Former Chowan Student/Pitcher, Randy Burden Passes Away
By Stephen Dunn, Sports Editor, Editor RC New Herald
December 9, 2002

MURFREESBORO – Back on June 28^th, tears of joy rolled out of 23 year old Randy Burden’s eyes. The right handed pitcher had just fulfilled his dream of playing professional baseball, signing a one year deal with the Anaheim Angels organization.

Tragically, Friday afternoon tears of sadness flowed freely here in the small town of Murfreesboro as word quickly spread that the former Chowan pitcher had died in his sleep in the early hours of Friday morning.

An autopsy revealed that Burden, who had returned to his hometown of Suffolk back in September after his first season with the Provo Angels (rookie league farm club of Anaheim), died of an apparent heart attack.

Burden was living at home during the offseason working out and fine tuning his pitching in preparation for spring training in February.

During Burden’s four year stay in Murfreesboro, he worked diligently on his game, especially in his final two years according to Chowan head coach Steve Flack. Flack reminisced about Burden saying, "Randy was truly a success story. His work ethic was unbelievable. He was kinda what it was all about.”

Flack continued, “ When Randy first arrived, he had never pitched. He played third base in high school (Nansemond River). I suggested pitching to him and he didn’t really show a lot of interest. I finally convinced him to give it a try and after a semester of work, he accepted his new role and ultimately excelled at it. By his senior year he had become a leader of our team and a valuable asset to the Chowan baseball program. Randy stood for everything, as coaches, we try to preach.”

When Burden realized that he wanted to play professional, he accepted the fact that he would have to work harder than he had never worked before. According to Flack that’s exactly what he did. “Randy worked so hard the last year and a half he was at Chowan. He was a mature young man doing what it took to reach a goal. With his dedication, he made a big impact on our club.”

Burden excelled on the mound in his final two years wearing the Chowan blue. He was named Chowan Invitational MVP in 2001 and 2002. In his final two seasons on the mound the right hander struck out 113 batters on his way to posting six wins (lost three decisions) and nine saves in 93 2/3 innings of work.

With the added pressure of pitching in front of scouts, from such organizations as the Angels, Orioles and Indians over the course of his senior year, Burden excelled.

Despite not being drafted in the Major League Draft in early June, Burden continued to pursue his dream of playing in the big leagues. His hard work and dedication finally paid off when Angels scout Chris McCallum offered Burden a one year contract. After signing his name, Burden became the first Chowan baseball player to sign professional in recent years.

Burden then packed his bags and journeyed out to Provo, Utah where he joined the Provo Angels, a rookie league team. During his short stint as a professional pitcher, the former Chowan fireballer appeared in nine games, pitching 7 2/3 innings allowing 11 hits and eight earned runs. He also fanned five batters in his 7 2/3 innings of work. The adjustment from college baseball to professional isn’t always easy. Despite not putting up numbers that Chowan baseball fans were use to seeing, Provo manager Tom Kotchman commented that, “Burden was the hardest working kid on the club.”