Page 12 - 1975 BoSox

WHEN LOOKING BACK AT the career of Rick “ e Rooster” Burleson, the ery, intense short-
stop of the Boston Red Sox, California Angels, and Baltimore Orioles from 1974 to 1987, a comment by former teammate Bill Lee perhaps sums it up best: “Some guys didn’t like to lose, but Rick got angry if the score was even tied. He was very intense and had the greatest arm of any in elder I had ever seen.”1 Burleson excelled as a Red Sox player for seven seasons, both at bat and in the eld. His participation in both the 1975 World Series and the 1978 playo against the New York Yankees has secured his place in Boston Red Sox baseball history. He was especially liked by Boston fans because of his burning desire to win and his constant hustle on the eld.
Richard Paul Burleson was born on April 29, 1951, in Lynwood, California, in Los Angeles County. While at Warren High School in nearby Downey, he was a member of the football team, as a student coach; played guard on the varsity basketball team; and played on the baseball team as a shortstop, graduating in 1969; he was also the editor of a school publication, the Justice.
Burleson married Karen Crofoot on February 2, 1974. In a web interview given to the website ree Days of Cryin’ in 2009, Burleson mentioned that he and his wife had four grown children: Tyler (36), Kyle (33), Chad (31), and Lauren (27). As of 2014 Burleson and his wife lived in La Habra, California.
Burleson was originally drafted in 1969 by the Minnesota Twins, out of Warren High, where that year he was named to the first-team All California Interscholastic Federation baseball team. at summer he made the all-tournament team as a member of the Bell ower- Compton Giants, who captured the world championship at the 1969 Connie Mack
World Series. Declining to sign with the Twins, he attended Cerritos Junior College, where he played baseball. In the January 1970 amateur draft, he was selected by the Red Sox in the rst round after being scouted by scout Joe Stephenson. Burleson played for the Winter Haven Red Sox in the Class-A Florida State League in 1970, and split 1971 between the Greenville Red Sox (Western Carolinas League) and the Winston-Salem Red Sox (Carolina League). Burleson moved up to the Pawtucket Red Sox in the Double-A Eastern League for the 1972 season. He made the Eastern League All-Star team while at Pawtucket; the all-star game was scheduled to be played on July 13, 1972, at ree Rivers Stadium, in Pittsburgh, but was rained out.2
In 1973 Burleson went to spring training with the Red Sox, then was optioned to Pawtucket, which had become the Red Sox’Triple-A farm club.3 His manager at Pawtucket was Darrell Johnson, who became manager of the parent Red Sox in 1974, and one of his teammates was Cecil Cooper, a stalwart on the 1975 Red Sox World Series team. Burleson’s elding prowess, as Pawtucket second baseman, was a vital part of teammate Dick Pole’s seven-inning no-hitter pitched on June 24 against the Peninsula Whips.4 Burleson led the league in games played.
e Pawtucket club nished second to the Rochester Red Wings during the 1973 regular season, but in the playo s they dispatched the Tidewater Tides and
Charleston Charlies to win the International League championship Governors Cup. is victory quali ed them to meet the winner of the American Association championship, the Tulsa Oilers, for the Junior World Series title. In a best-of-seven series, the Pawtucket team defeated the Oilers to win the championship. In Game Two Burleson drove in four runs with two singles and
Rick Burleson
By Ray Birch
5