View source for Jim Ringo

{{Short description|American football player and coach (1931–2007)}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=June 2024}}
{{Use American English|date=March 2023}}
{{Infobox NFL biography
| image        = Jim Ringo.jpg
| caption      = <!--Ringo -->circa [[1966 Philadelphia Eagles season|1966]]
| position     = [[Center (American football)|Center]]
| number       = 51, 54
| birth_date   = {{birth date|1931|11|21}}
| birth_place  = [[Orange, New Jersey]], U.S.
| death_date   = {{death date and age|2007|11|19|1931|11|21}}
| death_place  = [[Chesapeake, Virginia]], U.S.
| height_ft    = 6
| height_in    = 1
| weight_lbs   = 232
| draftyear    = 1953
| draftround   = 7
| draftpick    = 79
| high_school  = [[Phillipsburg High School (New Jersey)|Phillipsburg]] {{nowrap|([[Phillipsburg, New Jersey]])}}
| college      = [[Syracuse Orange football|Syracuse]]
| pastteams    = {{bulleted list
| [[Green Bay Packers]] ({{NFL Year|1953}}–{{NFL Year|1963}})
| [[Philadelphia Eagles]] ({{NFL Year|1964}}–{{NFL Year|1967}})
}}
| pastcoaching = {{bulleted list
| [[Chicago Bears]] ([[1969 NFL season|1969]]–[[1971 NFL season|1971]]) {{ubl| Offensive line}}
| [[Buffalo Bills]] ([[1972 NFL season|1972]]–[[1976 NFL season|1976]]) {{ubl| Offensive line}}
| Buffalo Bills (1976–[[1977 NFL season|1977]]) {{ubl|Head coach}}
| [[New England Patriots]] ([[1978 NFL season|1978]]) {{ubl|Offensive line}}
| New England Patriots ([[1979 NFL season|1979]]–[[1981 NFL season|1981]]) {{ubl| Offensive coordinator / offensive line}}
| [[Los Angeles Rams]] ([[1982 NFL season|1982]]) {{ubl|Offensive line}}
| [[New York Jets]] ([[1983 NFL season|1983]]–[[1984 NFL season|1984]]) {{ubl| Offensive line}}
| Buffalo Bills ([[1985 NFL season|1985]]–[[1988 NFL season|1988]]) {{ubl| Offensive coordinator}}
}}
| statlabel1   = [[Games played]]
| statvalue1   = 187
| statlabel2   = Coaching record
| statvalue2   = 3–20
| pfr          = RingJi00
| highlights   = * 2× [[History of the National Football League championship|NFL champion]] ([[1961 NFL Championship Game|1961]], [[1962 NFL Championship Game|1962]])
* 7× First-team [[All-Pro]] ([[1957 All-Pro Team|1957]]–[[1963 All-Pro Team|1963]])
* 2× Second-team [[All-Pro]] ([[1964 All-Pro Team|1964]], [[1966 All-Pro Team|1966]])
* 10× [[Pro Bowl]] ([[1958 Pro Bowl|1957]]–[[1966 Pro Bowl|1965]], [[1968 Pro Bowl|1967]])
* [[NFL 1960s All-Decade Team]]
* [[Green Bay Packers Hall of Fame]]
* [[Philadelphia Eagles Hall of Fame]]
| HOF          = jim-ringo
}}
'''James Stephen Ringo'''<ref name="ringo at databasefootball">{{cite web|url=http://www.databasefootball.com/players/playerpage.htm?ilkid=RINGOJIM01 |title=Jim Ringo's playing stats |publisher=Databasefootball.com |access-date=2007-11-19 |url-status=usurped |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070930170818/http://www.databasefootball.com/players/playerpage.htm?ilkid=RINGOJIM01 |archive-date=2007-09-30 }}</ref> (November 21, 1931 – November 19, 2007) was an American professional [[American football|football]] player and coach in the [[National Football League]] (NFL). He played 15 years as a [[Center (American football)|center]] for the [[Green Bay Packers]] and the [[Philadelphia Eagles]], earning 10&nbsp;[[Pro Bowl]] selections.<ref name="ringo at profootballreference">{{cite web| url=https://www.pro-football-reference.com/players/RingJi00.htm | title=Jim Ringo's stats | publisher=pro-football-reference.com| access-date=2007-11-19}}</ref><ref name=nytobit>{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2007/11/21/sports/football/21ringo.html?_r=0 |newspaper=New York Times |last=Litsky |first=Frank |title= Jim Ringo, Pro Football Hall of Fame center, dies at 75|date=November 21, 2007 |page=A25 }}</ref> He was inducted into the [[Pro Football Hall of Fame]] in 1981.

Ringo played [[college football]] for the [[Syracuse Orange football|Syracuse Orangemen]] (now Orange) and was selected in the seventh round of the [[1953 NFL draft]]. A member of two [[NFL championship]] teams with Green Bay, Ringo was named to the [[NFL 1960s All-Decade Team]], and was inducted into the [[Green Bay Packers Hall of Fame]] as well as the [[Philadelphia Eagles Hall of Fame]].

==Early life and college==
Born in [[Orange, New Jersey]], Ringo grew up in [[Phillipsburg, New Jersey|Phillipsburg]]<ref>Schudel, Matt. [https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/11/21/AR2007112102536.html "NFL's Jim Ringo; Hall of Famer With Packers and Eagles"], ''[[The Washington Post]]'', November 22, 2007. Accessed March 14, 2011. "James S. Ringo Jr. was born Nov. 21, 1931, in Orange, N.J., and grew up in Phillipsburg, N.J."</ref> and played [[high school football]] at [[Phillipsburg High School (New Jersey)|Phillipsburg High School]]<ref>via [[Associated Press]]. [http://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2007/11/phillipsburg_grad_nfl_great_ji.html "Phillipsburg grad, NFL great Jim Ringo dies at 75"], ''[[The Star-Ledger]]'', November 19, 2007. Accessed March 14, 2011. "Jim Ringo, who played for Phillipsburg High School before going on to a Hall of Fame career as a center for the Green Bay Packers and Philadelphia Eagles, died this morning after a short illness. He was two days shy of his 76th birthday."</ref> and [[college football]] at [[1952 Syracuse Orangemen football team|Syracuse University]] in [[Syracuse, New York]].

==Professional career==

===Green Bay Packers===
The [[Green Bay Packers|Packers]] selected him in the [[1953 NFL draft#Round seven|seventh round]] of the [[1953 NFL draft]].  Ringo was considered vastly undersized at {{convert|211|lb}}.

However, he used his outstanding quickness and excellent technique to build a 15-year NFL career, the first 11 with the Packers, as one of the game's best centers.

Ringo played for four different head coaches in Green Bay. In his first six seasons under [[Gene Ronzani]] ([[1953 Green Bay Packers season|1953]]), [[Lisle Blackbourn]] ([[1954 Green Bay Packers season|1954]]–[[1957 Green Bay Packers season|57]]), and [[Ray McLean|Ray "Scooter" McLean]] ([[1958 Green Bay Packers season|1958]]), the Packers went {{nowrap|20–50–2 ({{winning percentage|20|50}}).<!--ties then excluded in pct.-->}}

But [[Vince Lombardi]]'s arrival in January [[1959 Green Bay Packers season|1959]] changed everything, and for Ringo's next five seasons, the Packers went {{nowrap|50–15–1 ({{winning percentage|50|15}})<!-- ties excluded-->}} and 2–1 in championship games. Ringo certainly knew individual success before the Lombardi era—attending his first of seven straight [[Pro Bowl]]s in 1957—but he flourished under the coaching legend, earning consensus All-Pro honors from 1959 to 1963.

Ringo's speed and mobility made him an ideal blocker for Lombardi's famous [[Packers sweep]], and all but one of running back [[Jim Taylor (fullback)|Jim Taylor]]'s five 1,000-yard seasons—including his then-record 1,474-yard effort in [[1962 Green Bay Packers season|1962]]—came with Ringo at center. In 1974, he was inducted into the [[Green Bay Packers Hall of Fame]].<ref>{{Cite web | url = https://www.packers.com/history/hof/jim-ringo | title = Jim Ringo | last = Christl | first = Cliff | author-link = Cliff Christl | website = Packers.com | access-date = September 20, 2023 | archive-date = June 6, 2023 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20230606071016/https://www.packers.com/history/hof/jim-ringo | url-status = live }}</ref>

===Philadelphia Eagles===
Ringo was a member of the Packers' NFL Championship teams of [[1961 Green Bay Packers season|1961]] and [[1962 Green Bay Packers season|1962]] but was traded to the [[1964 Philadelphia Eagles season|Philadelphia Eagles]] {{nowrap|in May [[1964 Green Bay Packers season|1964]].<ref name=msrtrd>{{cite news |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=TuoVAAAAIBAJ&sjid=pBAEAAAAIBAJ&pg=7161%2C770513 |work=Milwaukee Sentinel | last = Lea | first = Bud | author-link = Bud Lea |title=Gros, Ringo traded to Eagles |date=May 6, 1964 |page=2, part 2}}</ref><ref name=mjtrdeag>{{cite news |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=7jAaAAAAIBAJ&sjid=dycEAAAAIBAJ&pg=6608%2C3166888 |work=Milwaukee Journal |title=Ringo, Gros traded to Eagles, Packers get a linebacker |date=May 6, 1964 |page=2, part 2}}</ref><ref name=stpete>{{cite news|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=cWFSAAAAIBAJ&sjid=5XwDAAAAIBAJ&pg=2645%2C3155306 |work=St. Petersburg Times |location=(Florida) |agency=Associated Press |title=Packers trade Ringo, Gros |date=May 6, 1964 |page=2C }}</ref><ref name=pptcnp>{{cite news |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=WUcqAAAAIBAJ&sjid=Bk8EAAAAIBAJ&pg=4490%2C2364499 |work=Pittsburgh Press |agency=UPI |title=Packers pull trade, create new problem |date=May 6, 1964 |page=58}}</ref>}}
The details of Ringo's trade have been the subject of speculation. In his memoir, Jerry Kramer, who played guard next to Ringo from 1958 to 1963, recounted the story that following the [[1963 Green Bay Packers season|1963]] season, Ringo showed up in Lombardi's office with an agent in tow and looking to negotiate a raise. Lombardi, according to this account, was so angered that he excused himself for five minutes only to return and announce that he had traded Ringo to the Eagles.<ref>{{Cite book|isbn = 978-0307743381|title = Instant Replay: The Green Bay Diary of Jerry Kramer|last1 = Schaap|first1 = Dick|last2 = Kramer|first2 = Jerry|last3 = Kramer|first3 = Gerald L.|date = 15 August 2011| publisher=Knopf Doubleday Publishing }}</ref> Over the years, it has been suggested that that story is more fiction than fact. In reality, Lombardi had probably been negotiating a trade for some time. The Packers also traded fullback [[Earl Gros]] and received in return linebacker [[Lee Roy Caffey]] and a first-round draft pick, which was used to select halfback-punter [[Donny Anderson]] as a "future pick" in [[1965 NFL draft|1965]]. Still, the legend persists. Ringo, who played 126 consecutive games for the Packers from [[1954 Green Bay Packers season|1954]]–[[1963 Green Bay Packers season|63]], finished out his career with the Eagles, attending three more Pro Bowls and retiring after the [[1967 Philadelphia Eagles season|1967]] season.

===Coaching===
He went on to work on the coaching staffs of the [[Los Angeles Rams]], [[Buffalo Bills]] (two separate engagements), [[Chicago Bears]], [[New England Patriots]], and [[New York Jets]], and he served as Bills head coach after the resignation of [[Lou Saban]] in [[1976 Buffalo Bills season|1976]], posting a 3–20 record. He is best known as a coach for creating the dominant Bills offensive line of the early- to mid-1970s called the [[Electric Company (football)|Electric Company]], which supported running back [[O. J. Simpson]]. He returned to Buffalo as the Bills offensive coordinator and offensive line coach in 1985. He held the positions until his retirement after the 1988 season.

Ringo was inducted into the [[Pro Football Hall of Fame]] in 1981.

==Death==
Ringo died November 19, 2007, in [[Chesapeake, Virginia]], after a short illness.<ref name=ProFootballHOF.com>{{cite web |title=Ringo dies at age 75 |work=profootballhalloffame.com |url=http://www.profootballhof.com/hof/story.jsp?story_id=2605 |access-date=2007-11-19 |archive-date=2007-11-21 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071121104802/http://www.profootballhof.com/hof/story.jsp?story_id=2605 |url-status=dead }}</ref> He is buried at Fairmount Cemetery in his hometown of Phillipsburg, New Jersey.

==Head coaching record==
{| class="wikitable" style="font-size: 95%; text-align:center;"
|-
! rowspan="2"|Team !! rowspan="2"|Year !! colspan="5"|Regular Season !! colspan="4"|Post Season
|-
!Won !!Lost!!Ties!!Win %!!Finish!!Won!!Lost!!Win %!!Result
|-
![[1976 Buffalo Bills season|BUF]]||[[1976 NFL season|1976]]
|0||9||0||.000||5th in AFC East|| – || – || – || –
|-
![[1977 Buffalo Bills season|BUF]]||[[1977 NFL season|1977]]
|3||11||0||.214||4th in AFC East|| – || – || – || –
|-
! colspan="2"|BUF Total||3||20||0||.130|| || – || – || – || – 
|-
! colspan="2"|NFL Total<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.pro-football-reference.com/coaches/RingJi0.htm|title=Jim Ringo Record, Statistics, and Category Ranks - Pro-Football-Reference.com|website=Pro-Football-Reference.com}}</ref>||3||20||0||.130|| || – || – || – || – 
|-
! colspan="2"|Total||3||20||0||.130|| || – || – || – || – 
|}

==References==
{{reflist}}

{{Green Bay Packers 1953 NFL draft picks}}
{{1961 Green Bay Packers}}
{{1962 Green Bay Packers}}
{{Green Bay Packers Hall of Fame}}
{{NFL1960s}}
{{Eagles Honor Roll}}
{{1981 Football HOF}}
{{Pro Football Hall of Fame members}}
{{Buffalo Bills coach navbox}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ringo, Jim}}
[[Category:1931 births]]
[[Category:2007 deaths]]
[[Category:Players of American football from Orange, New Jersey]]
[[Category:Sportspeople from Phillipsburg, New Jersey]]
[[Category:American football centers]]
[[Category:Phillipsburg High School (New Jersey) alumni]]
[[Category:Syracuse Orange football players]]
[[Category:Green Bay Packers players]]
[[Category:Philadelphia Eagles players]]
[[Category:Western Conference Pro Bowl players]]
[[Category:Eastern Conference Pro Bowl players]]
[[Category:Pro Football Hall of Fame inductees]]
[[Category:Coaches of American football from New Jersey]]
[[Category:Chicago Bears coaches]]
[[Category:Buffalo Bills coaches]]
[[Category:Buffalo Bills head coaches]]
[[Category:New England Patriots coaches]]
[[Category:Los Angeles Rams coaches]]
[[Category:New York Jets coaches]]
[[Category:Green Bay Packers Hall of Fame]]