May 12, 2016

Highlighted Year: Ken Burrough, 1975

Wide Receiver, Houston Oilers


Age: 27
6th season in pro football, 5th with Oilers
College: Texas Southern
Height: 6’4”   Weight: 210

Prelude:
A high school quarterback, Burrough shifted to wide receiver in college and received some All-American consideration as a senior in 1969. He was chosen by the New Orleans Saints in the first round of the 1970 NFL draft (tenth overall) but after a quiet rookie season was traded to the Oilers in ’71. Talented and with great speed, Burrough also was inconsistent on a poor club. In his first four years with Houston, he caught 130 passes for 1960 yards (15.1 avg.) and nine touchdowns.

1975 Season Summary
Appeared in all 14 games
[Bracketed numbers indicate league rank in Top 20]

Pass Receiving
Receptions – 53 [7, tied with Charley Taylor]    
Most receptions, game – 7 (for 177 yds.) at Kansas City 11/2, (for 85 yds.) at San Francisco 12/7
Yards – 1063 [1]
Most yards, game – 177 (on 7 catches) at Kansas City 11/2
Average gain – 20.1 [4]
TDs – 8 [6, tied with Frank Grant & Drew Pearson]
100-yard receiving games – 4

Scoring
TDs – 8 [18, tied with four others]
Points – 48

Awards & Honors:
Pro Bowl

Oilers went 10-4 to finish third in the AFC Central.

Aftermath:
The lanky, long-striding Burrough followed up with 51 catches for 932 yards (18.3 avg.) and seven touchdowns in 1976. He returned to the Pro Bowl in ’77, pulling in 43 passes for an AFC-leading 816 yards (19.0 avg.) and 8 TDs and remained a productive receiver until knee and wrist injuries in 1980 that limited him to two games and four catches. He came back to catch 40 passes for 668 yards (16.7 avg.) and seven TDs in 1981, but missed all of ’82 due to injury and never returned. Overall, Burrough caught 421 passes for 7102 yards (16.9 avg.) and 49 touchdowns. Of that, 408 pass receptions for 6906 yards and 47 TDs came with the Oilers. He received second-team All-NFL honors once and was chosen to two Pro Bowls.  

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Highlighted Years features players who were consensus first-team All-League* selections or league* or conference** leaders in the following statistical categories:

Rushing: Yards, TDs (min. 10)
Passing: Yards, Completion Percentage, Yards per Attempt, TDs, Rating
Receiving: Catches, Yards, TDs (min. 10)
Scoring: TDs, Points, Field Goals (min. 5)
All-Purpose: Total Yards
Defense: Interceptions, Sacks
Kickoff Returns: Average
Punt Returns: Average
Punting: Average

*Leagues include NFL (1920 to date), AFL (1926), AFL (1936-37), AAFC (1946-49), AFL (1960-69), WFL (1974-75), USFL (1983-85)

**NFC/AFC since 1970