Jim Bertelsen
{{Short description|American football player (1950–2021)}}
{{Use American English|date=May 2021}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=January 2019}}
{{Infobox NFL biography
| embed =
| name = Jim Bertelsen
| image =
| image_size =
| alt =
| caption =
| number = 35, 45
| current_team =
| position = Running back
| birth_date = {{birth date|1950|2|26}}
| birth_place = Saint Paul, Minnesota, U.S.
| death_date = {{Death date and age|2021|5|7|1950|2|26}}
| death_place = San Marcos, Texas, U.S.
| height_ft = 5
| height_in = 11
| weight_lb = 205
| high_school = Hudson {{nowrap|(Hudson, Wisconsin)}}
| college = Texas
| draftyear = 1972
| draftround = 2
| draftpick = 30
| pastteams =
| highlights =
- Pro Bowl (1973)
- 2× National champion (1969, 1970)
- Cotton Bowl Champion - (1970)
- Southwest Conference Champion - 1969, 1970, 1971
- Third-team All-American (1969)
- 2× First-team All-SWC (1969, 1971)
| statleague =
| statseason =
| statweek =
| statlabel1 = Rushing attempts
| statvalue1 = 614
| statlabel2 = Rushing yards
| statvalue2 = 2,466
| statlabel3 = Total TDs
| statvalue3 = 18
| pfr = BertJi00
| pfrcoach =
| cfl =
| afl =
| CollegeHOF =
| HOF =
}}
James Allen Bertelsen (February 26, 1950 – May 7, 2021) was an American professional football player who was a running back for five seasons in the National Football League (NFL) with the Los Angeles Rams. He played college football for the Texas Longhorns and was selected by the Rams in the second round of the 1972 NFL draft.
College career
As a sophomore at the University of Texas at Austin in 1969 he, James Street, Steve Worster, and Ted Koy led the Longhorns to a national championship using the wishbone option offense. He was named a 3rd-string All-American that year. In 1970 he again helped lead Texas to the National Championship, though they lost the Cotton Bowl, as he was named all-conference. As a senior and a team captain in 1971, Bertlesen was the team's lead ground gainer, leading them to a 3rd straight Southwest Conference Championship and making the All-Conference team again.
In his career at Texas (1969–1971), he rushed for 2,510 yards, averaging 6.1 yards a carry and 33 touchdowns, and also had nine 100-yard rushing games. He led the team in rushing in 1969 and 1971, in scoring in 1969 and in total offense in 1969, 1970 and 1971.
In a 1969 game against SMU he tied the then school record, set by Bobby Layne, of 4 touchdowns in a single game. In that same game he, Steve Worster, Ted Koy and James Street became the school's only foursome to rush for 100-yards in a single game.
After his senior year, he played in the College All-Star Football Game in Chicago and the 1972 Senior Bowl.{{cite web |title=Texas Football History and Honors |url=https://texaslonghorns.com/documents/2024/8/8/Football_History___Honors.pdf |access-date=20 February 2025}}
Professional career
Bertelsen was selected in the second round of the 1972 NFL draft by the Los Angeles Rams with the 30th overall pick. For the Rams he was also a kick and punt returner. He averaged four yards per carry as a pro, and rushed for 854 yards in 1973. In 1974 he had 1395 all-purpose yards and 5 TDs earning him a trip to the Pro Bowl and he was the Rams leading rusher in the 1974 NFC Championship game. He played in another NFC Championship game with the Rams in 1976. He was released by the Rams a few days before the start of the 1977 regular season due to an injury.{{cite web |title=Jim Bertelsen Transactions |url=https://www.profootballarchives.com/transactions/b/bert00600.html |access-date=21 March 2025}} Later that season, the Colts considered him as a free agent replacement for the injured Roosevelt Leaks.{{cite news |title=Colts start looking for a fullback |work=The Baltimore Sun |date=4 October 1977}}
Later life
After his NFL career, Bertelsen returned to the Austin area where he owned and trained racehorses, owned and operated a bar and then moved into sales positions in the construction field and then the oil business where he worked until his retirement in 2013.{{cite web |title=James Bertelsen |url=https://www.thomasonfuneralhome.com/obituaries/James-Bertelsen?obId=21068381 |access-date=24 March 2025}}
He died on May 7, 2021. He was divorced at the time of his death. He had a son, a daughter and a granddaughter.{{cite web|title=James Bertelsen|url=https://www.tributearchive.com/obituaries/21068381/James-Bertelsen|date=7 May 2021|access-date=7 May 2021}}
NFL career statistics
| class="wikitable mw-collapsible" |
| colspan="2"| Legend |
|---|
| Bold
| Career high |
=Regular season=
| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;" | ||||||||||||
| rowspan="2"| Year
! rowspan="2"| Team ! colspan="2"| Games ! colspan="5"| Rushing ! colspan="5"| Receiving | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GP | GS | Att | Yds | Avg | Lng | TD | Rec | Yds | Avg | Lng | TD | |
| 1972 | RAM
| 14 || 7 || 123 || 581 || 4.7 || 42 || 5 || 29 || 331 || 11.4 || 22 || 1 | |||||||||||
| 1973 | RAM
| 14 || 14 || 206 || 854 || 4.1 || 49 || 4 || 19 || 267 || 14.1 || 44 || 1 | |||||||||||
| 1974 | RAM
| 13 || 13 || 127 || 419 || 3.3 || 20 || 2 || 20 || 175 || 8.8 || 19 || 0 | |||||||||||
| 1975 | RAM
| 13 || 11 || 116 || 457 || 3.9 || 19 || 3 || 14 || 208 || 14.9 || 22 || 0 | |||||||||||
| 1976 | RAM
| 14 || 0 || 42 || 155 || 3.7 || 18 || 2 || 6 || 33 || 5.5 || 10 || 0 | |||||||||||
| colspan="2"| Total | 68 | 45 | 614 | 2,466 | 4.0 | 49 | 16 | 88 | 1,014 | 11.5 | 44 | 2 |
=Playoffs=
| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;" | ||||||||||||
| rowspan="2"| Year
! rowspan="2"| Team ! colspan="2"| Games ! colspan="5"| Rushing ! colspan="5"| Receiving | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GP | GS | Att | Yds | Avg | Lng | TD | Rec | Yds | Avg | Lng | TD | |
| 1973 | RAM
| 1 || 1 || 12 || 37 || 3.1 || 13 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0.0 || 0 || 0 | |||||||||||
| 1974 | RAM
| 2 || 2 || 20 || 99 || 5.0 || 11 || 0 || 6 || 58 || 9.7 || 13 || 0 | |||||||||||
| 1976 | RAM
| 2 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0.0 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0.0 || 0 || 0 | |||||||||||
| colspan="2"| Total | 5 | 3 | 32 | 136 | 4.3 | 13 | 0 | 6 | 58 | 9.7 | 13 | 0 |
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
- {{Footballstats |nfl=2509524 |cfl= |afl= |espn= |cbs= |yahoo= |fox= |si= |pfr=BertJi00 |rotoworld=}}
{{1969 Texas Longhorns football navbox}}
{{1970 Texas Longhorns football navbox}}
{{Los Angeles Rams 1972 draft navbox}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bertelsen, Jim}}
Category:American football running backs
Category:Los Angeles Rams players
Category:Texas Longhorns football players
Category:National Conference Pro Bowl players
Category:Players of American football from Saint Paul, Minnesota
Category:People from Hudson, Wisconsin
Category:Sportspeople from St. Croix County, Wisconsin