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Jim Nance

{{Short description|American football player (1942–1992)}}

{{About||the sports broadcaster|Jim Nantz|other people with a similar name|James Nance (disambiguation)}}

{{Use American English|date=July 2019}}

{{Use mdy dates|date=January 2019}}

{{Infobox NFL biography

| image =

| caption =

| position = Fullback

| number = 35

| birth_date = December 30, 1942

| birth_place = Indiana, Pennsylvania, U.S.

| death_date = {{death date and age|1992|6|17|1942|12|30}}

| death_place = Quincy, Massachusetts, U.S.

| height_ft = 6

| height_in = 1

| weight_lbs = 260

| college = Syracuse

| draftyear = 1965

| draftround = 4

| draftpick = 45

| afldraftyear = 1965

| afldraftround = 19

| afldraftpick = 6

| pastteams =

| highlights =

| statlabel1 = Rushing yards

| statvalue1 = 5,401

| statlabel2 = Yards per carry

| statvalue2 = 4.0

| statlabel3 = Touchdowns

| statvalue3 = 45

| pfr = NancJi00

}}

{{MedalTableTop|name=|image=|imagesize=|alt=|caption=}}

{{MedalSport | Collegiate Wrestling}}

{{MedalCountry | }} the Syracuse Orange

{{MedalCompetition|NCAA Division I Championships}}

{{MedalGold|1963 Kent| Heavyweight}}

{{MedalGold|1965 Laramie| Heavyweight}}

{{MedalBottom}}

James Solomon "Big Jim" Nance (December 30, 1942 – June 17, 1992) was an American professional football player who was a fullback with the Boston Patriots during their days in the American Football League (AFL). He was inducted into the Patriots Hall of Fame in 2009. He played college football for the Syracuse Orangemen.

High school career

Nance attended Indiana High School in Indiana, Pennsylvania, where he was a two-time Pennsylvania heavyweight wrestling champion in 1960 and 1961. It is said that the Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association (PIAA) added the heavyweight class to accommodate Nance, who was too large for their highest weight class in 1959, which was 185 pounds.{{citation needed|date=December 2017}}

College career

Starting for three years at Syracuse University, Nance tied the school record for career touchdowns and led the Orangemen football team in rushing in 1964, scoring in ten straight games. Nance also was a collegiate wrestler at Syracuse, winning the NCAA wrestling national championship at heavyweight in 1963 and 1965.{{Cite news |last=O'Bryan |first=Mike |date=13 March 1962 |title=Jim W Nance Highly Touted At Syracuse U. |page=15 |work=The Indiana Gazette |publisher=The Daily Orange |location=Indiana, Pennsylvania |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/65634534/ |access-date=20 December 2020 |via=Newspapers.com}} {{open access}}{{Cite web|url=https://cuse.com/sports/2017/9/20/syracuse-national-champions.aspx?id=9499|title = Syracuse Wrestling National Champions}}

Professional career

Nance was a 19th round selection of the Boston Patriots in the 1965 AFL Draft as well as a fourth round selection of the Chicago Bears in the 1965 NFL draft.{{Cite web |title=1965 AFL Draft |url=http://www.profootballarchives.com/1965AFLDraft.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170225154441/http://profootballarchives.com/1965AFLDraft.html |archive-date=February 25, 2017 |access-date=March 23, 2017}}{{Cite web |title=1965 Chicago Bears |url=http://www.databasefootball.com/teams/teamyear.htm?tm=CHI&lg=nfl&yr=1965 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060828024026/http://www.databasefootball.com/teams/teamyear.htm?tm=CHI&lg=nfl&yr=1965 |archive-date=August 28, 2006 |access-date=6 July 2020 |url-status=usurped |website=databaseFootball.com}} Nance signed with the Patriots. Though his rookie season was unimpressive, he led the AFL in rushing the next two seasons. He went on to become the only AFL player ever to rush for more than 1,400 yards in a season. At 6-1 and 260 pounds, Nance was a powerful fullback who carried 299 times in 1966, for 11 touchdowns and 1,458 yards. That season, he rushed for 208 yards and two touchdowns in a 24–21 victory over the Oakland Raiders.

Nance was an American Football League All-Star in 1966, when he also a unanimous selection for the league's Most Valuable Player award. He was the last Patriot to be named an MVP for over three decades. He was an All-Star again in 1967 when he became the only AFL player to have consecutive seasons with over 1,000 yards, this time 1,216. He retired as the Patriots' all-time leader in rushing touchdowns with 45, a record he still holds.{{Cite web |title=New England Patriots Career Rushing Leaders |website=Pro-Football-Reference.com |url=https://www.pro-football-reference.com/teams/nwe/career-rushing.htm |access-date=December 27, 2020}}

In 1972, he was traded to the Philadelphia Eagles but refused to play for them, temporarily retiring. He joined the New York Jets the following year.

In 1974, Nance played with the Houston Texans/Shreveport Steamer of the World Football League, rushing for 1,240 yards. In 1975, he ran for 767 yards before the WFL folded. He is the all-time leading rusher in the WFL with 490 carries for 2,007 yards and a 4.1 average. He rushed for 15 touchdowns in his WFL career.

NFL career statistics

class="wikitable"
colspan="2"| Legend
style="background:#ffff00; width:3em;"|

| AFL MVP

style="background:#cfecec; width:3em;"|

| Led the league

Bold

| Career high

class= "wikitable" style="text-align:center;"
rowspan="2"| Year

! rowspan="2"| Team

! colspan="2"| Games

! colspan="6"| Rushing

! colspan="5"| Receiving

! colspan="2"| Fumbles

GPGSAttYdsAvgY/GLngTDRecYdsAvgLngTDFumFR
1965 || BOS

| 14 || 7 || 111 || 321 || 2.9 || 22.9 || 20 || 5 || 12 || 83 || 6.9 || 22 || 0 || 2 || 0

style="background:#ffff00;"|1966 || BOS

| 14 || 14 || style="background:#cfecec;"|299 || style="background:#cfecec;"|1,458 || 4.9 || style="background:#cfecec;"|104.1 || 65 || style="background:#cfecec;"|11 || 8 || 103 || 12.9 || 45 || 0 || 7 || 0

1967 || BOS

| 14 || 14 || style="background:#cfecec;"|269 || style="background:#cfecec;"|1,216 || 4.5 || style="background:#cfecec;"|86.9 || 53 || 7 || 22 || 196 || 8.9 || 36 || 1 || 10 || 1

1968 || BOS

| 12 || 12 || 177 || 593 || 3.4 || 49.4 || 30 || 4 || 14 || 51 || 3.6 || 13 || 0 || 2 || 0

1969 || BOS

| 14 || 14 || style="background:#cfecec;"|193 || 750 || 3.9 || 53.6 || 43 || 6 || 29 || 168 || 5.8 || 27 || 0 || 1 || 0

1970|| BOS

| 13 || 13 || 145 || 522 || 3.6 || 40.2 || 21 || 7 || 26 || 148 || 5.7 || 16 || 0 || 6 || 0

1971 || NE

| 13 || 13 || 129 || 463 || 3.6 || 35.6 || 50 || 5 || 18 || 95 || 5.3 || 12 || 0 || 2 || 1

1973 || NYJ

| 7 || 1 || 18 || 78 || 4.3 || 11.1 || 18 || 0 || 4 || 26 || 6.5 || 9 || 0 || 0 || 0

colspan="2"|[https://www.pro-football-reference.com/players/N/NancJi00.htm Career] || 101 || 88 || 1,341 || 5,401 || 4.0 || 53.5 || 65 || 45 || 133 || 870 || 6.5 || 45 || 1 || 30 || 2

Death

Nance suffered a heart attack and stroke in 1983. He died on June 17, 1992, of a heart attack in Quincy, Massachusetts.{{Cite web|url=https://www.pro-football-reference.com/players/N/NancJi00.htm|title = Jim Nance Stats|website = Pro-Football-Reference.com}}

References

External links

  • [https://www.patriotshalloffame.com/hall_of_famer/jim-nance/ New England Patriots bio]
  • {{usurped|1=[https://web.archive.org/web/20060218053707/http://www.pafootballnews.com/AllCenturyTeams.htm The Pennsylvania Football News All-Century Team]}}
  • [https://www.nytimes.com/1992/06/17/us/jim-nance-a-star-with-the-patriots-ex-runner-was-49.html Jim Nance obituary] – New York Times

{{Bears1965DraftPicks}}

{{List of AFL MVPs}}

{{Patriots1960s}}

{{Patriots35th}}

{{Patriots50th}}

{{PatriotsHOF}}

{{American Football League rushing yards leaders}}

{{American Football League rushing touchdowns leaders}}

{{Indiana, Pennsylvania}}

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Nance, Jim}}

Category:1942 births

Category:1992 deaths

Category:American Football League Most Valuable Players

Category:American Football League All-Star players

Category:American football running backs

Category:Players of American football from Pennsylvania

Category:Boston Patriots players

Category:New England Patriots players

Category:New York Jets players

Category:Houston Texans (WFL) players

Category:Shreveport Steamer players

Category:American Football League rushing leaders

Category:People from Indiana, Pennsylvania

Category:Syracuse Orange football players

Category:Syracuse Orangemen wrestlers

Category:New England Patriots announcers

Category:NFL announcers

Category:American Football League players