NORTON -- When Norton High School football jersey No. 14 is retired later this fall, it will be an official recognition of enigmatic perseverance that has been some 25 years in the making.

The number belonged to one-time star quarterback Lee Burchill, who died at age 26, nine years after a gunshot in the head left him confined to a wheelchair and severely handicapped.

After his death in September 1981, a few residents began a quiet drive to have his jersey retired.

Now, school committee members have decided to make it formal with a ceremony at a Norton High varsity game this season.

The decision comes just a couple of weeks after columnist Bill Gouveia publicly urged school officials to recognize Burchill's achievements after his devastating injury. Burchill was just 17 when, hours after playing what became his last football game, he was shot in the head at a friend's house in Taunton.

Doctors initially gave the teenager little chance of recovering, but months later he regained consciousness.

Through some home schooling, and care by his parents, Burchill was able to graduate high school a year late, in 1974.

His dedication made a lasting impact on his family, friends and fellow residents. He pursued various medical procedures in hopes of walking again, despite being almost completely paralyzed and legally blind.

When the youth sports ball field across from the L.G. Nourse School was dedicated in his honor in the late 1970s, he was able to throw out the first pitch there.

Burchill also had been a basketball and baseball player for Norton High.

The ceremony is tentatively scheduled for Saturday, Nov. 4 at the high school football field.