Jimmy Lee Youngblood (born February 23, 1950) 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 with ...
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 ...
(NFL) for the
Los Angeles Rams
The Los Angeles Rams are a professional American football team based in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. The Rams compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) West division. The Rams play ...
and
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 ...
. He 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
Tennessee Tech
Tennessee Technological University, commonly referred to as Tennessee Tech, is a public research university in Cookeville, Tennessee, United States. It was formerly known as Tennessee Polytechnic Institute, and before that as University of Dixie ...
and was
drafted in the second round of the
1973 NFL Draft.
Early life
Youngblood was born in
Union, South Carolina
The city of Union is the county seat of Union County, South Carolina, United States. The population was 8,393 at the 2010 census. It is the principal city of the Union Micropolitan Statistical Area (population 28,961 according to 2010 Census), ...
. He attended Jonesville High School in
Jonesville, South Carolina
Jonesville is a town in Union County, South Carolina, United States. The population was 911 at the 2010 United States Census.
History
The McWhirter House and Means House are listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Geography
Jonesvi ...
, where he was all-conference in
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 ...
,
basketball
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...
, and
baseball
Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding tea ...
.
College career
Youngblood attended
Tennessee Technological University
Tennessee Technological University, commonly referred to as Tennessee Tech, is a public research university in Cookeville, Tennessee, United States. It was formerly known as Tennessee Polytechnic Institute, and before that as University of Dixie ...
from 1969–72, and set a school record with 476 tackles.
The
Ohio Valley Conference
The Ohio Valley Conference (OVC) is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference which operates in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern and Southeastern United States, Southeastern United States. It participates in NCAA Divisi ...
named him Defensive Player of the Year in 1971 and 1972. He was selected by the
Associated Press
The Associated Press (AP) is an American non-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association. It produces news reports that are distributed to its members, U.S. newspa ...
as a first-team linebacker on the
1972 Little All-America college football team.
Professional career
Youngblood played in the NFL for twelve seasons. He became the Rams' starting left-side linebacker during the 1976 season. Youngblood was part of one of the steadiest linebacking corps in the NFL, with
Jack Reynolds in the middle and
Isiah Robertson
Isiah "Butch" Robertson (August 17, 1949 – December 6, 2018) was an American professional football player who was a linebacker for the Los Angeles Rams (1971–1978) and the Buffalo Bills (1979–1982). He was selected to six Pro Bowls duri ...
and
Bob Brudzinski
Robert Louis Brudzinski (born January 1, 1955) is a former American football linebacker who played 13 seasons in the National Football League (NFL).
Ohio State
Brudzinski was a four-time letter winner and a three-year starter at defensive end for ...
patrolling the right side. Youngblood had a nose for the football, recording 14 career interceptions and returning four touchdowns, two in the 1979 season.
Personal life
Youngblood's father was a standout semi-pro baseball player, and his mother was a star basketball player in high school in Jonesville.
Contrary to common belief he is not related to former teammate and Pro Football Hall of Fame member
Jack Youngblood
Herbert Jackson Youngblood III (born January 26, 1950) is an American former professional football player who was a defensive end for the Los Angeles Rams of the National Football League (NFL) for fourteen seasons during the 1970s and 1980s. He ...
. However, since both Youngbloods had first names beginning with the same letter, the Rams had to include the entire names of both players on the back of their jerseys. Since their last names were so long, neither Jack nor Jim's first names could fit in the same line as their surnames, so the Rams simply put their first names above their last names when they ordered the jerseys.
References
External links
*
World News Inc.: Jim Youngblood
1950 births
Living people
American football linebackers
Los Angeles Rams players
Washington Redskins players
National Conference Pro Bowl players
Tennessee Tech Golden Eagles football players
College Football Hall of Fame inductees
All-American college football players
People from Union, South Carolina
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