Inducted Posthumously into the Weightlifting Hall of Fame: January 25, 2023
Joseph Gaynor Burleigh, Ph.D., was a scientist, professor at University of Arkansas and a leading expert on the honey bee.
In 1995, Burleigh was inducted into the UL Athletics Hall of Fame. The Hall of Fame gives perpetual recognition to those athletes who have made a significant contribution to the good name of the university by demonstrating exceptional ability and sportsmanship on the playing fields, commendable scholarship in the classroom, high quality leadership on the campus and elsewhere and who after leaving the university have established a personal reputation for character and citizenship in the community in which they reside.
Burleigh was a member of the 1963 NCAA National Collegiate Weightlifting Team and he won the 132-pound class title. His press of 235 pounds set a new national record. Ironically, the former mark of 230 pounds had been set by Walter Imahara who was USL’s entry in the 1960 meet and where he won the Best Lifter award. Burleigh won many championships throughout the south–often winning the coveted Best Lifter Award.
