James Curtis Wilder Sr. (born May 12, 1958) is an American former professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

player who was a

running back A running back (RB) is a member of the offensive backfield in gridiron football. The primary roles of a running back are to receive American football plays#Offensive terminology, handoffs from the quarterback to Rush (American football)#Offen ...

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 ...

(NFL) for 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 ...

Washington Redskins The Washington Commanders are a professional American football team based in the Washington metropolitan area. The Commanders compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) N ...

, and the

Detroit Lions The Detroit Lions are a professional American football team based in Detroit. The Lions compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) North Division. The team play their home games at Ford ...

High school career

Wilder played

high school football High school football (french: football au lycée) is gridiron football played by high school teams in the United States and Canada. It ranks among the most popular interscholastic sports in both countries, but its popularity is declining, part ...

Sikeston High School Sikeston High School, also known as SHS, is a public secondary school in Sikeston, Missouri. History In 1868, a two-story public school building was constructed at the corner of West Malone and School Street. In 1884, this building was destroy ...

where he set school records in career rushing yards and single season rushing yards. He led the Bulldogs to an undefeated season in 1976, his senior year with the team.

College career

Wilder played at

Northeastern Oklahoma A&M College Northeastern Oklahoma A&M College (NEO) is a public community college in Miami, Oklahoma. Established as the Miami School of Mines in 1919, NEO has an enrollment of approximately two thousand students. The Golden Norsemen is the school mascot. ...

Miami, Oklahoma Miami ( ) is a city in and county seat of Ottawa County, Oklahoma, United States, founded in 1891. Lead and zinc mining were established by 1918, causing the area's economy to boom. This area was part of Indian Territory. Miami is the capital of ...

, then attended and played

college football College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States. Unlike most ...

at the

University of Missouri The University of Missouri (Mizzou, MU, or Missouri) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Columbia, Missouri. It is Missouri's largest university and the flagship of the four-campus Universit ...

where he led the

Tigers The tiger (''Panthera tigris'') is the largest living cat species and a member of the genus ''Panthera''. It is most recognisable for its dark vertical stripes on orange fur with a white underside. An apex predator, it primarily preys on un ...

to three bowl games and became known as the "Sikeston Train" and one of the most popular players for the program.

Professional career

Wilder was drafted by the

in the second round of the

1981 NFL Draft The 1981 NFL draft was the procedure by which National Football League teams selected amateur college football players. It is officially known as the NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting. The draft was held April 28–29, 1981, at the New York She ...

. After he shared the backfield as a

rookie A rookie is a person new to an occupation, profession, or hobby. In sports, a ''rookie'' is a professional athlete in their first season (or year). In contrast with a veteran who has experience and expertise, a rookie is usually inexperienced ...

with

Jerry Eckwood Jerry Eckwood (born December 26, 1954) is a former NFL running back. He played for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers from 1979–1981, and was a key member of the Buccaneers team that made the first playoff appearance in franchise history in 1979. Eckwoo ...

in 1981, the Buccaneers released Eckwood in favor of Wilder prior to the 1982 season. He played for most of his career with Tampa Bay, and was a

Pro Bowl The National Football League All-Star Game (1939–1942), Pro Bowl (1951–2022), or Pro Bowl Games (starting in 2023) is an annual event held by the National Football League (NFL) featuring the league's star players. The format has changed thro ...

selection in

1984 Events January * January 1 – The Bornean Sultanate of Brunei gains full independence from the United Kingdom, having become a British protectorate in 1888. * January 7 – Brunei becomes the sixth member of the Association of Southeast A ...

. Wilder almost set an NFL record that season for combined rushing and receiving yards in a season finishing 16 yards short with 2,229. In an attempt to give Wilder one more chance to break the record in the final minute of the final game of the 1984 season against the

New York Jets The New York Jets are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Jets compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) East division. The J ...

, head coach John McKay (in what would be his final game as the Buccaneers head coach) ordered his defense to let the Jets score, so that the Bucs could go back on offense. This resulted in one of the strangest plays in NFL history where the Tampa Bay defense simply stood still as the Jets ran the ball into the end zone; McKay was given a large fine from the league for that stunt. He ranks first in Buccaneer history in rushing yards, rushing attempts and receptions (later broken by Mike Evans) and even set an NFL record with 43 carries in a single game in

(since broken). Also in 1984, he set NFL records for carries (407) (later broken by

Jamal Anderson Jamal Sharif Anderson (born September 30, 1972) is a former American football running back of the National Football League. He was drafted by the Atlanta Falcons in the seventh round of the 1994 NFL Draft. He played high school football at El ...

then Larry Johnson) and touches (492) in a single season.

Lawrence Taylor Lawrence Julius Taylor (born February 4, 1959), nicknamed "L.T.", is an American former professional football player who spent his entire career as an outside linebacker for the New York Giants ( 1981–1993) in the National Football League (NF ...

has stated that Wilder was one of the toughest running backs that he played against during his career.

Personal life

Wilder's son,

James Wilder Jr. James Curtis Wilder Jr. (born April 14, 1992) is an American professional football running back for the Edmonton Elks of the Canadian Football League (CFL). He played three seasons for the Toronto Argonauts in the CFL, winning the Grey Cup i ...

, is a professional football player who is currently signed with the

Edmonton Elks The Edmonton Elks are a professional Canadian football team based in Edmonton, Alberta. The club competes in the Canadian Football League (CFL) as a member of the league's West Division and plays their home games at the Brick Field at Commo ...

of the

CFL The Canadian Football League (CFL; french: Ligue canadienne de football—LCF) is a professional sports league in Canada. The CFL is the highest level of competition in Canadian football. The league consists of nine teams, each located in a ci ...

. He played football for Florida State and was a part of their 2013 National Championship winning team, and the 2017 Grey Cup winning team. Coincidentally,

Marc Trestman Marc Marlyn Trestman (born January 15, 1956) is an American football and Canadian football coach. He led the Montreal Alouettes of the Canadian Football League (CFL) to back-to-back Grey Cup victories in 2009 and 2010, and another as head coach ...

, who was a Buccaneers assistant coach during the senior Wilder's career, was the junior Wilder's head coach. Wilder's daughter, Courtney Wilder, played running back on the

Tampa Breeze The Jacksonville Breeze were a team in the Legends Football League based in Jacksonville, Florida. They played their home games at Jacksonville Veterans Memorial Arena. The team originated as the Tampa Breeze in 2009, the inaugural year for the ...

during the 2011–12 LFL season.

References

External links

Bucpower page (James Wilder)

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wilder, James Sr. 1958 births Living people American football fullbacks Detroit Lions players Missouri Tigers football players National Conference Pro Bowl players People from Sikeston, Missouri Tampa Bay Buccaneers players Washington Redskins players