Student-Athlete Alumni Spotlight: The Burt Family Tradition
Nov. 25, 2003
The Burt Family Tradition:
Like Father, Like Son
By Tracy Gale
Coral Gables, Fla. (www.hurricanesports.com) — Many fathers pass down their love of sports to their kids. Jim Burt, an All-American defensive tackle for the ‘Canes in the late 1970s, passed on a little something more to son Jim Burt, Jr., Miami’s starting first baseman: an extremely serious sports work ethic.
“Back when I was playing pro football I’d bring Jim, Jr. with me to my off-season workouts. I can remember taking him with me when he was two years old. I’d set him down while I ran sprints. He’d cry when I’d run away and get all happy again when I’d run back towards him! Working out and training year-round was something he saw from a very young age. I didn’t necessarily have to spell it out for him. A few years down the road I’d work with my son in the batting cage after school was out for the day. Jim wouldn’t want to hit one or two buckets of baseballs: he’d hit four or five. We’d be out on the ball field together for four hours at a stretch! I never said he had to work so hard or made him do it. This is just how he is.”
The younger Burt’s drive was much more than just a kid’s love of playing ball. He had some pretty high standards for himself.
“I’d always hear from people, guys he played with, how my dad was the hardest working guy on the team. I wanted to live up to that,” says Burt, Jr. “I respect him so much and I’ve always looked up to him.”
And there is a lot to look up to. In addition to his All-American honors as a defensive lineman for the University of Miami, Jim went on to have a long NFL career, winning two Super Bowl rings, one each with the New York Giants and San Francisco 49ers. One of the most memorable post-game images of any Super Bowl is that of Jim Burt going over to the stands and reaching for his infant son: Jim Burt, Jr.
“Listen,” says Burt Sr., reflecting on his life while watching the Hurricanes fall baseball practice on a sunny November afternoon. “The University of Miami did more for me than I did for the University of Miami. My desire, my focus, everything that led into my NFL career was made into a reality here. First with Coach Saban, then with Coach Schnellenberger. Without them and without what I got from this University, there wouldn’t have been an NFL career for me, and the opportunities that have come about from that football career.”
Retired from the pros for a decade, Jim Sr., has built up a very successful corporate empire, with real estate, limousine services and joint business ventures with other former NFL stars. He stays in touch with many of his Hurricane teammates as well as teammates from his days with the Giants and 49ers, attending annual events with both pro clubs.
Jim Burt Sr. grew up in Buffalo, New York, and remembers spending a lot of quality time with his dad, a salesman for Pepsi.
“My father was a great role-model for me. I used to go with him on some of his afternoon sales routes, out on the Pepsi truck. That was our time alone together. When my son was born I took the best of what I saw in my father and how he raised his family. I’m lucky because my wife and I really have the same philosophy on raising kids: we focused on working hard and didn’t over-stress athletics. We were always just as interested, if not more so, in what our kids were doing and learning in the classroom.”
Jim and wife Colleen live in Allendale, New Jersey. In addition to Jim Jr., the Burts also have a daughter, Ashlee. Ashlee is 14 years old and attends The Brookside School in Allendale, where she gets straight A’s and plays soccer, softball and basketball. Jim and Colleen attend all of their kids’ school activities.
“I’m lucky, so lucky to have the time to spend with my kids,” Burt Sr. says. “I retired from the NFL after 12 seasons in 1993. I had off-season time with them but once I retired my schedule really became about Jim and Ashlee. I have businesses but at 3 o’clock or whatever time they got out of school, my work-day was done. I got to spend every afternoon with my kids.”
When talking about either Jim Jr. or Ashlee, Jim the Dad gets very animated.
“My son is so well-rounded. Really, he is my idol! Jim is a great team player and applies his abilities, not just on the field or in workouts but also academically. He isn’t the most gifted athlete out there, but no one applies what he has to work with, or works harder to make the most of his talents, like Jim. My son works his butt off in school too, and nothing could make me prouder. This is one area where I didn’t get the job done–I just didn’t take care of business in the classroom, didn’t take my school responsibilities seriously enough.”
Becoming a father profoundly affected Burt, Sr., and what he wanted his life to be about.
“April 23, 1981 – I remember it like it was yesterday! I remember holding Jim when he was born. I put him in my hand and he was so small…now look at him! I can’t believe he has grown into this incredible person. He definitely got the best of both my wife and me.
When Jim was born I was really clear about something, about what would define me as a success. I was a really young guy when Jim was born, just 22, but I realized even back then that winning Super Bowl rings wouldn’t make me a big man. My success is in my family. I’ll take my kids and what kind of people they are as my lifelong achievement.”
Having a dad in the NFL can bring some special experiences for a kid, and for Jim Burt Jr. it meant he got to meet pro athletes and travel to big football games.
“My dad took me to the 1992 Orange Bowl game, when Miami played Nebraska. We got to be on the sidelines for the game. We also came down for the 1994 Super Bowl game, it was here at Joe Robbie Stadium [now Pro Player Stadium.] The 49ers played the Chargers, and we were again on the sidelines. I had been to a few Hurricane football games and remember standing there thinking, man, the Hurricanes offensive line seemed bigger than the 49’ers O-Line that lined up in that Super Bowl!”
Burt, Jr. also played football in high school, starring at linebacker for Bergen Catholic High School. A recurring back injury helped him make the decision to concentrate on baseball as his ticket to playing at a major college level.
“I was the height I am now back in the ninth grade,” says the 5’11” Burt. “I kept waiting for those extra two inches, but they never came! My size hurt me as far as playing big-time football, and football as a sport was always easier for me, I got everything right away. I have had to work harder to succeed in baseball.”
An accomplishment both of the Burts share is being named a Miami Hurricane team captain.
“I still have a tremendous sense of pride about being made defensive captain my senior year,”Burt, Sr. says. “It meant my coaches and my teammates knew they could count on me.”
This accountability gene was definitely passed down because teammates have elected Jim Jr. a captain the last two years. Head Baseball Coach Jim Morris agrees with their decision.
“Jim has a tremendous work ethic and has overachieved on the baseball diamond. Every chance he has had, every accolade he has gotten–Jim has worked very hard for. He sets a standard for our team,” Coach Morris continues, “especially for our younger players. His work ethic IS his example, and we’ll look to Jim for leadership, both on and off the field. His commitment to academics shows other players that it can be done. And I think the fact that our players vote for team captain, and Jim is a two-year captain, speaks to how our players feel about him.”
Jim Jr. graduated last May with his bachelor’s degree in business administration and finance. Not only did he graduate early, he earned a spot on the President’s Honor Roll, the highest academic achievement at UM. After making the Academic All-American team this spring, Jim began work on his master’s degree in sports administration.
Even with his full graduate level course-load, fall ball and off-season workouts Jim finds time to relax. He lives in an off-campus apartment with outfielder Rich Gianotti and second baseman Joey Hooft. They go to ‘Canes football games and get together with other teammates to hang out. Jim also finds time each day for bible study.
Jim wants to continue his baseball playing days once his UM career concludes. When that chapter of his life closes he’ll tackle a career in real estate development with the same commitment he has put into his baseball and academic career.
“I was accepted to Harvard and Princeton, and planned on playing both football and baseball in the Ivy League. But I wanted to play ball at a higher level than what you get in the Ivy’s. The University of Miami is an excellent private school and I’m getting the chance to play in the top college baseball program in the country. My dream my whole life was to play for Miami. This is the only place I really wanted to be.”
Burt Jr. may list the caliber of the baseball program and value of Miami’s private education as the main reasons why he came here, but the #1 answer to the question, ‘Why did you choose UM?’ is much closer to home: Jim wanted to be just like his dad.
