Gee-Gees Football Hall of Fame Inductee Profile: Don Burns

A foursome of fearsome defensive players and one record-setting receiver have been selected as the 2023 inductees to the Gee-Gees Football Hall of Fame. Ettore Lattanzio, Frantz Jacques, Michel Dupuis, Mike Hendricks, and Don Burns will be inducted on Saturday, April 22. 

From the sideline to the record books

Before Don Burns made his mark on the Canadian University Football record book as an all-star wide receiver for the Gee-Gees, Cam Innes, a newly minted head coach on the recruiting trail, was shrewd enough to see his potential as he played catch on the sidelines of a Toronto High School All-Star game. 

"I remember that vividly," says Burns now, nearly forty five years after the moment that brought him to Ottawa. Burns had starred at tight end for St. Mike's, but in that all-star game had been asked to play wide receiver. "It was fish out of water – I didn't catch one pass. Not one. I was so frustrated." And yet, Innes approached.

"He said he liked the way I caught the ball, just tossing on the sidelines," recounts Burns. "It was something I needed to hear at the time, and he had an easy way of talking with people. I felt, that was someone I wanted to play for, and it started a great relationship between us – he had shown that belief in me and I didn't want to let him down."

Soon, Burns would be taking hits from the Gee-Gees outstanding defence on the rocky field of Minto Arena, learning how to be a wide receiver.

"When you practice day in and out against an exceptional defence you can't help but get better. When you played against other teams – I had already played against the best. I loved those battles in practice. You could sense and feel that we were getting better." 

Burns would stay mostly on the sidelines during games in his 1978 rookie season in Garnet and Grey while Phil Pilon and Joel Baldwin handled the bulk of the load. "They were the vets and you stand there and you learn. I'm glad that there were people ahead of me – you learn so much more when you have mentors that you play with," says Burns with a little bit of youthful awe still in his voice. 

"Even though you're chomping at the bit, I learned so much just from watching and I was ok with that. I knew my time would come. They went above and beyond to ensure that we learned as much as we could – we weren't just ball-players competing with each other, we were friends as well. That was the true essence of the team." 

That team cohesiveness started to translate into victories in 1979, and Burns started hauling in passes and chewing up yards. He logged 442 yards on 14 catches in his second year, taking it to the house five times. He also led the team in return yards.

"You could sense and feel that we were getting better. The wins were starting to happen - Cam and the coaches had a really good plan, but it took a lot of repetition over and over before. We had to learn how to be a team."

Then in 1980, things snapped into place. "We had such an assembly of character players that I always knew we were going to be ok. It was fun playing." Burns had by 1980 developed a strong connection with quarterback Rick Zmich, one which would truly show in 1982 when the pair established a Canadian University record.

After another strong regular season, Burns caught the game-winning 47-yard touchdown pass in the 1980 Dunsmore Cup on an out-and-up pattern that left him all alone trotting into the endzone for a 13-10 victory. He added another touchdown in the Atlantic Bowl and opened the scoring for Ottawa in the College Bowl, playing in front of a contingent of hometown supporters from St. Mike's.

But when remembering the 1980 season in particular, Burns recalls not a catch but his blocking the most fondly. Speaking of the Atlantic Bowl win, he says, "I remember Mike Giftopoulos – he had a barn burner. He just ate that turf up. I loved watching him run the football, he was gifted. I had a big game blocking for him."

"One of the moments I'm most proud of," he continues, "Was the Rhino award. It was for the best hit of the game and it always went to the defensive guys. We were playing Queen's and it was either Gifto or Brock Bundy coming around the corner; I set my sights on the defender and laid my shoulder into him as hard as I could. I made such a perfect block and I thought 'This is one of the greatest feelings in the whole wide world.' Everyone laughed their heads off when they gave me the award on Monday at film."

Burns would be winning more awards in his senior year. He was drafted 12 overall in the 1981 CFL Draft, but returned to the Gee-Gees. He was named to the 1982 All-Canadian team after recording 60 receptions for 742 yards and six touchdowns during the Gee-Gees undefeated regular season. His 60 receptions set a Canadian University record which was not eclipsed until 2003, and he still ranks second in Gee-Gees history. 

As his teammates Jim Redfearn and Brent Walker put it, "There are always good players that are integral to the success of any football team, but there are great ones that are able to elevate that same team into a higher level. That's what Don did."

"The tall lanky kid had deceptive speed," note Redfearn and Walker in their nomination of Burns to the Hall of Fame. "This was matched with a great vertical and a pair of hands that if the ball came anywhere near him, it would be caught! On top of all this, after a crushing tackle, Don would unfold himself from the ground, toss the referee the ball and trot back to the huddle unfazed."

He finished his five-year Gee-Gees career as the first member of Ottawa's 2,000 yards club and still ranks third in team history. He was a two-time conference all-star in 1980 and 1982, and found his way to the endzone with historic regularity. 

"I was a deep ball threat, and I had a God-given talent for catching a football and I loved doing it. Good coaching puts you in a position to win. You play those down and out routes, down and out, and then boom - you light it up for 60-70 yards."

And then boom - Burns was back in Toronto for nearly forty years, where he immersed himself in the business world. "No one knew where I was," says Burns of his old teammates. And then, they found him and pulled him back from the sideline once more.

In 2015, the 1980 team held a reunion at the Panda Game. Burns, who says Panda Games were his favourite to play in because of the adrenaline he still recalls, was reached through a cousin. And he knew he had to be there.

"There's just a lot of really good memories from uOttawa. It was long overdue for me to reconnect. You only get one shot at this life."

"I was a Toronto boy," he remembers back to his initial decision to commit to uOttawa. "All my friends were in Toronto. My dad encouraged me to attend a university in a city outside of Toronto and it was a beautiful experience."

Burns was recently recruited back to Ottawa, echoing his 1978 move. After marrying in 2020, he now calls Kanata home. And his remarkable time as a Gee-Gee still has a home in the record books. 

Don Burns is the fourth member of the 1980 Gee-Gees to be inducted into the Hall of Fame as an individual, and the team was inducted in 2022.