James Robert Lynch (August 28, 1945 – July 21, 2022) was an American football linebacker. Lynch 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 ...

for the Notre Dame Fighting Irish, where he was named an All-American and won the Maxwell Award in 1966. Lynch is a member of the

College Football Hall of Fame The College Football Hall of Fame is a hall of fame and interactive attraction devoted to college football. The National Football Foundation (NFF) founded the Hall in 1951 to immortalize the players and coaches of college football that were vote ...

. Lynch went on to play for the Kansas City Chiefs of the

American Football League The American Football League (AFL) was a major professional American football league that operated for ten seasons from 1960 until 1970, when it merged with the older National Football League (NFL), and became the American Football Conference. ...

(AFL) and National Football League (NFL) for 11 seasons. He was an

AFL All-Star The American Football League All-Star game was the annual game which featured each year's best performers in the American Football League (AFL). The game was first played in 1961 and the final AFL All-Star game occurred in 1969, prior to the leagu ...

in 1968 and a member of the

Super Bowl IV Super Bowl IV was an American football game played on January 11, 1970 at Tulane Stadium in New Orleans, Louisiana. It was the fourth and final AFL–NFL World Championship Game in professional football prior to the AFL–NFL merger taking eff ...

championship team.

Early life

Lynch was born in

Lima, Ohio Lima ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Allen County, Ohio, United States. The municipality is located in northwest Ohio along Interstate 75 in Ohio, Interstate 75 approximately north of Dayton, Ohio, Dayton, southwest of Toledo, Ohio, T ...

. He graduated from Lima Central Catholic High School in 1963. Lynch played for the football and basketball teams.

College career

Lynch played

at the University of Notre Dame. Leading the Fighting Irish in tackles with 108 in 1965 and 106 in 1966, he was the defensive

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

of the national champion 1966 Irish team. He received the Maxwell Award as the nation's best college football player in 1966. He was also a unanimous All-American selection that year.

Professional career

The Kansas City Chiefs selected Lynch in the second round of the

1967 NFL/AFL draft The 1967 National Football League draft was conducted March 14–15, 1967, at the Gotham Hotel in New York City. It was the first common draft with the AFL, part of the AFL–NFL merger agreement of June 1966. This draft was delayed as new guid ...

. From 1967 to 1977, Lynch played for the Chiefs as a right

outside 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, ...

, playing alongside middle linebacker Willie Lanier and left outside linebacker Bobby Bell, both Pro Football Hall of Famers. These linebackers were important elements in the Chiefs' defense in their 1969 championship season, and led the defense in the Chiefs' first Super Bowl victory three years later in their first AFL-NFL World Championship (Super Bowl IV). Retiring at the end of the 1977 season, Lynch finished his career with 18 sacks, 17 interceptions and 14

fumble A fumble in gridiron football occurs when a player who has possession and control of the ball loses it before being downed (tackled), scoring, or going out of bounds. By rule, it is any act other than passing, kicking, punting, or successful ...

recoveries. He also scored one touchdown.

Honors

Lynch was selected to play in the 1968

AFL All-Star Game The American Football League All-Star game was the annual game which featured each year's best performers in the American Football League (AFL). The game was first played in 1961 and the final AFL All-Star game occurred in 1969, prior to the leagu ...

. In 1988, Lynch was inducted as an inaugural member into the Lima Central Catholic Hall of Fame for athletic achievement. In 1990, Lynch was inducted into the Chiefs' Hall of Fame. He was inducted into the

in 1992. In 2006, Lynch was interviewed for the NFL Network documentary '' America's Game: The Super Bowl Champions'' chronicling the 1969 Kansas City Chiefs AFL and World Championship season.

Personal life

Lynch and his wife had three children. His older brother,

Tom Tom or TOM may refer to: * Tom (given name), a diminutive of Thomas or Tomás or an independent Aramaic given name (and a list of people with the name) Characters * Tom Anderson, a character in ''Beavis and Butt-Head'' * Tom Beck, a character ...

, was a center and captain for the 1963 Navy football team. Lynch died on July 21, 2022, at the age of 76.

Explanatory notes

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Lynch, Jim 1945 births 2022 deaths All-American college football players American Football League All-Star players American Football League players American football linebackers College Football Hall of Fame inductees Kansas City Chiefs players Maxwell Award winners Notre Dame Fighting Irish football players Players of American football from Ohio Sportspeople from Lima, Ohio