Jim Grabowski
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| Position: | Halfback | ||||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||||
| Born: | September 9, 1944 Chicago, Illinois,U.S. | ||||||||||
| Height: | 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) | ||||||||||
| Weight: | 220 lb (100 kg) | ||||||||||
| Career information | |||||||||||
| High school: | Taft(Chicago) | ||||||||||
| College: | Illinois | ||||||||||
| NFL draft: | 1966/ Round: 1 / Pick: 9 | ||||||||||
| AFL draft: | 1966/ Round: 1 / Pick: 1 | ||||||||||
| Career history | |||||||||||
| Career highlights and awards | |||||||||||
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| Career NFL statistics | |||||||||||
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| Player stats atPFR | |||||||||||
James Grabowski(born September 9, 1944) is an American formerfootballplayer and broadcaster. He played as arunning backin theNational Football League(NFL), primarily with theGreen Bay Packers.
Grabowski playedcollege footballfor theIllinois Fighting Illini,earning consensusAll-Americanhonors in 1965. He was selected in the first round of the1966 NFL Draftwith the ninth overall pick. Grabowski played in the NFL for Green Bay and theChicago Bears,winning twoSuper Bowlswith the Packers. He was an analyst on Illinois football radio broadcasts for nearly 30 years, retiring after the 2006 season.
Collegiate playing career
[edit]Grabowski entered the University of Illinois in 1962, out ofTaft High SchoolinChicago.At Illinois, Grabowski was a starrunning back,and was namedAssociated PressAll-Americanin both1964and1965.As a sophomore in1963,Grabowski was named Most Valuable Player of theRose Bowl,after leading theFighting Illinito a 17–7 comeback victory over theWashington Huskies.[1]Grabowski received many awards and recognitions after his senior season in 1965, including finishing third in theHeisman Trophyvoting, being namedThe Sporting Newsco-player of the year and Back of the Year by the Washington Touchdown Club, and receiving theChicago Tribune Silver Footballas theBig Ten ConferenceMost Valuable Player. He finished as the all-time leader in rushing yards in Big Ten history. Grabowski was also an outstanding student at the University of Illinois, having been named GTE Academic All-American in 1964 and 1965, and graduated with a degree in finance in 1966.
Grabowski is a member of theCollege Football Hall of Fame,inducted in 1995. He was also inducted into the GTE Academic All-American Hall of Fame and theRose Bowl Hall of Fame.Additionally, Grabowski was named to the University of Illinois "All-Century" team, and is a member of theNational Polish-American Sports Hall of Fame.
- 1963: 141 carries for 616 yards and 7 TD. 3 catches for 21 yards.[2]
- 1964: 186 carries for 1004 yards and 10 TD. 9 catches for 101 yards.
- 1965: 252 carries for 1258 yards and 7 TD. 3 catches for 22 yards.
Professional playing career
[edit]Grabowski was selected in the first round of the1966 NFL draftby theGreen Bay Packers,with the ninth overall selection, held on November 27, 1965, only a week after his college playing career ended. (Grabowski was also taken as the first overall pick in theAFL draft,by the expansionMiami Dolphins.)[3]Grabowski played five seasons for the Packers, and was known as one of Green Bay's "Gold Dust Twins"(along with fellow rookie running backDonny Anderson) in the late Sixties.[4][5]
After he gained the starting position in1967,a series of injuries hampered his career. He was the Packers' leading rusher in 1967 with 466 yards, while also catching 12 passes for 171 more, but a late-season injury forced him to miss the postseason, including their win inSuper Bowl II.With a new head coach in1971,Grabowski was waived by Green Bay in August,[6][7]picked up by theChicago Bearsfor the season, and retired in training camp in September1972.[8]Over his six seasons in the NFL, Grabowski rushed for 1,731 yards and scored 12touchdowns:eight rushing, three receiving, and one after a fumble byMel Renfro,which he returned for an 18-yard score in the1966 NFL Championship Gameversus the Dallas Cowboys.
References
[edit]- ^Myers, Bob (January 2, 1964)."Illinois' Jim Grabowski, smart defense defeat crippled, gallant Washington 17-7".Spokesman-Review.Spokane, Washington. Associated Press. p. 16.
- ^"Jim Grabowski Stats | College Football at Sports-Reference.com".Archived fromthe originalon June 3, 2015.RetrievedMay 16,2015.
- ^"Miami grabs Jim Grabowski".Palm Beach Post.Florida. Associated Press. November 28, 1965. p. D1.
- ^Lea, Bud(October 20, 1966)."Donny, Jim may see more play".Milwaukee Sentinel.p. 1, part 2.
- ^Gross, Milton (October 23, 1967)."Jim Grabowski makes amends with Packers".Pittsburgh Press.North American Alliance. p. 47.
- ^Lea, Bud(August 19, 1971)."Grabowski, Clancy cut by Packers".Milwaukee Sentinel.p. 1, part 2.
- ^"Pack asks waivers on Jim Grabowski".Schenectady Gazette.New York. Associated Press. August 19, 1971. p. 41.
- ^"Jim Grabowski quits pro ball".Bryan Times.Ohio. UPI. September 2, 1971. p. 7.
External links
[edit]- Career statistics and player information fromNFL.com·Pro Football Reference·
- 1944 births
- Living people
- American football running backs
- Arena football announcers
- Chicago Bears players
- Green Bay Packers players
- Illinois Fighting Illini football players
- United States Football League announcers
- All-American college football players
- American Football League first overall draft picks
- Players of American football from Chicago
- American people of Polish descent
- College Football Hall of Fame inductees