Feb. 21, 2007
EVANSTON, Ill. -- Growing up in Springfield, Ohio, no one ever expected much from the skinny, frail boy named Ron Burton. His parents had passed away by the time he was 13 years old and he had moved in with his grandmother, who was a gospel preacher.
"Neighborhood kids teased him relentlessly on being poor and small," said Paul Burton, his youngest son. "They even nicknamed him "Nothing" because in their eyes, he was never going to be anything."
Burton grew up extremely poor, but his grandmother felt the best guidance for the young boy was with the church, so he spent most of his free time singing in the choir. Burton realized that he only liked going to church because no one judged him or minded that he was poor.
With the neighborhood kids teasing him, Burton decided to try out for the football team in middle school, however the administration snickered at the thought and refused to let him because of his frail build. After much pleading, he was given a uniform and two years later, the eighth grader was allowed to come off the bench and play in the final game of the season. It didn't matter that there were only 35 seconds left in a contest that had already been decided, Burton just reveled in the fact that he was given the opportunity.
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