Johnny Burt, who was a presence at Utah high school sporting events for over four decades, died on Wednesday morning. The longtime Sandy resident was 66.
Burt impacted many lives with his passion for sports, which included volunteering his time with the UHSAA at state tournaments for years and years in helping with whatever task needed doing. He could also be seen working at Utah Grizzlies, Salt Lake Bees and SLCC sporting events though the years.
“The passion around high school sports is what unites our communities, and Johnny certainly had that passion,” said Rob Cuff, executive director of the UHSAA. “Johnny’s life was marked by an inordinate amount of hardship and struggle, but the same passion he displayed for high school activities allowed him to overcome the many adversities he faced during his life. Our thoughts and condolences are with all of his family and friends during this difficult time.”
Burt’s brother Doug and his sister-in-law Peggy were his primary caregivers over many years.
SLCC athletic director Kevin Dustin said he first met Burt when he was an assistant coach at Alta High in 1983. He said “Johnny was a constant presence at practically every sporting event.”
He soon learned that Johnny was everywhere around the valley too at a variety of sporting events. Their friendship spanned many decades as Dustin moved his career around the industry.
“Johnny was loving and loyal. He connected with so many coaches, referees, the media … really everyone who crossed his path became a friend. He was loved by many and will be deeply missed,” said Dustin.
My interaction with Burt was largely a passing hello and small talk at state tournament games over two decades as he passed out stat sheets to the media between games, whether it was football or basketball. That changed one morning several years back when we shared a car ride to the Dee Events Center for the basketball state tournament.
In his later years when Burt could no longer drive his own car, a UHSAA staff member would often drive Burt to venues if he wanted to volunteer and public transportation wasn’t feasible. On this particular morning, nobody was available to pick up Burt from his home in Sandy. I heard about this randomly the night before, and said I’d be happy to pick him up as we lived within 10 minutes of each other.
For an hour, Jonny and I listened to sports talk radio and talked about the Jazz, the NBA and shared random stories about high school sports memories. It was as normal a conversation as I would’ve expected to have with anyone else, and that’s what made it so memorable.
Burt had physical and cognitive limitations that were clear to those who interacted with him. Through the years I saw firsthand how random high school students would poke fun at his small stature or the intense demeanor in which he went about his task. You could see the teasing hurt his feeling at times, but he took pride in his responsibilities and went about his tasks in a professional manner.
Sharing a car ride to Weber State that March morning helped me get to know Johnny, the kindhearted, sports-loving individual who just wanted to be treated like everyone else. At the UHSAA and the other sports organizations he became affiliated with, that’s exactly what he was, just part of the crew.
After our car ride, there was always a little more meaning to our small talk. It’s probably why my son was able to meet his favorite basketball player, Donovan Mitchell, a few years ago when the Jazz superstar attended the 6A boys and girls state championship games at the Huntsman Center. My 11-year-old son William was hanging out with me that Saturday morning, and when Mitchell showed up, he was so excited to try and meet him.
In between the 6A boys and girls games, Mitchell and his small entourage went down into a room by the Utes’ locker room to relax. A few UHSAA staff members and their families got to go in there and meet Mitchell and thanks to Burt, so did my son. He grabbed my son’s hand and used his “Johnny” authority to make sure William got into the back room as well.
That’s the Johnny I’ll remember, kind to his core and always wanting to help others. State tournaments just won’t be the same anymore.
For Jared Youngman, vice president of the Utah Grizzlies, he first got to know Burt through high school football officiating and said that over the years they became good friends as their paths crossed through the UHSAA and the Grizzlies.
“He always loved being involved. He would make sure the officials were taken care of. He would be at the school first waiting for us, walking us to our locker room, out to the field, and back,” said Youngman.
“Johnny started coming to Grizzlies games as a fan, but couldn’t just sit and watch. He started working for me, helping with chuck a puck and anything else that was needed. He was with me at every home game. Even when he couldn’t drive anymore he would take TRAX down and myself or someone would get him home. Time came he couldn’t make it to games, he would always call during the games to know what was going on. I’m glad he was able to make it to two of our playoffs this last season. Just like high school sporting events, Johnny became a staple at Utah Grizzlies games.”