James Arthur Ridlon (born July 11, 1934) is a former

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 wi ...

safety Safety is the state of being "safe", the condition of being protected from harm or other danger. Safety can also refer to the control of recognized hazards in order to achieve an acceptable level of risk. Meanings There are two slightly dif ...

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 ...

for the

San Francisco 49ers The San Francisco 49ers (also written as the San Francisco Forty-Niners) are a professional American football team based in the San Francisco Bay Area. The 49ers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the league's National ...

and

Dallas Cowboys The Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football team based in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. The Cowboys compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East divi ...

. He played college football and college lacrosse at Syracuse University. After football he became a sports painter and sculptor.

Early years

Ridlon had to learn how to manage dyslexia and a stutter throughout his first years of school. He attended

Nyack High School Nyack High School is a secondary school serving parts of the Town of Orangetown and Town of Clarkstown, New York, United States. The original Nyack High School building is now part of BOCES. Since 1990, Nyack High School has been located less ...

, where he received All-County recognition as a quarterback in football and a guard in basketball. He accepted a football scholarship from Syracuse University. He played offensive end as a sophomore. The next year, he was moved to halfback in the same

backfield The offensive backfield is the area of an American football field behind the line of scrimmage. The offensive backfield can also refer to members of offense who begin plays behind the line, typically including any backs on the field, such as the ...

with Jim Brown, registering a school record 3

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 Amer ...

receptions in one game. As a senior in a game against Holy Cross, he scored in three different ways (reception, run and interception). He posted 6 interceptions in the season. He finished his college career with 103 carries for 391 yards, 3 rushing

s, 17 receptions for 357 yards, 3 receiving

s, 6-of-11 completions for 139 yards, 2 passing touchdowns and one interception. He received a bachelor's degree from the College of Visual and Performing Arts in 1957 and a masters degree from VPA in 1961. In 1990, he was inducted into the Syracuse University Sports Hall of Fame.

Professional career

San Francisco 49ers

Ridlon was selected by the

in the fourth round (39th overall) of the

1957 NFL Draft The 1957 National Football League draft had its first four rounds held on November 26, 1956, at the Warwick Hotel in Philadelphia and its final twenty-six rounds on January 31, 1957 at the Bellevue-Stratford Hotel also in Philadelphia. This wa ...

. In his second season, he was a starter at

, registering 4 interceptions and 2 fumble recoveries. He would mostly have a reserve role in the following seasons. In

1962 Events January * January 1 – Western Samoa becomes independent from New Zealand. * January 3 – Pope John XXIII excommunicates Fidel Castro for preaching communism. * January 8 – Harmelen train disaster: 93 die in the wor ...

, he appeared in 9 games (6 starts), posting one interception and one fumble recovery. He suffered 2 broken vertebrae in the 24-17 win against the Los Angeles Rams during the tenth game, missing the rest of the season. On April 30,

1963 Events January * January 1 – Bogle–Chandler case: Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation scientist Dr. Gilbert Bogle and Mrs. Margaret Chandler are found dead (presumed poisoned), in bushland near the Lane Co ...

, he was traded to the

in exchange for

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, ...

Mike Dowdle Don Michael Dowdle (December 6, 1937December 5, 1993) was an American football fullback and linebacker in the National Football League (NFL) for the Dallas Cowboys and San Francisco 49ers. He played college football at the University of Texas. ...

, who was a former 49ers draft choice.

Dallas Cowboys

, head coach

Tom Landry Thomas Wade Landry (September 11, 1924 – February 12, 2000) was an American professional football player and coach. He was the first head coach of the Dallas Cowboys in the National Football League (NFL), a position he held for 29 seasons. Dur ...

traded for him because he considered Ridlon one of the smartest players in the NFL. He was mostly a backup until Cornell Green was moved to

cornerback A cornerback (CB) is a member of the defensive backfield or secondary in gridiron football. Cornerbacks cover Wide receiver, receivers most of the time, but also blitz and defend against such Play from scrimmage, offensive running plays as sweep ...

, appearing in 7 games with 4 starts. In

1964 Events January * January 1 – The Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland is dissolved. * January 5 - In the first meeting between leaders of the Roman Catholic and Orthodox churches since the fifteenth century, Pope Paul VI and Patriarc ...

, he intercepted 4 passes and received All-NFL honors in some publications. He returned an interception for a 74-yard

and a fumble for a 63-yard

, becoming the first player in franchise history to score 2 defensive

s in the same season. On April 16, 1965, he announced his retirement to become a faculty member and assistant football coach at Syracuse University.

Artistic career

After his football career, he became a sports painter and sculptor. In 1988, he was commissioned to design and sculpt the

Outland Trophy The Outland Trophy is awarded to the best college football interior lineman in the United States as adjudged by the Football Writers Association of America. It is named after John H. Outland. One of only a few players ever to be named an All-Am ...

, which has become one of college football's most prestigious awards.

Personal life

In 1965, he returned to Syracuse University to teach art classes and double as a backfield coach for the football team under

Ben Schwartzwalder Floyd Burdette Schwartzwalder (June 2, 1909 – April 28, 1993) was a Hall of Fame football coach at Syracuse University, where he trained future National Football League stars such as Jim Brown, Larry Csonka, Floyd Little and Ernie Davis, t ...

for 6 years. He was a professor of painting, sculpture and design in Syracuse's

College of Arts and Sciences A College of Arts and Sciences or School of Arts and Sciences is most commonly an individual institution or a unit within a university that focuses on instruction of the liberal arts and pure sciences, although they frequently include programs and ...

between 1965 and 2000. He also wrote a novel and worked as a color commentator on the Syracuse University football radio broadcasts for over 20 years. In 2015, he received the

Tom Osborne Thomas William Osborne (born February 23, 1937) is a former American football player, coach, college athletics administrator, and politician from Nebraska. He served as head football coach of the Nebraska Cornhuskers from 1973 to 1997 (25 season ...

Legacy Award by the Rotary Club of Omaha and the Greater Omaha Sports Committee.

References

External links

The Second Time AroundRiddles of Excellence
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ridlon, Jim 1934 births Living people People from Clarkstown, New York Players of American football from New York (state) American football defensive backs Syracuse Orange football players Syracuse Orange men's lacrosse players San Francisco 49ers players Dallas Cowboys players Syracuse Orange football coaches Syracuse University College of Visual and Performing Arts alumni American male sculptors American male painters Nyack High School alumni