Jim Grisham (December 4, 1942 – July 30, 2012) was an

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team with ...

fullback and

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 ...

, who played at the

University of Oklahoma The University of Oklahoma (OU) is a Public university, public research university in Norman, Oklahoma. Founded in 1890, it had existed in Oklahoma Territory near Indian Territory for 17 years before the two Territories became the state of Oklahom ...

from 1961 to 1964.

Early years

Grisham attended

Olney High School Olney Charter High School, formerly Aspira Charter School at Olney, and Olney High School, is a public high school located in the Olney neighborhood of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Previously directly controlled by the School District of Philade ...

, where he played

quarterback The quarterback (commonly abbreviated "QB"), colloquially known as the "signal caller", is a position in gridiron football. Quarterbacks are members of the offensive platoon and mostly line up directly behind the offensive line. In modern Ame ...

End End, END, Ending, or variation, may refer to: End *In mathematics: ** End (category theory) ** End (topology) **End (graph theory) ** End (group theory) (a subcase of the previous) **End (endomorphism) *In sports and games **End (gridiron footbal ...

, halfback and fullback. As a junior in 1959, he played halfback, helping the team reach the Texas Class 2A semifinal. As a senior in 1960, he was named the starter at fullback after Harold Phillip graduated. He led his team to a second straight semifinal appearance, while scoring 21 touchdowns and earning All-state honors.

College career

Grisham accepted a football scholarship from the

, to play under head coach Bud Wilkinson. As a sophomore, he posted 147 carries for 711 yards (4.8-yard average) and 8

touchdown A touchdown (abbreviated as TD) is a scoring play in gridiron football. Whether running, passing, returning a kickoff or punt, or recovering a turnover, a team scores a touchdown by advancing the ball into the opponent's end zone. In Ameri ...

s. As a junior in 1963, he was named a consensus All-American, playing both offense ( fullback) and defense (

). He tallied 153 carries for 861 yards (5.6-yard average) and 8

s. He rushed for 218 yards and scored 4

s against

Oklahoma State University Oklahoma (; Choctaw: ; chr, ᎣᎧᎳᎰᎹ, ''Okalahoma'' ) is a state in the South Central region of the United States, bordered by Texas on the south and west, Kansas on the north, Missouri on the northeast, Arkansas on the east, New ...

in the

Bedlam Series The Bedlam Series is the name given to the Oklahoma–Oklahoma State rivalry. It refers to the athletics rivalry between Oklahoma State University Cowboys and Cowgirls and the University of Oklahoma Sooners of the Big 12 Conference. Both sch ...

. He finished second in the Big Eight Conference in rushing behind

Gale Sayers Gale Eugene Sayers (May 30, 1943September 23, 2020) was an American professional football player who was both a halfback and return specialist in the National Football League (NFL). In a relatively brief but highly productive NFL career, Sa ...

. As a senior,

Gomer Jones Gomer Thomas Jones (February 26, 1914 – March 21, 1971) was an American football player, coach, and college athletics administrator. He played college football as a center at Ohio State University from 1933 to 1935. After serving as an assist ...

became the new football head coach of the Sooners. Grisham registered 146 carries for 725 yards (5.0-yard average) and 3

s, finishing second in the Big Eight Conference in rushing behind

Walt Garrison Walter Benton Garrison (born July 23, 1944) is a former American football fullback in the National Football League for the Dallas Cowboys. He played college football at Oklahoma State University. Early years Born in Denton, Texas, Garrison atte ...

. He was one of four

Sooners Sooners is the name given to settlers who entered the Unassigned Lands in what is now the state of Oklahoma before the official start of the Land Rush of 1889. The Unassigned Lands were a part of Indian Territory that, after a lobbying campaig ...

stars who missed the 1965

Gator Bowl The Gator Bowl is an annual college football bowl game held in Jacksonville, Florida, operated by Gator Bowl Sports. It has been held continuously since 1946, making it the sixth oldest college bowl, as well as the first one ever televised natio ...

game against

Florida State University Florida State University (FSU) is a public research university in Tallahassee, Florida. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida. Founded in 1851, it is located on the oldest continuous site of higher education in the st ...

. Grisham, offensive lineman

Ralph Neely Ralph Eugene Neely (September 12, 1943 – January 5, 2022) was an American professional American football, football player who was an offensive tackle for the Dallas Cowboys in the National Football League (NFL). He played 13 seasons and 172 ga ...

, halfback

Lance Rentzel Thomas Lance Rentzel (born October 14, 1943) is a former American football flanker in the National Football League (NFL) for the Minnesota Vikings, Dallas Cowboys, and Los Angeles Rams. He played college football at the University of Oklahoma. ...

and end Wes Skidgel signed with professional teams before the game, and were ruled ineligible for the contest, which

won 36–19 on the strength of four

catches by

Fred Biletnikoff Frederick S. Biletnikoff (born February 23, 1943) is a former American football player and coach. He was a wide receiver for the Oakland Raiders in the American Football League (AFL) and National Football League (NFL) for fourteen seasons and ...

. Grisham rushed for a school record 2,297 career yards, including a 5.2 yards per carry average and 19

s in his college career.

Professional career

Grisham was selected by the

Minnesota Vikings The Minnesota Vikings are a professional American football team based in Minneapolis. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the National Football Conference (NFC) North division. Founded in 1960 as an expansi ...

during the sixth round in 1965 NFL Draft. He was also selected by the

Houston Oilers The Houston Oilers were a professional American football team that played in Houston from its founding in 1960 to 1996 before relocating to Memphis, and later Nashville, Tennessee becoming the Tennessee Titans. The Oilers began play in 1960 a ...

in the 17th round of the 1965 AFL Draft. He opted to sign with the Vikings and was waived on August 2.

References

External links

All-American: Jim Grisham
{{DEFAULTSORT:Grisham, Jim 1942 births 2012 deaths Players of American football from Houston American football fullbacks Oklahoma Sooners football players All-American college football players