Before Mario Whitney and before Nathan Norman, a Jackson High School running back moved on to play big-time college football.

Joe Buerkle, a bruising Indian fullback and linebacker in the late 1950s, was a predecessor to Norman, who made his mark as a fullback at the University of Arkansas, and Whitney, Jackson's record-setting tailback, who is poised to begin his collegiate career at Mizzou in the fall.

Buerkle's playing days, 1961-1964, were during the glory years of Missouri football under coaching legend Dan Devine.

The Tigers' went 21-7-3 and won a Bluebonnet Bowl game over heavily favored Georgia Tech during Buerkle's varsity career.

An all-conference selection at fullback in 1959 and 1960 in the now defunct Big-Eight Conference -- consisting of Sikeston, Cape Girardeau Central, Charleston, Poplar Bluff, Kennett, Cairo (Ill.), Caruthersville and Jackson -- Buerkle was a force for the Jackson Indians.

As a junior, he played a key role in Jackson's co-conference championship season of 1959, in which the Indians finished 9-1and handed co-champion Sikeston its only loss.

He scored all of Jackson's points -- two short touchdown bursts and an extra point -- in a 13-6 upset win over perennial powerhouse Sikeston, who had won the championship outright the previous 12 seasons.

At 6-foot-2 and 205 pounds, Buerkle was equally intimidating as a blocker for his all-conference running mate, breakaway halfback and conference scoring leader Bob Mitchell.

The lure of Missouri

After graduation from high school, Buerkle figured he would attend Southeast Missouri State University, play football there and later follow in the footsteps of his father and go to law school at the University of Missouri.

"I never thought of myself as being a big deal," he said, "but when I began to get recruiting letters from different schools I started to think that maybe a kid from a small town does have a chance."

When Mizzou's interest picked up late in the recruiting process, Buerkle said he still questioned whether or not he could cut it there.

But advice from then-highly successful Southeast football coach Kenny Knox eased his mind.

"Coach Knox told me to go to Missouri and he thought I could play there," Buerkle said, "but if I didn't like it, I could always come back down here and he'd have a scholarship for me."

When Buerkle arrived at Columbia, Mo., he immediately faced another dilemma.

Possessing average speed and knowing the fullback position was loaded, including future professional Gus Otto, Buerkle decided learning a new position might be a prudent choice.

A smart move

"The freshmen coach asked me what was I going to play," Buerkle said, "and I told him, knowing the depth chart listed 16 fullbacks, 'Well, coach, I don't think I'll be playing fullback'.

"But in those days, it was all about going to college and participating. You knew it was going to be a struggle anyway, so you went out there and did whatever the coaches said and did it the best you could."

So he made the switch to center, never weighing more than 218 pounds, and played well enough to earn three letters and get selected to participate in the annual Coaches All-American Bowl, a post-season showcase for seniors.

Of his career, Buerkle said he is most proud of the class guys he played with at Mizzou and that they never lost more than three games in any season.

What did it feel like to run out of the tunnel onto Faurot Field on a Saturday afternoon?

"Well, I'm an emotional guy," Buerkle, still looking trim and fit at 230 pounds, said, "and it still gives me chills. It really does. I can go to a ballgame up there now and when the Golden Girls and the band march by, I feel like I can go out there and get the job done."

Buerkle laughingly recalled one particular incident as a freshman linebacker in a game against Kansas.

"Kansas had a player called Gale Sayers. In this freshmen game, I had to try to tackle Sayers in the open field and, of course, he made me look like a fool. But, I guess he did that to a lot of people."

Professional teams showed some interest in Buerkle after his final season, but he went undrafted. Rather than go to camp as a free agent, he decided to "keep my eye on the big ball and go to law school."

Graduating from the University of Missouri School of Law in 1968, Buerkle returned to Jackson to begin a career.

He has settled into a private practice specializing in business transactions and estate planning.