Ken Burrough, One of the Franchise's Greatest Receivers, Has Died

The two-time Pro Bowler with the Houston Oilers was a consistent downfield threat throughout his 12-year NFL career.

Herb Weitman/USA Today Sports

Ken Burrough, a two-time Pro Bowler at wide receiver with the Houston Oilers in the 1970s, died Thursday at his home in Jacksonville. He was 73.

He is perhaps best known as the last NFL player to wear the number ’00.’ The number was eliminated in 1973, when the league standardized numbers based on position, but Burrough, who already had been in the NFL for four years, was allowed to keep it for the remainder of his career.

A consistent deep threat, Burrough ranks third in franchise history with 6,906 receiving yards, is tied for second with 47 receiving touchdowns and is seventh with 408 receptions.

He led the NFL with 1,063 receiving yards in 1975, when he made his first Pro Bowl appearance. That year, he also set a career-high with 53 receptions. He made the Pro Bowl again in 1977, when he finished second in the league with 816 receiving yards.

Former Houston Oilers and Texas Southern star receiver Kenny Burrough passed away today at his home in Jacksonville,Fla at the age of 73, according to his nephew Luke Burrough, who says his aunt, Kenny ‘s sister, found him deceased this morning when she was taking him breakfast… pic.twitter.com/IXvHwGb6rR

— Mark Berman (@MarkBerman_) February 24, 2022

For his career, he averaged 16.9 yards per reception, and he had three seasons in which he averaged at least 20 yards per catch. He started 124 of the 156 games he played and caught 421 passes for 7,102 yards and 49 touchdowns.

“He was very special to me,” Dan Pastorini, his quarterback for most of his seasons with the Oilers, told Houston television reporter Mark Berman. “We were good friends. We were teammates. We worked well together. It’s just kind of a shock to know that he’s gone.”

Burrough was a first-round pick (10th overall) by the New Orleans Saints in 1970 out of Texas Southern University, where he also competed in track and field. Following his rookie season, the Saints traded him to Houston, and he spent the rest of his career – 11 seasons – with the Oilers.

He never led the team in receptions but was the leader in receiving yards eight times, including six straight from 1974-79. No other Titans/Oilers player led the team in that regard more than five times.

He was inducted into the Black College Football Hall of Fame in 2016.

Burrough was born July 14, 1948, in Jacksonville.