School News
Keith Burns Field Dedicated at Alexandria City High School in Honor of NFL Career
Alexandria, Va. — Keith Burns was about seven years old when he first played football at Parker-Gray Stadium at Alexandria City High School. On Oct. 16, decades later, he returned to the field for a ceremony naming it Keith Burns Field.
“It’s amazing to go from a seven-year-old playing on that field to the field actually being named after you at the age of fifty-four,” Burns said.
The Alexandria City School Board approved the name on Dec. 18, 2025. The dedication took place before Alexandria City High School’s game against Fairfax. Burns, a 1990 T.C. Williams graduate, called the honor humbling.
“A lot of times, people aren’t alive to witness something like this happening,” he said. “Through the grace of God, I was here to actually be able to see it happen.”
Burns’ wife, Michelle, and their son, Keith Michael Burns, attended the dedication. His older daughter, Danielle, who works for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, flew in from Tampa and surprised him. His younger daughter, Rachel, could not attend.
Seeing his son beside the plaque bearing his name made the day especially meaningful, Burns said.
“I know I’ve left a legacy for him, something for him to be proud of, not only from a dad’s perspective, but even from a football perspective,” he said.
Burns was a sophomore on T.C. Williams’ 1987 state championship team. He and Eddie Petty were the only sophomores on varsity. Burns said he spent the season watching and learning from the seniors.
“I was just happy to be on the team,” Burns said. “But I knew they were counting on me just like I was counting on them. God gave me the ability to be able toplay the game. I didn’t want to disappoint, so I just kept my mouth shut and went out and did my job.”
The Titans finished 14-0, beating Hampton 10-6 in the state championship game. Burns scored the team’s only touchdown and forced a fumble that set up a field goal.
The players keep in touch in a group chat, Burns said. He called the season “probably the best” in T.C. Williams history and said the team is the only one not yet in the ACPS Athletic Hall of Fame.
Burns credited the late Glenn Furman, the team’s head coach, with seeing potential in him before he saw it in himself. He called Furman “the catalyst” who put the team in position to make plays.
Additionally, Burns named the late Bill Yoast, defensive coordinator Dennis Shaw, defensive backs coach Bill Allan, backfield coach Don Futrell, Coach Jose, Coach White and Doc Hines, who also coached him in basketball.
For his earlier football years, Burns named Pop Warner coaches Richard Howe and Leonard “Chick” Armstrong, and Hammond coach Henry Stancil.
“They poured into me things that I still carry with me to this day,” Burns said.
Burns played at Navarro Junior College in Texas and Oklahoma State before the Denver Broncos drafted him. He played 13 NFL seasons, won Super Bowls XXXII and XXXIII with Denver, and later became a coach. He is Howard University’s special teams coordinator.
Burns founded the Keith Burns Foundation in 1997. The foundation has supported Alexandria families with backpacks, holiday gifts, children’s coats and Thanksgiving baskets.
He thanked his wife, Michelle; his mother, Tracy Burns; his sister, Towanda; and his brother, Austin, for supporting him through the good and difficult stretches of his career.
“You put God first and everything else is possible,” he said. “My dreams about being a professional athlete when I was a little kid, God had a plan.”
Burns also credited former T.C. Williams principal John Porter with guiding him as a young man and remaining in his life after high school. Porter, Burns said, saw something in him that he did not yet see in himself.
Burns reserved special thanks for Hazel Rigby, his former accounting teacher, who was unable to attend the dedication because she was under the weather. He said Rigby encouraged the effort to name the field after him and asked John Johnson to help move it forward. Johnson gathered signatures and worked with the School Board, Burns said.
“The reason my name is actually on the field is because of her,” Burns said. “She always thought that that was something that I was worthy of, and she wanted to see it happen.”
Rigby stayed in touch through Burns’ college and professional career, he said. She attended games, checked in on him and remained close to his family. Burns plans to visit her and share photos and video from the ceremony.
“She’s somebody that’s been there the whole time,” he said. “It’s almost like she’s a second mother to me.”
My friend, the legendary Rock Newman, a Howard alumnus and host of “The Rock Newman Show” on WHUT, asked me to ask Burns for the three most important pieces of advice he hopes to impart to Howard’s players.
Burns said education comes first because it can take them anywhere in life. He urged them to take pride in being Howard Bison and remember what Howard football means to people in the Washington area and across the country. His third piece of advice was to make the most of their time at Howard and put themselves in the best position to become the best players and people they can be.
“These four years will fly by,” Burns said. “You have to be able to put yourself in the best position to be the best player and the best person that you could possibly be.”
Asked what he would tell Alexandria’s young people, Burns pointed to his path from the city to the NFL and coaching.
“If I can do it, there’s always the possibility that you can do it, because I came from the same streets that you’re coming from,” he said.
