James David Melka (born January 15, 1962) is a former

linebacker Linebacker (LB) is a playing position in gridiron football. Linebackers are members of the defensive team, and line up three to five yards behind the line of scrimmage and the defensive linemen. They are the "middle ground" of defenders, p ...

in the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...

Biography

Melka was born on January 15, 1962, in

West Allis, Wisconsin West Allis is a city in Milwaukee County, Wisconsin, Milwaukee County, Wisconsin, United States. A suburb of Milwaukee, it is part of the Milwaukee metropolitan area. The population was 60,325 at the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census. Histo ...

. He attended

West Allis Central High School West Allis Central High School is a public high school in West Allis, Wisconsin, United States. The school boundaries are the city of West Allis, village of West Milwaukee and portions of New Berlin and Greenfield. Central's cross-town rival ...

where he was an All-America running back.

Career

Melka played at the collegiate level at the

University of Wisconsin-Madison A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, the ...

and was named to the All-

Big Ten The Big Ten Conference (stylized B1G, formerly the Western Conference and the Big Nine Conference) is the oldest Division I collegiate athletic conference in the United States. Founded as the Intercollegiate Conference of Faculty Representati ...

team twice. He was drafted in the twelfth round of the

1985 NFL Draft The 1985 NFL draft was the procedure by which National Football League teams selected amateur college football players. The draft was held April 30 and May 1, 1985, at the Omni Park Central Hotel in New York City, New York. The league also hel ...

by the

Tampa Bay Buccaneers The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are a professional American football team based in Tampa, Florida. The Buccaneers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) NFC South, South divisio ...

but broke his navicular bone in his wrist playing in a pickup basketball game. He was placed on waivers on August 19, 1985, and would later go on to be a member of the

Green Bay Packers The Green Bay Packers are a professional American football team based in Green Bay, Wisconsin. The Packers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. It ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Melka, James People from West Allis, Wisconsin Players of American football from Wisconsin American football linebackers Wisconsin Badgers football players 1962 births Living people Sportspeople from the Milwaukee metropolitan area Green Bay Packers players

Biography

Career

See also

References