James Joe Childs (born August 9, 1956) is an American former

professional football In professional sports, as opposed to amateur sports, participants receive payment for their performance. Professionalism in sport has come to the fore through a combination of developments. Mass media and increased leisure have brought larg ...

wide receiver who played two seasons 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

St. Louis Cardinals The St. Louis Cardinals are an American professional baseball team based in St. Louis. The Cardinals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) Central division. Since the 2006 season, the Cardinals hav ...

. 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 Cal Poly.

Early career

Childs graduated from

La Puente High School La Puente High School is a public high school in La Puente, California, located in the San Gabriel Valley, serving grades 9–12. It was established in 1915. It is one of six high schools (including two alternative schools) in the Hacienda La Puen ...

in California.

College career

Standing 6-foot-2, Childs played receiver for

Cal Poly San Luis Obispo California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo (California Polytechnic State University, Cal Poly"Cal Poly" may also refer to California State Polytechnic University, Humboldt in Arcata, California or California State Polytechnic Univ ...

Professional career

Childs was selected in the fourth round of the

1978 NFL Draft The 1978 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 May 2–3, 1978, at the Roosevelt Hote ...

, chosen with the 97th overall pick by the

. In two seasons with the Cardinals (

1978 Events January * January 1 – Air India Flight 855, a Boeing 747 passenger jet, crashes off the coast of Bombay, killing 213. * January 5 – Bülent Ecevit, of Republican People's Party, CHP, forms the new government of Turkey (42nd go ...

and

1979 Events January * January 1 ** United Nations Secretary-General Kurt Waldheim heralds the start of the ''International Year of the Child''. Many musicians donate to the ''Music for UNICEF Concert'' fund, among them ABBA, who write the song ...

), Childs caught a combined 12 passes for 143 yards and one touchdown, starting twice amongst his 21 career games played. He also returned four kickoffs for 77 total yards during his second season. His only professional touchdown came in the third quarter of a 16-6 loss to the

New England Patriots The New England Patriots are a professional American football team based in the Greater Boston area. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East divisio ...

on September 10, 1978, as he caught an 8-yard scoring pass from Jim Hart. Childs was also a member of the

Chicago Bears The Chicago Bears are a professional American football team based in Chicago. The Bears compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) North division. The Bears have won nine NF ...

in , but did not make the final roster.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Childs, Jimmy 1956 births Living people American football wide receivers Cal Poly Mustangs football players St. Louis Cardinals (football) players Chicago Bears players Sportspeople from El Dorado, Arkansas Players of American football from Arkansas