William Franklin "Burgie" Burghardt (February 4, 1912 – August 8, 1981)[2] was an American football and basketball coach and former athlete.

He traced his family eight generations to an ancestor who fought in the American Revolution and was related to William Edward Burghardt "W. E.

In 1931, while playing a road trip against another small college in Illinois, a hotel refused to allow Burqhardt and the team's other black player to stay.

[4] In Reagan's 1986 autobiography, Where's the Rest of Me?, he told a story about a racist player on an opposing team who was "filled with hatred and prejudice" and "played dirty" while targeting Burghardt.

At the end of the game, the defeated player turned around to shake Burghardt's hand, telling him he was the greatest human being he had ever met.