South Bend YMCA, recruited Burnham as Purdue's freshman football coach. helped develop a state-wide amateur baseball program in Indiana, and gave speeches on a variety of sports topics.

Head football coach

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e3/Eleven_football_players_who_have_gained_national_recognition_on_the_gridiron_are_now_undergoing_Marine_Corps_training..._-NARA-_195315.jpg" caption="page=B9}}"] ::

At the same time, the Purdue Boilermakers football program was in turmoil. In January 1942, Mal Elward had been removed as the school's athletic director because of the football team's poor 1941 performance, but was to stay on as the football coach for the remainder of the year. The college newspaper called Elward's retention a betrayal, stating that he was widely and deeply unpopular: "Members of the team had vowed they would no longer play if Elward remained." Thereupon Elward resigned to join the Navy, and within a month Burnham—a well-known and popular figure in Boilermakers football—became head coach.

1942 season

As the 1942 football season approached, sportswriters noted that Purdue's morale had improved with the new coaching staff and the introduction of new formations and plays, but warned that the Boilermakers faced a daunting schedule. With the exception of a 7-6 upset over Northwestern University, Purdue's 1942 season was one of losses. Burnham committed to "do better next season, if there is college football."

1943 season

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/eb/Tony_Butkovich.jpg" caption="location=New York, New York}} This 1943 Boilermakers football team proved unbeatable."] ::

Burnham's final football game at Purdue was the traditional season-culminating battle for the Old Oaken Bucket trophy passed between Purdue and arch-rival Indiana University. The year before, the Indiana Hoosiers handed Purdue a 20-0 defeat, the third in three years. On November 20, 1943, the Boilermakers beat the Hoosiers 7-0 at Indiana's Bloomington home stadium. This gave Purdue not only the Old Oaken Bucket, but also an undefeated season and a tie with the University of Michigan for the Big Ten Conference championship.

By such measures as first downs, forwards completed, yards lost on penalties, Indiana played a better game. The Hoosiers came within inches of a touchdown several times, as late as the last minutes of the game, but were frustrated in each attempt. It was the first time Indiana had been held scoreless since 1939. One writer summed up: "The only punch Indiana was able to display in the vicinity of Purdue's goal line ... was a roundhouse right to [Purdue quarterback] Sam Vacanti's jaw, swung by [Indiana quarterback] John Cannady on the last play of the game...."

Rochester

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/8d/Fauver_Stadium_Field_at_the_University_of_Rochester.jpg" caption="University of Rochester's Fauver Stadium, where Burnham coached football"] ::

In May 1944, Burnham accepted the positions of head football coach and associate professor of physical education at the University of Rochester, a private research university in upstate New York, which offered him more money and job security. Unlike Purdue, Rochester provided no scholarships, subsidies of room and board, or other enticements for premier athletes and even with the hiring of a Big Ten coach, had no intent to become a major football powerhouse—which Burnham said he preferred. Burnham's predecessor at Rochester, Dudley DeGroot, had left abruptly to coach the Washington Redskins amidst tensions over his big league coaching approach at a small college.

In Burnham's first season, an important victory against Colgate University reassured Rochester fans that the "graying and fatherly pigskin professor from Purdue" could provide a respectable team with as many or more wins as losses. In his seventeen years coaching at Rochester, Burnham exceeded those expectations, even though, because studies came first, practices were short in duration and often sparsely attended. During Burnham's "glory years" for Rochester football, the team was undefeated in 1952 and 1958, with a cumulative record of 82-42-6 in 1944-60. At his retirement, Rochester's athletic director called him "our greatest football coach of all-time." Rochester's winningest coach, Burnham was inducted into Rochester's Athletic Hall of Fame in 1992.

Personal life and death

On June 12, 1920, Burnham wed Grace Alexandra Spurgin in her native Chicago, Illinois. The couple had served together as the only two physical education teachers at South Bend Central High School in the school year 1919-20. who became a star football player at Oberlin College. The family spent holidays and summers at the Burnham homestead in West Newbury. and recreational sports. In retirement, Burnham divided his time between homes in Rochester and West Newbury.

Burnham died on March 9, 1977, in Rochester, New York. He was 82. His funeral and burial took place in West Newbury.

Head coaching record

College

| name = Purdue Boilermakers | conf = Big Ten Conference | startyear = 1942 | endyear = 1943 | championship = | year = 1942 | name = Purdue | overall = 1–8 | conference = 1–4 | confstanding = 8th | bowlname = | bowloutcome = | bcsbowl = | ranking = | ranking2 = no | championship = conference | year = 1943 | name = Purdue | overall = 9–0 | conference = 6–0 | confstanding = T–1st | bowlname = | bowloutcome = | bcsbowl = | ranking = 5 | ranking2 = no | name = Purdue | overall = 10–8 | confrecord = 7–4 | name = Rochester Yellowjackets | conf = NCAA College Division independent | startyear = 1944 | endyear = 1960 | championship = | year = 1944 | name = Rochester | overall = 5–3 | conference = | confstanding = | bowlname = | bowloutcome = | bcsbowl = | ranking = | ranking2 = no | championship = | year = 1945 | name = Rochester | overall = 3–4 | conference = | confstanding = | bowlname = | bowloutcome = | bcsbowl = | ranking = | ranking2 = no | championship = | year = 1946 | name = Rochester | overall = 3–4–1 | conference = | confstanding = | bowlname = | bowloutcome = | bcsbowl = | ranking = | ranking2 = no | championship = | year = 1947 | name = Rochester | overall = 6–1–1 | conference = | confstanding = | bowlname = | bowloutcome = | bcsbowl = | ranking = | ranking2 = no | championship = | year = 1948 | name = Rochester | overall = 4–4–1 | conference = | confstanding = | bowlname = | bowloutcome = | bcsbowl = | ranking = | ranking2 = no | championship = | year = 1949 | name = Rochester | overall = 3–6 | conference = | confstanding = | bowlname = | bowloutcome = | bcsbowl = | ranking = | ranking2 = no | championship = | year = 1950 | name = Rochester | overall = 1–4–3 | conference = | confstanding = | bowlname = | bowloutcome = | bcsbowl = | ranking = | ranking2 = no | championship = | year = 1951 | name = Rochester | overall = 7–1 | conference = | confstanding = | bowlname = | bowloutcome = | bcsbowl = | ranking = | ranking2 = no | championship = | year = 1952 | name = Rochester | overall = 8–0 | conference = | confstanding = | bowlname = | bowloutcome = | bcsbowl = | ranking = | ranking2 = no | championship = | year = 1953 | name = Rochester | overall = 4–3 | conference = | confstanding = | bowlname = | bowloutcome = | bcsbowl = | ranking = | ranking2 = no | championship = | year = 1954 | name = Rochester | overall = 5–3 | conference = | confstanding = | bowlname = | bowloutcome = | bcsbowl = | ranking = | ranking2 = no | championship = | year = 1955 | name = Rochester | overall = 3–5 | conference = | confstanding = | bowlname = | bowloutcome = | bcsbowl = | ranking = | ranking2 = no | championship = | year = 1956 | name = Rochester | overall = 4–4 | conference = | confstanding = | bowlname = | bowloutcome = | bcsbowl = | ranking = | ranking2 = no | championship = | year = 1957 | name = Rochester | overall = 5–3 | conference = | confstanding = | bowlname = | bowloutcome = | bcsbowl = | ranking = | ranking2 = no | championship = | year = 1958 | name = Rochester | overall = 8–0 | conference = | confstanding = | bowlname = | bowloutcome = | bcsbowl = | ranking = | ranking2 = no | championship = | year = 1959 | name = Rochester | overall = 7–1 | conference = | confstanding = | bowlname = | bowloutcome = | bcsbowl = | ranking = | ranking2 = no | championship = | year = 1960 | name = Rochester | overall = 6–2 | conference = | confstanding = | bowlname = | bowloutcome = | bcsbowl = | ranking = | ranking2 = no | name = Rochester | overall = 82–48–6 | confrecord = | overall = 92–56–6 | bowls = no | poll = | polltype = Rankings from final AP Poll

References

Sources

• {{cite book | title = Images of America: West Newbury | last1 = Follansbee | first1 = Susan Poore | last2 = Wild | first2 = Jane Wallace | year = 2011 | publisher = Arcadia Publishing | location = Charleston, South Carolina | isbn = 9780738576428

References

1. (February 15, 1920). "Claim State Independent Basketball Title". Indianapolis Star.
2. "University of Rochester Athletics and Recreation: Hall of Fame". [[University of Rochester]].
3. (May 14, 1944). "Coach Burnham is Signed: Former Purdue Mentor Will Serve at Rochester". [[The New York Times]].
4. (October 13, 1943). "Elmer Burnham, Purdue Mentor, Isn't Too Serious". [[Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
5. (December 11, 1952). "West Newbury". Newburyport Daily News.
6. (March 17, 1977). "Grid coaching great, Burnham, dead at 82". South Bend Tribune.
7. {{harvnb. Follansbee. Wild. 2011
8. (February 28, 1910). "West Newbury: Won at Haverhill Y.M.C.A. meet". Newburyport Daily News.
9. {{harvnb. Follansbee. Wild. 2011
10. (April 10, 1911). "West Newbury". Newburyport Daily News.
11. (July 3, 1942). "Former West Newbury Man, Elmer H. Burnham, Is Head Football Coach at Purdue". Newburyport Daily News and Newburyport Herlad.
12. (September 11, 1912). "Merrimac: Much Interest Manifested in Present Baseball Series with Amesbury: A Good Player". Newburyport Daily News.
13. (July 12, 1951). "Sport-O-Grams". Newburyport Daily News.
14. (September 26, 1942). "West Newbury". Newburyport Daily News.
15. (January 29, 1943). "West Newbury: Waac Commander Known Here". The Newburyport Daily News.
16. (February 23, 1912). "West Newbury". Newburyport Daily News.
17. "Springfield College History - Springfield College".
18. (August 30, 1913). "West Newbury". Newburyport Daily News.
19. (February 26, 1942). "Burnham's Career Topped by '31 State Champions: Took Two Net Units to State Tourney Site". South Bend Tribune.
20. (April 23, 1915). "Miller to Get New Assistant at Y.M.". South Bend News-Times.
21. (January 31, 1932). "Elmer Burnham, Builder of Champions, Enters 13th. Year as Central High Coach". South Bend Tribune.
22. "Elmer Burnham Is High School Coach". South Bend Tribune.
23. (June 30, 1917). "Announce Many Races for Big Celebration". South Bend Tribune.
24. (March 16, 1977). "Perfect-year Boilermaker coach dies". Journal and Courier.
25. (May 23, 1944). "Isbell's Nostalgia to Provide Purdue Worry". The Republic.
26. (May 15, 1944). "Graham Crackers". Journal and Courier.
27. (May 16, 1944). "Touchdowns to Burnham". Indianapolis Star.
28. (February 12, 1975). "More Honors for Burnham". South Bend Tribune.
29. (November 15, 1960). "Seen and Heard". Democrat and Chronicle.
30. (August 30, 1941). "25 Years Ago Today". South Bend Tribune.
31. (February 14, 2019). "Throwback Thursday: Three Cheers for South Bend Central High School". South Bend Tribune.
32. (January 29, 1919). "Large Contingent of Soldiers Home". South Bend Tribune.
33. {{harvnb. Follansbee. Wild. 2011
34. (May 15, 1944). "Burnham Resigns at Purdue: Elmer Takes Football Job at University of Rochester". Journal and Courier.
35. (May 17, 1935). "Seen and Heard in Sport Realm". South Bend Tribune.
36. (May 17, 2015). "South Bend 150 history timeline". South Bend Tribune.
37. (August 30, 1919). "Assign 74 Teachers to Fill Vacancies". South Bend Tribune.
38. (March 24, 1929). "City Basket Tournament Reaches Quarterfinals". South Bend Tribune.
39. (July 9, 1935). "Veteran Mentor Assists Successor". South Bend Tribune.
40. (February 26, 1942). "Elmer Burnham Named Grid Coach at Purdue". Kokomo Tribune.
41. (August 26, 1934). "New Coaches to Take Places in Scholastic Sports Sun". South Bend Tribune.
42. (March 26, 1936). "Wooden, Jones and Wilmore Guide Squads". South Bend Tribune.
43. (May 6, 1936). "Seen and Heard in Sport Realm". South Bend Tribune.
44. (June 5, 2010). "Legend dies at 99: John Wooden Famed as the Wizard of Westwood". South Bend Tribune.
45. (April 21, 1937). "'Slam Bang' Type of Basketball Next Year, Says Elmer Burnham". The Culver Citizen.
46. (May 18, 1937). "Elmer Burnham Baseball Official". Journal and Courier.
47. (May 25, 1938). "Legion Junior Baseball to Get Underway Soon; Call First Meeting Tomorrow". Journal and Courier.
48. (March 23, 1938). "Purdue Coach Speaks Before Lions Club". Kokomo Tribune.
49. (March 22, 1942). "Unprecedented Changes Made in College Grid Coaches: 15 Well-Known Tutors Shift". Wisconsin State Journal.
50. (December 6, 1971). "When Football Went to War".
51. (August 22, 2017). "The Best College Football Team You've Probably Never Heard Of". New York Times.
52. (February 26, 1942). "Purdue Grid Boss Named: Elmer Burnham Succeeds Elward as Coach—Mackey to Be Athletic Director". Star Tribune.
53. (January 23, 1942). "Paper Charges Purdue Betrayal". Pittsburgh Sun-Telegraph.
54. (February 26, 1942). "Graham Crackers". Journal and Courier.
55. (September 11, 1942). "INS Football Writer Likes Purdue Spirit". Journal and Courier.
56. (September 2, 1942). "Graham Crackers". Journal and Courier.
57. (October 12, 1942). "Purdue Clips Northwestern: Burnham's Battlers Twist Wildcat Tails in Startling 7-6 Thriller before 33,000". Journal and Courier.
58. (November 25, 1942). "Purdue Plans Grid Build-up". The Times.
59. (April 6, 1943). "Graham Crackers". Journal and Courier.
60. (April 10, 1943). "Graham Crackers". Journal and Courier.
61. (September 15, 1943). "Illinois Grid Stars Return to Home State Saturday Afternoon in Purdue Uniforms". Journal and Courier.
62. (September 17, 1943). "Sailors Will Help Burnham Solve Problem". South Bend Tribune.
63. (August 14, 1943). "Purdue to Split Gridiron Forces into Two Groups". Rushville Republican.
64. (August 31, 1943). "Boilermakers Ready". Daily News.
65. (November 14, 1943). "A Corner in Pigskin: The Old Oaken Bucket". Indianapolis News.
66. (November 23, 1942). "Indiana Bucket Winner, 20-0: Boilermakers Put Up Tough Battle for Three Quarters But Weaken Badly in Fourth".
67. (November 22, 1943). "McMillin Says 'Fumbles Cause of IU Setback". Bedford Daily Times.
68. (November 22, 1943). "Purdue Downs Indiana, Unbeaten, Untied Riviters Tie for Big Ten Grid Crown". Journal and Courier.
69. (May 15, 1944). "Burnham Resigns at Purdue: Elmer Takes Football Job at University of Rochester". Journal and Courier.
70. (May 16, 1944). "Speculating in Sports". The Times.
71. (September 22, 1960). "Burnham to Retire from Coaching; W. Newbury Native at Rochester U.". Newburyport Daily News.
72. (February 29, 1944). "Sports Eye View... Resignation of DeGroot Climaxes Long-Time Campus Friction". Democrat and Chronicle.
73. (October 2, 1944). "Sports Eye View...". Democrat and Chronicle.
74. (June 18, 1920). "Hamilton Park News". Suburbanite Economist.
75. (June 24, 1944). "Personal and General". Journal and Courier.
76. (November 15, 1960). "Elmer Might Have Been A Milkman: Burnham Had His Problems at UR, But Came Up with Grid Winners". Democrat and Chronicle.
77. (August 16, 1940). "Lawn Party Held in West Newbury: American Legion Event Attracts Large Gathering". Newburyport Daily News and Newburyport Herald.
78. (August 18, 1923). "West Newbury: Tennis Club Formed". Newburyport Daily News and Newburyport Herald.
79. (December 3, 1928). "West Newbury: Playground Association Meeting". Newburyport Daily News and Newburyport Herald.
80. (March 6, 1961). "Elwell Sees Slight Drop in W. Newbury's Tax Rate". Newburyport Daily News.
81. "Obituaries". Rochester Review.
82. (March 10, 1977). "Led Glory Years: Ex-UR coach Burnham dies". Democrat and Chronicle.

::callout[type=info title="Wikipedia Source"] This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page. ::