He attended Lawrence High School where he was captain of the football team and received the Edward Gregg medal as the top student-athlete in his class.

He became a starter at tackle, on both offense and defense, for the 1955 Michigan State Spartans football team that compiled a 9–1 record, defeated UCLA in the 1956 Rose Bowl, and was ranked No.

"[2] Michigan State coach Duffy Daugherty noted that Burke could stand to gain 20 pounds but touted him as one of the best sophomore players in the country.

[9][10] Despite missing part of the 1956 season, he was voted by his teammates as captain of the 1957 Michigan State Spartans football team.

[14] At the end of his senior season, he was selected by both the AP and UP as a first-team tackle on the 1957 All-Big Ten Conference football team.

Burke was also Michigan State's senior class president and a member of Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity.

He suffered from past football injuries and other health problems and died in 2011 at age 76 at Lawrence General Hospital.