William Burns (lacrosse)

William Lawrie Burns, known as Billy Burns, was a Canadian lacrosse player and all-around athlete who won an Olympic gold medal with the Winnipeg Shamrocks at the 1904 Summer Olympics. Born on 24 March 1875 in East Oxford, Ontario, he moved to Winnipeg in 1883, became the provincial pole jumping champion, set records over several sprint distances and also played football, but lacrosse was his main interest and he played for years with the Capitol Lacrosse club of that city. He was one of the most experienced members of the Shamrocks side that won the 1903 Manitoba championship, which earned the trip to the 1904 St. Louis World's Fair, where the team beat the St. Louis Amateur Athletic Association side 8 to 2 in the final. At 22 he joined the Canadian Pacific Railway and worked as a conductor for 43 years until 1941. He was inducted into the Manitoba Sports Hall of Fame in 2004 and died in Winnipeg on 6 October 1953.