CU, State Hall of Famer Burdie Haldorson Passes Away

BOULDER — Burdette "Burdie" Haldorson, one of the truly great players in the history of University of Colorado basketball, passed away after a short illness last Friday, Oct. 13 in Colorado Springs. He was 89.

        As a senior in 1954-55, he led the Buffaloes to a 19-6 record, 11-1 in conference play and the Big Seven title by averaging 21.0 points and 13.8 rebounds per game (upping his averages from 16.7 and 9.0, respectively, from his junior season). He was a first-team All-Big Seven performer for the second straight year and was named a first-team All-American. CU eventually went on to finish third in the nation, losing in the Final Four to eventual champion San Francisco and the legendary Bill Russell. The Buffs defeated Iowa in the then-third place game to match the '42 team for the school's still highest finish ever in the NCAA tournament.

        He left quite an imprint in the school's record book, as the 6-foot-9 center set numerous scoring and rebounding records, including three that still stand: the most rebounds in a half (21), game (31) and season average (13.8). His season rebounding raw total of 346 in 1954-55 wasn't broken for 57 years, when Andre Roberson had 401 in 2011-12; Roberson played in 36 games to Haldorson's 25, as fewer games in a season were the standard in his day.

        Overall, he averaged 15.0 points and 9.5 rebounds in 77 games in his CU career, and was the first of only eight players overall to score at least 1,100 points and record 700 or more rebounds. His uniform number – 22 – was the first in program history to be retired, and remains one of just two to be so honored (with Cliff Meely's No. 20; it was Meely, some 14 years later in 1969, who broke Haldorson's single-season scoring marks of 524 points and 21.0 points per game).

        Though selected in the fourth round (and the 23rd overall pick) by the St. Louis Hawks in the 1955 National Basketball Association draft, he preferred to remain an amateur and went on to win two gold medals playing for the United States team in the 1956 Melbourne Olympics and the 1960 Rome Olympics. On both occasions, the U.S. beat the Soviet Union to win the gold, hammering them twice, 89-55 and 81-57.

        In the '56 games in which the U.S. posted an 8-0 record, as a starting forward he averaged 8.6 points per game, making 48.3 percent of his field goals (28-of-58) and 86.7 of his free throws (13-of-15); ); rebounds weren't tracked that year but no doubt he had an abundance of them. CU teammate Bob Jeangerard actually was second in scoring (12.5) and in field goal percentage (60.8). Old nemesis, San Francisco's Russell, was the leading scorer (14.1).

        He played a lesser role in the '60 games, averaging 2.9 points and 4.3 rebounds per game in again helping the U.S. to an 8-0 mark. That team was loaded with future NBA stars in Oscar Robertson, Jerry West, Jerry Lucas and Walt Bellamy. One of the most dominant teams in U.S. Olympic history, he was a member of that team inducted into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame in 2010.

        "It is real honor to go into the Hall with the group of players that were on that team," Haldorson said at the time. "There were 12 guys, and all but two of us went into the NBA. I was one of those two, and I had invitations to turn pro as well, but I was basically ending my career. Some of those guys were outright stars, and I really believe Jerry West and Oscar Robertson would be stars in the game today. I've run into Oscar and Jerry a few times, but we all really went our own directions. We never had a reunion, but this was a great way to finally get us all together again."

        He was a four-time National AAU All-American sandwiched around his Olympic team stints, as he had a brilliant career in the National Industrial Basketball League as a member of the Phillips 66ers (the team entry for Phillips 66, who then hired him after his career). He then moved to Colorado Springs to form his own gas and oil distribution business.

        Haldorson was inducted into CU's Athletic Hall of Fame in 1999 – the second class to be selected after Byron White was the lone inaugural inductee the year before. He previously had been inducted into the Colorado Sports Hall of Fame in 1977, also the first Buff basketball player selected by the Hall and the ninth at the time with ties to the university.

        "Burdie holds a very special place in our history, a tremendous athlete, a great alum and just a wonderful man," CU athletic director Rick George said. "He was always very supportive of all our programs, not just the men's basketball team. It was always a pleasure to visit with him, be it here on campus or at the numerous functions we held in Colorado Springs."

        "The University of Colorado and our basketball program has lost a great one in Burdie Haldorson," said Tad Boyle, CU's head basketball coach. "Burdie is truly one of the great Buffaloes of all time, not just as a player, but more importantly as a human being."

        "It was such a great pleasure getting to know Burdie and his family over the years," said Scott McMichael, who recently retired as CU's senior director of development who also worked extensively with alumni. "One of my first projects at CU was to establish a scholarship endowment in the name of former basketball coach Sox Walseth. I will always be grateful to Burdie. He was one of the first former players that stepped up to contribute and convinced many others to do the same. I will miss our many conversations about his time at CU, his successful business career and all things Buff Athletics. Obviously, Burdie was one of the best basketball players ever to wear a Buffs uniform but more importantly he was a great person."

         "Burdie Haldorson always stayed in touch with us at the Colorado Sports Hall of Fame," said Tom Lawrence, its president and CEO. "He was supportive in our cause and was a long-time financial supporter. He always had kind words for me and was a true gentleman, besides a legendary athlete for CU and the state of Colorado."

        When Colorado joined the Pac-12 Conference for the 2011-12 seasons, he was the first Buffalo alum to be inducted into the conference's prestigious Hall of Honor. The ceremony took place during the 2012 Pac-12 Tournament, which happened to be won (in four games) by Boyle's Buffaloes.

        Haldorson was born January 12, 1934 in Austin, Minn., and graduated from Austin High School. He was recruited to and played for coach H.B. Lee at Colorado. He is survived by his wife of 64 years, Kaye, daughters Linda (Van Hare) and Kari (Craig) and son Brian, along with nine grandchildren and one greatgrandchild.  His family added to his CU ties: Brian and Linda also graduated from CU, as did both of Brian's daughters; he also was a member of the basketball team in the early 1980s. Kari attended CU for a short time and Linda was the 1981 Homecoming Queen.

        There will be a celebration of his life on Saturday, Oct. 28, at the U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Training Center (Visitor Center Rotunda, 1 Olympic Plaza), from 1:00-4:00 p.m.

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