Jim Dunaway

{{Infobox NFL biography

| name = Jim Dunaway

| image =

| image_size =

| alt =

| caption =

| number = 78

| position = Defensive tackle

| birth_date = {{Birth date|1941|9|3}}

| birth_place = Columbia, Mississippi, U.S.

| death_date = {{Death date and age|2018|05|12|1941|09|3}}

| death_place = Columbia, Mississippi, U.S.

| high_school = Columbia (MS)

| height_ft = 6

| height_in = 4

| weight_lbs = 277

| college = Ole Miss

| draftyear = 1963

| draftround = 1

| draftpick = 3

| afldraftyear = 1963

| afldraftround = 2

| afldraftpick = 9

| pastteams =

| highlights =

Super Bowl champion (VII)
2× AFL champion (1964–1965)
4× AFL All-Star (1965–1968)
National champion (1960)
Consensus All-American (1962)
Second-team All-American (1961)
2× First-team All-SEC (1961, 1962)

| pfr = DunaJi00

}}

James Kenneth Dunaway (September 3, 1941 – May 12, 2018) was an American professional football player. A defensive tackle, he played college football at the University of Mississippi, and played in the American Football League (AFL) for the Buffalo Bills, as part of a defensive line that held opposing runners without a rushing touchdown for a pro football record seventeen consecutive games in the 1964 and 1965 AFL seasons.{{Cite web|url=https://olemisssports.com/news/2018/6/7/Celebration_of_Life_Service_to_be_Held_for_Ole_Miss_Great_Jim_Dunaway.aspx|title=Celebration of Life Service to be Held for Ole Miss Great Jim Dunaway}}

Murder charge and aftermath

On July 27, 1998, Dunaway's ex-wife, Nonniel Dunaway, was found dead in a half-empty swimming pool.{{cite web|url=https://www.cbsnews.com/news/ex-dolphin-charged-with-murder/|title=Ex-Dolphin Charged With Murder|website=www.cbsnews.com}} An autopsy revealed that she had a fractured skull and was unconscious when she was placed in the water by her assailant where she drowned. Prior to this event, she had won a divorce judgment which gave her more than {{convert|800|acre|km2}} of property that the couple owned, $1,800 a month in alimony and half of Dunaway's NFL pension. They had been divorced since 1995 and Dunaway was planning to appeal.

Dunaway was charged with her murder but a grand jury chose not to indict Dunaway of the charges.{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1998/07/31/sports/plus-in-the-news-dunaway-charged-in-ex-wife-s-death.html|title=PLUS: IN THE NEWS; Dunaway Charged In Ex-Wife's Death|newspaper=The New York Times|agency=Associated Press|date=31 July 1998}} In response, his children filed a wrongful death lawsuit, alleging that Dunaway was responsible for their mother's death.{{cite web|url=https://bleacherreport.com/articles/33449-jim-dunaway-the-true-notorious-big|title=Jim Dunaway, the True Notorious Big|last=BabyTate|website=Bleacher Report}} In 2002, Dunaway was found liable and ordered to pay $579,000 to his children.{{cite news|url=https://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2013/06/21/football-crime-and-allegations-against-aaron-hernandez|title=Football, Crime, and Allegations Against Aaron Hernandez|first=Ben|last=Teitelbaum|newspaper=The Daily Beast|date=21 June 2013|via=www.thedailybeast.com}}

Coincidentally, Dunaway had been a teammate for three seasons of star running back O. J. Simpson, who was similarly found responsible for his ex-wife's death after being acquitted of her murder in a controversial trial in 1995.

References

Category:1941 births

Category:2018 deaths

Category:Sportspeople from Columbia, Mississippi

Category:All-American college football players

Category:American football defensive tackles

Category:Buffalo Bills players

Category:Miami Dolphins players

Category:Jacksonville Sharks (WFL) players

Category:Jacksonville Express players

Category:American Football League All-Star players

Category:Ole Miss Rebels football players

Category:American Football League players

Category:Players of American football from Mississippi

Jim Dunaway

Murder charge and aftermath

See also

References