View source for 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 (American football)|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 Orange football|Syracuse]]
| draftyear     = 1965
| draftround    = 4
| draftpick     = 45
| afldraftyear  = 1965
| afldraftround = 19
| afldraftpick  = 6
| pastteams     =
* [[New England Patriots|Boston/New England Patriots]] ([[1965 AFL season|1965]]–{{NFL Year|1971}})
* [[New York Jets]] ({{NFL Year|1973}})
* [[Shreveport Steamer|Houston Texans/Shreveport Steamer]] ([[1974 WFL season|1974]]–[[1975 WFL season|1975]])
| highlights    =
* [[American Football League Most Valuable Players|AFL MVP]] (1966)
* 3× [[All-AFL]] ([[1966 All-AFL Team|1966]], [[1967 All-AFL Team|1967]], [[1969 All-Pro Team|1969]])
* 2× [[American Football League All-Star game|AFL All-Star]] (1966, 1967)
* 2× [[List of NFL rushing champions|AFL rushing champion]] ([[1966 NFL season|1966]], [[1967 NFL season|1967]])
* [[List of National Football League career rushing touchdowns leaders|AFL rushing touchdowns leader]] (1966)
* [[New England Patriots|Boston Patriots All-1960s Team]]
* [[New England Patriots|New England Patriots 35th Anniversary Team]]
* [[New England Patriots|New England Patriots 50th Anniversary Team]]
* [[New England Patriots Hall of Fame]]
* Most rushing yards, AFL season: 1,458 (1966)
* First-team All-East ([[1964 All-East football team|1964]])
| statlabel1    = Rushing yards
| statvalue1    = 5,401
| statlabel2    = Yards per carry
| statvalue2    = 4.0
| statlabel3    = [[Touchdown]]s
| statvalue3    = 45
| pfr           = NancJi00 
}}
{{MedalTableTop|name=|image=|imagesize=|alt=|caption=}}
{{MedalSport |  [[Collegiate wrestling|Collegiate Wrestling]]}}
{{MedalCountry | }} the [[Syracuse Orange]]
{{MedalCompetition|[[NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships|NCAA Division I Championships]]}}
{{MedalGold|[[1963 NCAA Wrestling Championships|1963 Kent]]| Heavyweight}}
{{MedalGold|[[1965 NCAA University Division Wrestling Championships|1965 Laramie]]| Heavyweight}}
{{MedalBottom}}
'''James Solomon''' "'''Big Jim'''" '''Nance''' (December 30, 1942 – June 17, 1992) was an American professional [[American football|football]] player who was a [[Fullback (American football)|fullback]] with the [[Boston Patriots]] during their days in the [[American Football League]] (AFL). He was inducted into the [[New England Patriots#Patriots Hall of Fame|Patriots Hall of Fame]] in 2009. He played [[college football]] for the [[Syracuse Orange football|Syracuse Orangemen]].

==High school career==
Nance attended Indiana High School in [[Indiana, Pennsylvania]], where he was a two-time [[Pennsylvania]] heavyweight [[Scholastic wrestling|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 [[Syracuse Orange football|Orangemen football team]] in rushing in 1964, scoring in ten straight games. Nance also was a [[Collegiate wrestling|collegiate wrestler]] at Syracuse, winning the [[NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships|NCAA wrestling]] national championship at heavyweight in 1963 and 1965.<ref>{{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}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://cuse.com/sports/2017/9/20/syracuse-national-champions.aspx?id=9499|title = Syracuse Wrestling National Champions}}</ref>

==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]].<ref>{{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}}</ref><ref>{{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}}</ref> 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 games|American Football League All-Star]] in 1966, when he also a unanimous selection for the league's [[American Football League Most Valuable Players|Most Valuable Player]] award. He was the last Patriot to be named an MVP for over three decades. He was an [[American Football League All-Star games|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.<ref>{{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}}</ref>

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 [[Shreveport Steamer|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;"|
| [[American Football League Most Valuable Player Award|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
|-
! GP !! GS !! Att !! Yds !! Avg !! Y/G !! Lng !! TD !! Rec !! Yds !! Avg !! Lng !! TD !! Fum !! FR
|-
! [[1965 American Football League season|1965]] || [[1965 Boston Patriots season|BOS]]
| '''14''' || 7 || 111 || 321 || 2.9 || 22.9 || 20 || 5 || 12 || 83 || 6.9 || 22 || 0 || 2 || 0
|-
! style="background:#ffff00;"|[[1966 American Football League season|1966]] || [[1966 Boston Patriots season|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 American Football League season|1967]] || [[1967 Boston Patriots season|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 American Football League season|1968]] || [[1968 Boston Patriots season|BOS]]
| 12 || 12 || 177 || 593 || 3.4 || 49.4 || 30 || 4 || 14 || 51 || 3.6 || 13 || 0 || 2 || 0
|-
! [[1969 American Football League season|1969]] || [[1969 Boston Patriots season|BOS]]
| '''14''' || '''14''' || style="background:#cfecec;"|193 || 750 || 3.9 || 53.6 || 43 || 6 || '''29''' || 168 || 5.8 || 27 || 0 || 1 || 0
|-
! [[1970 NFL season|1970]]|| [[1970 Boston Patriots season|BOS]]
| 13 || 13 || 145 || 522 || 3.6 || 40.2 || 21 || 7 || 26 || 148 || 5.7 || 16 || 0 || 6 || 0
|-
! [[1971 NFL season|1971]] || [[1971 New England Patriots season|NE]]
| 13 || 13 || 129 || 463 || 3.6 || 35.6 || 50 || 5 || 18 || 95 || 5.3 || 12 || 0 || 2 || '''1'''
|-
! [[1973 NFL season|1973]] || [[1973 New York Jets season|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]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.pro-football-reference.com/players/N/NancJi00.htm|title = Jim Nance Stats|website = [[Pro-Football-Reference.com]]}}</ref>

==References==
<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}}

{{authority control}}

{{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]]